John Lukacs
London: Yale University Press, 2001,
pb, £7.99p
This has just appeared in the paperback imprint of Yale University Press. Written by a considerable scholar on Cold War matters, it explores, via recently released PRO documents, Churchill’s struggles within the cabinet between 24 May and 28 May 1940.
Lukacs shows that Churchill’s leadership almost wobbled at this point. With the BEF routed in Belgium and the French government starting to sue for peace, the cabinet appeasers made concerted efforts to begin talks with Hitler via the Italian ambassador in London. Leading the rush, and spouting many weasel words, were Lord Halifax and R. A. Butler, both favourite politicians of King George VI. Concerned about ‘peace and security in Europe’, they argued that British interests really lay with the Empire and overseas trade rather than Europe. Churchill only narrowly headed this off but once he had done so the Halifax/Butler point of view largely disappeared from UK politics to re-emerge, it could be argued, in various anti-EEC campaigns from the 1960’s onwards. One has to say that the PRO records show Churchill possessing great moral authority:……. Nazism and Hitler were uniquely evil….Britain must fight them to the death…….alone if need be………..for the sake of humanity …..whatever the long term consequences.
Five Days in London is thus a good companion piece to Griffith’s Patriotism Perverted, the ultimate guide to the serious fellow-travellers of the Reich.