A Cambridge University panel of academics discussing wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s legacy concluded that the leader who helped defeat Hitler was actually a “white supremacist” and was leading an empire “worse than the Nazis”.
Well, isn’t that nice?
Churchill had his faults, as did the British Empire, which is one reason the British Empire doesn’t really exist anymore. But worse than Nazis? I don’t think you can back up such a statement. I dare you to say it in front of a Jew.
Another academic, Dr Madhusree Mukerjee, dismissed Britain’s role in the Second World War, stating that “It was the Soviets who defeated the Nazis and the Americans who defeated the Japanese.”
Ok, I admit my knowledge of British military campaigns in WWII is not the best, but I don’t think you can back that up.
What destroyed the Germans in WWII was having to fight a two front war. Hitler could have wiped out the Soviets if he didn’t have to worry about covering his back. Now some of that was the Americans. Ok, a lot of it was the Americans. But you have to give the Brits credit for not succumbing and keeping fighting long enough for the Americans to join the War and get a foothold in it. Remember, Great Britain was the first real obstacle that Hitler faced. His Blitzkrieg maneuvers totally rolled over the rest of Europe. If he’d been as successful against Great Britain, the War would have turned out much differently. I’m not even sure how the Americans can help all that much in the European Theater without the aid of Great Britain.
There were other things that Great Britain did. They were instrumental in the Tunisia Campaign and in defeating Italy, thus pretty much eliminating the southern front (I don’t know if anyone actually calls it that—that’s my moniker) as an issue.
Also, they kept the shipping lanes somewhat open, although it was the American B-24 that really turned the tide (no pun) in the Atlantic. They provided air bases for the combined British and American bombing campaigns in France and Germany. Again, the War in Europe would not have been won without this.
Finally, the Brits more than held up their end in Operation Overlord (D-Day), which began the final offensive against Hitler’s Germany.
So, while they may not have done much against Japan (although even against Japan their contribution was greater than zero—see Madagascar), victory in Europe would have been impossible without Churchill and the Brits.
Implying or stating otherwise is to be completely ignorant of WWII history. I know I don’t know all that much, but I know enough to realize how ludicrous such a belief actually is.
