In the history of the 20th century, those people who made fateful decisions for humanity left a deep mark. Among the prominent politicians, Winston Churchill confidently takes his place - the Prime Minister of Great Britain, a writer, a Nobel laureate, one of the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition, an anti-communist, the author of many aphorisms that have become winged, a lover of cigars and strong drinks, and an interesting person in general.
His image is known to our fellow citizens from documentary footage of the Second World War, filmed during the Y alta, Tehran and Potsdam conferences. Among the other members of the Big Three, they are noticed by a full figure covered in a khaki military jacket, an ugly but very charming face and a penetrating look. Such was the extraordinary Winston Churchill, books about which are still being written today, and films are also being made,opening unfamiliar pages of his biography. Some moments remain a mystery to this day.
Birth and family
At the end of November 1874, the Duke of Marlborough's Blenheim Palace was preparing for a ball. Lady Churchill certainly wished to attend. She was dissuaded, but she was adamant, which led to some circumstances that disrupted the party. It so happened that Winston Churchill was born on a mountain of women's coats, hats and other outerwear, piled up in a room that served as an impromptu wardrobe for guests.
Everest's nanny was mainly engaged in bringing up a red-haired and not very beautiful child. The influence of this remarkable woman on the future politician was enormous, and he always kept her photograph in a prominent place in all the offices he occupied, obviously, until the end of his life, comparing his actions with the moral guidelines laid down by her. This is how Winston Churchill expressed his gratitude, whose biography indicates that the nanny was a right and wise person.
School, adolescence
Wunderkind little Winston was not. Although he had an excellent memory, he used it only when he was interested in the subject being studied. The boy's diction was so-so, he did not pronounce some letters at all, but at the same time he was distinguished by verbosity. He showed complete indifference to the exact sciences, Greek and Latin, but he loved his native English, studied it willingly.
Descendantaristocratic family and had to study at a special school. Such was the privileged educational institution "Ascot", in which Winston Churchill spent several years. Then the young man was transferred to the Harrow High School, also famous for its long traditions. Parents believed that the son of the stars from the sky was not enough, and so it was, and therefore determined his military career. In 1893, the young man was able to enter the Sandhurst Higher Cavalry School of the Royal Army only the third time. Two years later his father died. For the son, the death of a beloved and respected parent was a great loss, despite certain mutual misunderstandings. Childhood is over, the young man has turned into an adult man.
Beginning of parliamentary activity
Having a higher education, a military rank of lieutenant and a noble origin, Winston Churchill, whose biography as a politician was just beginning, won the parliamentary elections of 1900. Despite the fact that he ran from the conservative party, they showed sympathy, rather, to its opponents - the liberals. Such a contradiction was expressed in the fact that he himself defined his status as an “independent conservative”, which created many problems for him, but such a line of behavior also had advantages. Conflicts with fellow party members created a certain scandal, which contributed to greater fame in political circles. Due to the fact that during his speeches many parliamentarians, and sometimes the Prime Minister himself, defiantly left the meeting room, WinstonChurchill was spotted by Lloyd George. He left the Conservatives in 1904.
Colonial Secretary
The senator's eloquence drew attention to him, and proposals for cooperation with various constituencies were not long in coming. Those of them that were not of interest to Churchill, he unconditionally swept aside, but in 1906 he agreed to become the minister in charge of the affairs of the colonies. The significance of the overseas territories for the well-being of the British Empire was enormous, and even then the patriotism of the politician manifested itself, expressed in the priorities of the interests of the state over other considerations. The results of the activity within a short period of time turned out to be very impressive, and the efforts were noticed and appreciated at the highest level, including the entourage of Edward VII and the monarch himself.
The political crisis of 1908 ended with the resignation of Prime Minister Campbell Bannerman, whose place was soon taken by Asquith. He suggested that Churchill take on the Royal Navy, but was refused. War was not expected in the near future, and without it, the position of Minister for the Navy did not promise glory. Regarding the other post of Minister of Self-Government, the reaction was the same, although for a different reason, it was just that the topic was not interesting to Churchill. But he wished to engage in trade, although at first glance it did not promise any political dividends.
Marriage
Winston Churchill has been so busy with political affairs for a long time that his buddies already began to doubt that he would ever marry,but they were wrong. Despite more than modest external data and constant official workload, he nevertheless found an opportunity to meet a very beautiful girl, charm her (obviously, with intelligence and eloquence) and lead her down the aisle. The daughter of a dragoon officer-colonel - Clementine Hozier - was charming, educated, intelligent, fluent in two foreign languages (German and French). Even the owners of the most evil tongues could not suspect of Winston's selfish motives: there was practically no dowry, with the exception, of course, of the bride's personal qualities and her noble Irish-Scottish origin.
Minister of the Interior
At the age of thirty-five, Churchill became Minister of Law and Order, occupying one of the key posts in the Empire. Now he had to be responsible for the police of the capital, bridges, roads, correctional facilities, agriculture and even fishing. Also, the duties of the Minister of the Interior, according to the old English tradition, included the indispensable presence during childbirth in the royal family, the proclamation of the heirs to the throne, writing reports on the work of Parliament, which made it possible for Churchill to demonstrate his literary talents at the highest level. This he did with great pleasure.
On the eve of the big war
The fact that "cold" contradictions between countries rich in colonies and deprived of them by Germany and Austria-Hungary will sooner or later develop into a "hot" conflict, someoneperhaps he did, but not Winston Churchill. On the basis of intelligence and defense information, he drafted a memorandum for the Prime Minister on military aspects in Europe, stating the practical inevitability of an impending war. After that, the country's leadership undertook a kind of castling, swapping McCann and Churchill, as a result of which the author of the report received at the disposal of the fleet, which he had previously abandoned. It was 1911, serious events were brewing. The new minister coped with the task of preparing the Royal Navy for the upcoming naval battles.
First War
The date for the start of the military conflict was determined by the British government quite accurately. The usual naval maneuvers in 1914 were canceled, a hidden partial mobilization was carried out, after the traditional parade on July 17, the ships were not sent to their places of permanent deployment, but by order of the Admir alty, their concentration was maintained. After the outbreak of war between the Central Powers and Russia, Churchill took it upon himself to announce the full mobilization of the fleet without waiting for the government's decision. This step could have cost him his removal from office, but everything worked out, the decision was recognized as the right one, and a day later his actions were approved. On August 4, Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Post-war life
The events of the First World War are well known: after the defeat of Germany and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the world, and primarily Europe, faced the problem of the spread of communism. Anti-Marxist position taken by WinstonChurchill, his statements on this subject testify to the conviction of the need to destroy the Bolshevik regime in Russia. But economically, the countries of the West, exhausted by the four-year massacre, were not ready for a large-scale military intervention. As a result of the impossibility of an armed struggle against communism, the leaders of democratic Europe, and then the whole world, were forced to recognize Soviet power. Churchill's role as Secretary of War by 1921 had become secondary. This, of course, upset him, but the troubles were ahead. In the same year, real sorrows befell him: first, the death of his mother (and she was still not old, only 67 years old), then her two-year-old daughter Marigold.
Diligence and energy, as well as a new job, helped the couple recover from a terrible double grief. Churchill again becomes Minister for the Colonies, but the 1922 elections end disastrously: he does not get into Parliament. Churchill decides to have some rest with his wife in France. It seemed that the career was over.
Back in Parliament
In the first half of the twenties, Churchill had an influential political enemy - Bonar Law, who served as prime minister. In 1923 he fell seriously ill and never recovered. With Baldwin, the new leader of the Conservatives, the disgraced politician managed to establish contact, but the first two attempts to return to parliament were unsuccessful. The third time he nevertheless returned to the respected assembly, having won the election from Epping County, and at the same time received the chair of the Minister of Finance. In 1929, Labor replaced the Conservatives in power, and withinFor decades, Churchill's active nature had no opportunity for expression. It remained for him to follow the developments in Germany, which by the mid-thirties was increasingly reviving economically and militarily, becoming a formidable rival for Britain.
Pre-war expectations
Few British politicians understood the role of aviation in the coming war as deeply as Winston Churchill. Photographs and newsreels of Neville Chamberlain brandishing the Munich treaty document the complacency of the then European peacekeepers making concessions to Nazi Germany in the second half of the thirties.
Meanwhile, a secret government committee had been operating in Britain for about two years to oversee the strengthening of the state's defense capabilities. Its member was Winston Churchill, whose statements about the prospects for appeasing Hitler were distinguished by pessimism. Even then, he was distinguished by paradoxical and non-standard thinking, arguing that, looking too far ahead, people act short-sightedly. Winston preferred to deal with pressing and pressing issues. In particular, largely thanks to the efforts of the committee, the Royal Air Force received Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes by the beginning of the war, capable of withstanding the Messerschmitts.
Star hour, second war with Germany
After the attack on Poland and the declaration of war on Germany in 1939, for almost two years, Great Britain fought againstHitlerism alone. Day 22 June 1941 became a holiday for Churchill. Upon learning of the German attack on the USSR, he realized that the war could be considered won. Winston Churchill, whose biography was associated with the struggle against communism, did not want anything at that time as much as the success of the Red Army. Being in an extremely difficult economic situation, Great Britain provided military assistance to the USSR, supplying military goods. The ability to give up even one's own convictions for the sake of saving one's country is a sign of a true patriot and a wise politician. However, this deviation in views was temporary and forced. Declared and demonstrated sympathy for the Soviets was replaced by outright hostility by the beginning of the Big Three conference in Potsdam.
During the war, strong-willed qualities manifest themselves most clearly. Winston Churchill was no exception. His biography in those years entered the brightest phase, he perfectly combined eloquence with the ability to resolve military-political and economic issues. It was difficult to call his speeches laconic, but even in some of his verbosity the British found what they lacked so much: confidence in victory and good spirits. However, one of his aphorisms expressed the opinion that silence is often a sign that a person simply has nothing to say. He also said once that only the inhabitants of Albion can be glad that things are bad. There was no politician in the United Kingdom who was as popular as Winston Churchill. Quotations from his speeches were passed on to each other by those suffering frombombing and deprivation of the inhabitants of London and Coventry, Liverpool and Sheffield. They made many people smile. It was the high point of the premiere.
After the fight
The Second World War is over. Winston Churchill resigned at the end of May 1945, sharing with the Conservative Party its defeat in the next election. Well, such is the essence of Western democracy, for which recent, but already past merits mean little. Winston Churchill's aphorisms regarding this form of government are distinguished by a special malice, reaching the point of cynicism. So, he quite seriously argued that democracy is only good because all other ways of governing the country are even worse, and to be disappointed in it, you just need to talk a little with the "average voter".
However, the threat that many countries will become even worse after the war was very real. Stalinist communism advanced across the planet using a variety of methods - from forceful to subtly insidious. The Cold War began immediately after the victory over fascism, but it was marked by a speech in the American city of Fulton, which in 1946, on March 5, exactly seven years before the death of Joseph Stalin, was delivered by Winston Churchill. Interesting facts and coincidences accompanied him all his life. The attitude of the British politician towards "Uncle Joe", as Western politicians called the Soviet leader Stalin, was ambiguous. Hostility and rejection of Marxist ideas were combined in Churchill with genuine respect for the extraordinary personality of a man who was at times his ally,opponent.
The prime minister's attitude to alcohol seems interesting. According to him, he received more from alcohol than he gave. In old age, Churchill joked that if in his youth he did not drink before dinner, now he has a different rule: in no case take strong drinks before breakfast. According to his grandson, his grandfather started the day with a glass of whiskey (not such a small portion), but no one ever saw him drunk. Of course, such habits are not worth imitating, but, as the Russian proverb says, you can’t take words out of a song.
Literary works written by Winston Churchill are also interesting. The books tell about colonial wars, in particular, the Afghan and Anglo-Boer campaigns, the fight against world communism, as well as many other historical events in which the author took part. The texts are distinguished by excellent style and subtle humor, characteristic of this outstanding person.
Prime Minister Churchill happened to occupy twice. The last time he led the British government in 1951 at the age of 77. Advanced years affected the general condition of the body, it became more and more difficult for him to work. "Sir Winston Churchill" - so since 1953, when the young Elizabeth II - the new Queen of England - awarded him the Order of the Garter, it was necessary to address the prime minister. British laws do not provide for a greater honor. He became a knight, and only the monarch has a higher social position.
Goodbye politics
Covereda veil of secrecy about how Winston Churchill left big politics. A short biography, studied by British schoolchildren and students, contains information about the acceptance of his resignation without undue hype in 1955. The removal from power occurred gradually, over a period of almost four months. The respect, deference and tact shown by the UK's top leadership during this process deserve special words. The whole life of the politician was devoted to serving the motherland and caring for its interests, which was marked by many awards (both royal and foreign).
The great Churchill lived another ten years. A new era began, the war began in distant Vietnam, the youth went crazy over their idols, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles conquered the world, the “flower children” - hippies - preached universal love, and all this was so unlike secular the political life of the turn of the century, when young Winston began his long career in politics.
An outstanding prime minister died in early 1965. The magnificent multi-day farewell ceremony was not inferior in solemnity to the royal funeral. Churchill found his final resting place next to his parents in an ordinary city cemetery in Blandon.
