Thread by @martyrmade

Time for a Churchill thread? Time for a Churchill thread. Let's do this.

Why I think Churchill was a chief villain of World War 2. /0

I know that sounds like hyperbole. Churchill didn’t order the most deaths, oversee the most atrocities, or commit the worst crimes. But most of those crimes could not have been committed if the war had not happened, and Churchill was the leader most intent on making it happen. /1

You'll think, "But Darryl, everyone knows the war started after Germany invaded Poland, + Austria & Czechoslovakia before that. It could have been prevented if only people had listened to Churchill , and taken a tougher line against Hitler." And you might be right. Sort of. /2

Let's rewind the clock to World War 1. Churchill is boss of the British Navy, and in 1915 he implements a hunger blockade of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Over the course of the war, up to three-quarters of a million Germans would die of starvation and hunger-related causes. /3

"The blockade," wrote Churchill, "treated the whole of Germany as if it were a beleaguered fortress, and avowedly sought to starve the whole population - men, women, and children, old and young, wounded and sound, into submission." /4

"That's awful," you'll say, "but war is hell." But for two-and-a-half centuries, Europeans had refrained from tactics like mass starvation and other means of targeting civilian populations when they fought each other. It was a high point of civilization in that regard. /5

Germany agreed to an armistice in 1918, expecting to meet at the table of peace to discuss terms. Instead, Britain maintained the blockade - even after the Kaiser had abdicated and a republic was declared - and starved Germany for eight more months. Some 100k more were killed. /6

Who was being killed? Ask Churchill. Remember this is after the war is *over*: "We are enforcing the blockade w/rigour... (regretting that) this weapon of starvation... falls mainly on the women and children, upon the old and weak and poor, after all the fighting has stopped." /7

When it was clear that the British were willing to starve all Germany to death, the new gov't signed a treaty that placed responsibility for the war not on the Kaiser’s autocracy, but on the whole German people. The terms would keep Germany in destitution for another decade. /8

A young Adolf Hitler's fantasies about lebensraum were born of watching his people starve in the streets. Her enemies could plunder overseas colonies for resources, but Germany find them closer to home, or else every war would end with millions of Germans starving to death. /9

Its 1920, and Britain is busy pacifying Iraqi tribes. Churchill insists the RAF must "proceed w/work on gas bombs, especially mustard gas, which would inflict punishment on recalcitrant natives... I am strongly in favor of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes." /10

In 1929, Churchill wrote that although the fighting had temporarily ceased, "Death stands at attention. Obedient, expectant, ready to serve, ready to shear away peoples en masse; ready... to pulverise, without hope of repair, what is left of civilisation." /11

As late as 1937, Churchill's opinion of Hitler was not hostile: "Those who have met Hitler face to face... have found a highly competent, cool, well-informed functionary with an agreeable manner, a disarming smile, and few have been unaffected by a subtle personal magnetism." /12

On the other hand, he said Trotsky had "the organizing ability of a Carnot, the cold detached intelligence of a Machiavelli, the mob oratory of a Cleon, the ferocity of Jack the Ripper, the toughness of a Titus Oates... (And finally) he is still a Jew. Nothing could get over that." /13

Like Hitler, Churchill blamed Jews for communism, and revolutions dating back to 1789, describing the Bolsheviks as a band of underworld Jews "(gripping) the Russian people by the hair of their heads and have become practically the undisputed masters of that enormous empire." /14

During the 1924 election, Churchill circulated a forged letter purporting to be from Soviet leader Zinoviev, plotting revolution on the streets of London. Like Boomercons pointedly saying Barack *Hussein* Obama, Churchill cited "the letter of Zinoviev, alias Apfelbaum..." /15

Churchill's public attitude toward Hitler and Germany was openly hostile after 1938. Some have pointed out that he faced bankruptcy and loss of his family estate, when he was bailed out (w/a gift, not a loan) by a wealthy Zionist. If there is any direct evidence that Churchill was bought, though, I am not aware of it, and there are many simpler explanations for his change of heart, given that the war faction of which he was seeking leadership, became more prominent and belligerent after Hitler's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland. Also, Churchill had been a booster of Zionism for at least 20 years, so there is no need to point to under-the-table payments as the source of his opinions. Finally, while there were many wealthy Zionists (both Jews and converts of the Disraeli type) in the war faction, the war faction would have gotten along fine without them. In other words, from what I know, at least - subject to change, of course, since I have not gone deeply into this aspect of the story as some others have - Churchill's dependency on Zionist/Jewish interests is based on a lot of speculation, and extrapolating a few known facts into a grand narrative. This is the longest post in the thread because I was unclear about it in the Tucker interview. /16

When war was declared on Germany, Britain was somber. Chamberlain said, "It is a sad day for all of us, but for none is it sadder than me." Shirer wrote from Berlin of a similar German reaction. But Churchill was ebullient, writing that the prospect of war "thrilled his being."/17

Count Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law and Italy's ambassador to Germany, tried, as early as 10Sep1939, to de-escalate, but Churchill, now in the war cabinet, mocked him, saying he should put aside any hope of mediation and display "a more robust mood." /18

In an Oct 6 speech, Hitler said he did not want war. "I have had only in mind the great goal of attaining sincere friendship with the British people." Like Ciano's overture, Hitler's call for peace was met with contempt in the West. He said it would be his last. It wasn't. /19

Former British PM David Lloyd George warned the House of Commons: "Let us take heed of what we are doing because we are entering on something which involves the whole life of this empire and the whole future of our people." /20

Hitler tried again, going on the radio to broadcast a call for peace directly to the British people. He would give back the parts of Poland that were not majority German, and would work with the other powers to reach an acceptable solution to the Jewish problem. He was ignored. /21

In Jan 1940, Nahum Goldmann, of the World Jewish Congress, said that, "If the war in Europe goes on for another year, 1,000,000 of the 2,000,000 Jews in Poland will be dead of starvation or killed by Nazi persecutors." This gets close to the heart of my Churchill criticism. /22

My contention is not that the Third Reich was peaceful, or that Germany did not kill Jews. Germany dishonored itself by its conduct on the Eastern Front. My contention is that the war was not inevitable, that, in fact, almost no one but Churchill's faction wanted it, and that the atrocities could not have happened in the absence of a world war. This, I think, is not only supportable, but as close to provable as historical counterfactuals can get. Let's continue. /23

Hitler faced calls to commence strikes in retaliation for the hunger blockade, but resisted. In January, Churchill publicly wondered why England had not yet been attacked from the air. "Is it that they are saving up some orgy of frightfulness which will soon come upon us?" /24

March 1940. During an attack on docked British warships, a German bomb killed a British civilian. The feeling among British leaders was that it had not been deliberate, but fifty warplanes were sent to retaliate. Some went astray and landed in Denmark. /25

Churchill, now Lord of the Admiralty, called for, and commenced, the mining of Norway's harbors - an illegal act of war against a neutral country - to prevent critical exports to Germany. Prior to March 1940, Germany had no plan to invade Norway, but now ones were drawn up. /26

As Norway lodged legal complaints against Britain, Germany took more forceful action, and seized Norway with minimal resistance. Churchill, and British leadership, was stunned. British forces attempt to invade Norway, but were easily repulsed by the Germans. /27

On April 12, British bombs fell on a German rail line far from any war zone, drawing a German protest. A week later, the British bombed Oslo, the capital of occupied Norway. Again, British planes attacked an undefended town in Germany, and was warned that, although the Luftwaffe was under orders not to attack civilians, "bomb will be repaid with bomb if the British continue bombing nonmilitary targets." /28

It was Churchill's actions that had led to the seizure of Norway, and he became obsessed with retaking. General Ironside complained that Churchill wanted to divert troops from every other place, but that, "He is so like a child in many ways. He tires of a thing, and then wants to hear no more of it." /29

The following month, Chamberlain tendered his resignation, and Winston Churchill was elevated to Prime Minister. Germans who still hoped to make peace, Hitler among them, were dismayed that the chief proponent of escalation had been put in charge of the British government. /30

On Churchill's second night in office, a larger air raid was launched against Germany. Four civilians were killed - one an Englishwoman. British air power theorist James Spaight wrote that England "had only been fooling with air war until then. We began to bomb the German mainland before the Germans began to bomb objectives on the British mainland." /31

The next night, more British bombers flew over Germany, flying in the dark and dropping bombs at random targets. When Germany complained, and warned that this would lead to escalation, Churchill's government simply denied the raids had occurred. /32

In May 1940 Churchill ordered all German nationals to be rounded up. Thousands, including countless Jewish refugees from those countries, were marched at bayonet point to concentration camps for the duration of the war. /33

On May 15, Churchill told his cabinet that now was "the psychological moment to strike Germany in her own country." He ordered strikes on civilian areas in German cities, though he worried it might create a "revulsion of feeling" in the US, whom he was hoping to pull into the war. /34

That night, British bombers destroyed a girls' boarding school in Marienberg. The German High Command complained amongst themselves that the British were flying blind at night, killing civilians without targeting any defended military targets. The Germans have, to this point, still not responded with attacks against British cities. /35

Days later, German tanks were streaking across France, and the Brits were evacuating at Dunkirk. And here I'll quote at length from Nicholson Baker's book Human Smoke, speaking of this moment of German triumph:

"Blumentritt, a German military aide, wrote that Hitler said he thought the war would be done in six weeks. 'After that he wished to conclude a reasonable peace with France, and then the way would be free for an agreement with Britain.' Then, according to Blumentritt, Hitler launched into an admiring monologue on the greatness of the British Empire... 'All he wanted from Britain,' wrote Blumentritt, 'was that she should acknowledge Germany's position on the Continent.' Hitler's aim was to 'make peace with Britain on a basis that she would regard as compatible with her honour to accept.'" /36

On May 24, Hitler issued a general approval for the Luftwaffe to retaliate with attacks against England itself, but still did not authorize specific missions to be carried out. With the surrender of France, the war seemed soon to be at an end. No army opposed Germany in Europe. The British were the only remaining belligerent, and they had no means whatsoever of reinvading the continent. /37

That week, both Lord Halifax and Neville Chamberlain suggested that it was time to entertain one of Germany's many peace offers. Churchill ruled that there would be no negotiation. Halifax lost his temper, saying there was no way forward, and threatened to resign. /38

Churchill expanded the detention order for German nationals to include people above 60 years of age. Informed that the detainees were mostly Jewish refugees, he told the House of Commons he was "very sorry for them, but we cannot, at the present time, and under the present stress, draw all the distinctions which we should like to do." /39

With no way of reaching Europe but by air, British bombers hit targets all over. They bombed neutral Switzerland. They hit Genoa and Milan. They struck Dusseldorff and Munster. The SS reported, "Strong hatred against England becomes heavily concentrated, and calls time and again for revenge." /40

Now, Churchill ordered an attack on the French navy, fearing it would come under German control. French Admiral Gensoul sent desperate messages: “For God’s sake, stop firing! You’re murdering us!” More than 1,000 French sailors were killed. /41

On July 4, 1940, the SS reported that indiscriminate British bombing had caused “a general rage against England and the wish for a ‘real’ retaliation by way of bombardment of English cities.’” But Hitler still hesitated increasing pressure to give the order, even as more bombs fell on Hamburg that night. /42

This next bit says a lot about Churchill’s intentions. He wrote to a minister of his concern that Germany might turn his attention away from England, turning east or south. In that case, support for the war might wane, and this was to be avoided at any cost. “But,” he wrote, “there is one thing that will bring him back and bring him down, and that is an absolutely devastating exterminating attack by heavy bombers from this country upon the Nazi homeland.” /43

On July 19, 1940, Hitler told the Reichstag, “Mr. Churchill has just declared again that he wants the war,” he said, but Germany did not, and conscience compelled him to make a final appeal for peace. “I see no reason that should compel us to continue this war.” Mussolini’s son-in-law and ambassador to Germany, Count Ciano, who had no starry-eyed view of Hitler, reported privately that, “I believe his desire for peace is sincere. They are hoping and praying that this appeal will not be rejected.” /44

One hour after Hitler’s final call for peace was broadcast, the BBC broadcasted in German what England thought of it: “Let me tell you what we here in Britain think of this appeal of yours to what you are pleased to call our reason and common sense. Herr Fuhrer and Reichskanzler, we hurl it right back at you, right in your evil-smelling teeth.” Ciano wrote, “Late in the evening, when the first cold English reactions to the speech arrive, a sense of ill-concealed disappointment spreads among the Germans.” /45

The night after Hitler’s speech, Britain’s ambassador to the US sent a cable to London. He said Hitler’s terms deserved consideration, and pled that the government “not… close the door to peace.” The next night, Churchill gave orders to prepare operations to bomb Berlin itself. /46

In the three nights after Hitler’s speech, the German press bureau wrote that the British had bombed civilian targets in Wismar, Bremen, Hamburg, Pinneburg, Paderborn, Hagen, Bochum, Schwerin, Wilhelmshaven, and Kassel. /47

German planes dropped copies of Hitler’s speech all over England. Churchill had teams of sweepers on hand to ensure as few people saw them as possible. A German paper wrote: “The British Press is an iron curtain hiding the real opinion and feelings of the British people.” /48

Muriel Lester, a Christian relief worker, was trying to find ways to feed starving refugees on the continent. Quakers, private relief organizations, and former US President Herbert Hoover warned that the hunger blockade was creating a crisis - not for German soldiers, who would be fed in any case - but for occupied civilians. Britain warned that any attempts to bring food into Europe would be met with force. /49

On August 11, 1940, Hoover said: “The obvious truth is that there will be wholesale starvation, death and disease in these countries...” He complained that his organization had been feeding 200,000 civilians a day in Poland, but that Churchill ordered it stopped as soon as he took office. “He was a militarist of the extreme school who held that the incidental starvation of women and children was justified… by victory.” /50

British planes began firebombing the Black Forest. A NYT reporter wrote: “Skirting these blank spots (burned from previous raids), they unloaded hundreds of incendiary bombs on green parts of the forest.” British fighters burned wheat fields, and strafed livestock, farm equipment, and random people. German military leaders accused the British of dropping sacks of potato bugs on their crops. /51

Finally, on Sep 6, 1940, the Luftwaffe was ordered to commence The Blitz, and England came under attack. Churchill was outraged, or, given his privately-expressed hope for German retaliation to harden British resolve, he at least feigned outrage. He ordered the military to start exploring the use of poison gas in “exterminating attacks against the German civil population.” /52

The besieged German leadership became convinced that the power of international Jewry was the only possible explanation for England’s refusal to make peace, and her continual drive to escalation. Measures against Jewish became harsher, and internally they spoke of Jews as hostages. /53

In a speech, Hitler said: “I watched for 8 days. They dropped bombs on the people of the Rhine. They dropped bombs on the people of Westphalia. I watched for another fourteen days. I thought that (Churchill) was crazy. He was waging a war that could only destroy England. I waited over three months, but then I gave the order. I will take up the battle.” It was November 1940. /54

I’ve been at this a while, so I’m gonna cut it here for now. This is not a complete history of the escalations of the war *obviously*. My intention here is not to defend the actions of the Third Reich or any of its leaders, but only to support a narrow claim: that of all the belligerent leaders, Churchill was the one most intent on prolonging and escalating the conflict into a world war of annihilation. Germany and Italy did not want it - in fact, before the conquest of Western Europe, German leaders including Hitler were skeptical that they’d be able to take on Britain in a fight. We can be skeptical of Hitler’s motives for offering peace again and again, and for holding back against British civilians despite months and months provocations, but the fact is that Germany was offering peace, and by all accounts sincerely wanted it. After the annexation of Poland, Hitler told other party members, “The Reich is now complete.” Would Germany have eventually attack the Soviet Union? Perhaps. But they would not have done so in June 1941 if England had agreed to end a war which had no hope of victory short of expanding it into a much larger conflict, by bringing in the USA, USSR, or both. Like the Turkish massacre of Armenians, the atrocities that took place in the east - for which the German perpetrators are responsible, make no mistake - could not have happened except in the chaos of a world war in which millions were already being killed. Because its so central to our founding ideology, we speak of World War 2 as if it was the best possible outcome, or certainly the least bad outcome, but any objective look shows that it was the worst possible outcome, and that it could have been avoided if not for the warmongers - chief among them Winston Churchill. I’ll expand on this tomorrow.

If you’ve read this far, it means you like a good deep dive of exactly the kind I do on the Substack. Or you’re just a masochist. Either way, come see what all the fuss is about. subscribe.martyrmade.com

https://twitter.com/martyrmade/status/1831343055506493672