I was recently speaking to a group on Churchill and the Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King.
One person brought up the matter of Canada refusing to accept a boat load of Jewish refugees, who were fleeing Germany, in 1938. In view of this refusal, and likewise from the United States, the ship had to return to Germany, where many later died in concentration camps. I responded that this was a blemish on the country; but anytime we look back in history we have to try and appreciate the general mood at that time – in 1938 the Klu Klux Klan flourished, not only in the United States, but also in parts in Canada; discrimination was widespread, with examples being notices on many business such as “No Irish Need apply” – the same for Jews, Catholics etc. Churchill appreciated the need to understood the historical context when passing judgement – in his official biography, (Heinemann, Vol.5, page 666) Sir Martin Gilbert includes a conversation between WSC and a woman in France in 1935. In answer to a criticism of the British hypocrisy, in building an empire and now objecting to the expansion intentions of German & Italy, Churchill responded “Ah, you see, all that belongs to the unregenerate past, is locked away in the limbo of the old, wicked days.” Churchill was not perfect. He was ahead of his time in his appreciation of the dangers from the fascist powers, but he was in line with the general population in many other areas, which to us in the 21st century, is not able to be justified. Terry Reardon -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
