Lessons from History

                                         LESSONS FROM HISTORY

 

                                                         By Lee Hyon-soo

 

The recent debacle in Afghanistan shows that strong political leadership is essential for a nation’s self-defense. Unlike Afghanistan which fell easily into the hands of the Taliban, Britain was able to defend itself against German aggression during World War II thanks to Winston Churchill’s coherent leadership. How he led the British people through the dark days was realistically portrayed in the 2017 war drama film “Darkest Hour.”

 

In May 1940, eight months after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Winston Churchill became Britain’s prime minister, replacing Arthur Neville Chamberlain who was best known for his foreign policy of appeasement in the face of Nazi Germany’s aggression.

 

After signing the Munich Agreement in 1938, Chamberlain returned to London with an air of triumph and proudly declared that peace was secured with honor. Even after Hitler reneged on the Munich Agreement and German army swept across Western Europe and threatened to invade Britain, Chamberlain and his associates wanted to negotiate for peace with Hitler. But Churchill opposed such negotiations in the belief that a peace treaty with an untrustworthy Hitler would not be worth the paper it would be written on.

 

He delivered - in parliament and on radio - inspiring speeches in which he vowed to fight Hitler’s Nazi army no matter what they would do to try to take over Britain. And he won the hearts of the British people.

Some of his speeches included the following fiery words:

 

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

 

“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

 

“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be.”

 

Although Britain had the unflinching will to fight, it lacked the resources to defend itself against German military might. Britain badly needed support from the United States, but the latter remained neutral at the time because the Americans overwhelmingly favored staying out of the European war.

 

What is left unsaid in the film is that one day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 the United States declared war on Japan, which prompted Germany to declare war on the United States. With the United States entering the war, the tide turned in favor of anti-Nazi allied forces. Germany surrendered in May 1945.

 

Without Churchill’s strong and persevering leadership Britain would have fallen into Hitler’s hands before the United States came to its rescue.

 

The film deals with a historical episode that happened a long time ago. But it is relevant even today because it demonstrates how vital it is to have a good political leader in times of adversity. Britain was lucky to have a great leader like Churchill. Conversely, it was Germany’s misfortune to be ruled by Hitler, an eccentric warmonger.

 

More importantly, there are valuable lessons to be learned from it: that no lasting peace can be negotiated from a position of weakness and that no country can remain independent unless it has the will and capabilities to defend itself.

 

 

Note: This essay appeared in the Sept. 14, 2021 issue of The Korea Times.