Churchill on Europe : The Untold Story of Churchill's European Project

the true story of Churchill's driving role in the postwar making of a united Europe. I believe it shows that Churchill's campaign for European unity was far more sustained, passionate and important than usually described. The book also shows, and this is key to Britain's identity, that after the war Churchill envisaged Britain leading an ever-closer union of European states. Not following, not on the edges, but leading. Churchill was not only a Briton; he was also a European. After World War II, ousted from No. 10 at the general election of July 1945 but at the height of his international fame, Churchill became a pioneer of the European ideal. 'If I were 10 years younger, ' he told his wife shortly after the war, 'I might be the first President of the United States of Europe.' In September 1946 in Zurich Churchill called upon France and Germany to enter into a partnership as the first step in building 'a kind of United States of Europe' . he was building on a long-standing commitment to Europeanism. In 1930 Churchill had first publicly advocated the creation of a United States of Europe. In his article for the Saturday Evening Post, published when the British Empire was still flourishing and before there was the demand for Union which the war created, Churchill said that Britain would stand aloof from a federal Europe: 'interested and associated, but not absorbed' . But World War II changed the global order, and Britain's priorities needed to change with it. In June 1940, a month into his tenure as wartime prime minister, Churchill proposed 'indissoluble union' to France: a single 'Franco-British Superstate' with common citizenship and joint government. The idea for Anglo-French Union, if it were not for the fatal hostility from a majority of French ministers, would have laid the foundations for the sort of European Union that Churchill came to envisage after the war. And in October 1942, in a secret minute to his foreign secretary Anthony Eden, Churchill presented his plan for a postwar 'Council of Europe' . he was at odds with both the Foreign Office "When the Nazi power was broken, I asked myself what was the best advice I could give to my fellow citizens here in this island and across the channel in our ravaged continent. There was no difficulty in answering the question. My counsel to Europe can be given in a single word: Unite!'Sir Winston Churchill in 1947 After the Second World War, with Europe in ruins, the victorious Winston Churchill swore to build a peace that would last.Together with a group of thinkers and politicians, Churchill began to build the institutions and the political will that would eventually lead to what we now know as the European Union.He believed in a united Europe, and wanted Britain to play a leading role. This book, based in part on new evidence, reveals his vision: Britain as a leading member of the European family. On the 23rd June this book asks us all to think carefully: what would Churchill have done?."-- Provided by publisher. When the Nazi power was broken, I asked myself what was the best advice I could give to my fellow citizens here in this island and across the channel in our ravaged continent. There was no difficulty in answering the question. My counsel to Europe can be given in a single word: Unite!’Sir Winston Churchill in 1947 After the Second World War, with Europe in ruins, the victorious Winston Churchill swore to build a peace that would last.Together with a group of thinkers and politicians, Churchill began to build the institutions and the political will that would eventually lead to what we now know as the European Union. He believed in a united Europe, and wanted Britain to play a leading role. This book, based in part on new evidence, reveals his vision: Britain as a leading member of the European family. On the 23rd June this book asks us all to think carefully: what would Churchill have done? Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Introduction ‘Something That Will Astonish You’: Churchill’s European Vision 19 September 1946, Zurich ‘Europe Arise!’: Churchill’s European Campaign in Britain Conclusion Notes Bibliography