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[Bell tolling]

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SIR BEN KINGSLEY: When
Winston Spencer Churchill died

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at the age of 90
on January 24, 1965,

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life stopped for a few days
in Great Britain.

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While he had been
in ill health

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and out of the public life
for many years,

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his death still came
as a shock,

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not only to the British people
but to the rest of the world.

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From the average person
in the street

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to world leaders
and the British royal family,

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it seemed as if there was
no one who was not affected

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by the passing of the man
who many considered to be

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the greatest figure
of the 20th century.

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WOMAN: I think his legacy
is his inspiration

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and the example that he set
in the most difficult time

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that his country
had ever had.

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MAN: The vital importance
of Winston Churchill was

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that he kept the flag
of freedom flying.

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I'm convinced that but
for Winston Churchill,

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it is entirely possible
that the Nazi swastika

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would to this day be flying

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over the palace of Westminster,
over Buckingham Palace,

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and over every capital city
of Europe as far east as Moscow.

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KINGSLEY: 25 years earlier,
few would have predicted

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this kind of adulation.

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May 10, 1940.

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Nazi Germany had just
invaded France, Belgium,

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Holland, Norway,
and Denmark.

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Increasing numbers
of Britons, dissatisfied

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with the way in which
Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain

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was handling the war,

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were now demanding a change
in the government,

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so Chamberlain handed
in his resignation.

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The public were calling
for Churchill, the newest

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member of the cabinet

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and the First Lord
of the Admiralty,

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to replace Chamberlain.

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But he was not
the preferred choice

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of King George VI and many

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in the majority Conservative
Party, the Tories.

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After a spirited debate
in the House of Commons,

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a reluctant decision was
made by the Tories to go

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with public sentiment.

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That evening, Churchill
was driven to Buckingham Palace

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to meet with the King.

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On the drive back
to his residence

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at the Admiralty,
Churchill was

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uncharacteristically quiet.

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His personal bodyguard,
Inspector Walter H. Thompson,

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wanting to break the silence,

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decided to
congratulate his boss

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on his appointment.

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"I only wish the position
had come your way

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in better times, for you
have an enormous task,"

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said his long-time aide.

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Churchill became
quite emotional.

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"God alone knows how
great it is," he replied.

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"I hope it is
not too late.

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"I'm very much
afraid it is.

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We can only do our best."

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The situation he
was inheriting was

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extremely bleak.

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Over 130 Nazi
divisions, backed by

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the powerful Luftwaffe
in the air, were on the assault

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throughout
Western Europe.

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More than 300,000
British and French troops

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in Northern France
and Belgium were caught

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completely off guard.

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The French army was cut
off and unable to launch

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an effective
counterattack.

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Late on May 10,
in his residence

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at the Admiralty,
Churchill reflected

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on the situation
and the events which had led

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to his becoming
Prime Minister.

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By the time he was ready
to retire for the night,

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his glum mood after
meeting with the King

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had changed.

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He wrote in his diary
"I was conscious

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"of a profound
sense of relief.

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"I felt as if I were
walking with destiny

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"and that all my
past life had been

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"but a preparation for
this hour and this trial.

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I was sure
I should not fail."

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In early 1930,
Winston Churchill was

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living in the wilderness,
both physically

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and politically.

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Thrown out of office
the year earlier with

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the rest of the Conservative
government, he was still

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a member of Parliament
but without a cabinet

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position for
the first time

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in almost 3 decades.

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He had retreated to
the beauty of Chartwell,

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his country estate in Kent,
a few hours outside London.

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WOMAN: Chartwell was
his home.

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Um, he had a house in London,
but Chartwell was

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where he felt most,
I should think, at peace.

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He did an enormous amount
of work in the grounds.

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He developed waterfalls
which went down into

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ponds, where he kept
wonderful fish,

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and there was
a swimming pool,

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and then at the very bottom,

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there was a big lake
where he had black swans,

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and--he loved any living
creature, so anything

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that he could put there,
whether it was fish or

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birds, he always had.

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My grandfather described
Chartwell as somewhere

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where "a day away
from Chartwell is

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a day wasted."

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KINGSLEY:
One of his favorite tasks

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at Chartwell
was bricklaying.

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In fact, he took such
pride in his work that he

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joined the bricklayers union.

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One day, he decided to
take on a particularly

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ambitious project,
a brick wall outside

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a cottage a local
contractor was building

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for him on the estate.

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Watching him work was his
bodyguard Walter H. Thompson.

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At noon, Churchill
left to have his lunch.

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As he was dining,
the builder took

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Inspector Thompson over
to Churchill's half-built wall,

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each layer of bricks
progressively out of line

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with the next.

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"Look at his wall,"
the builder exclaimed.

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"If he puts one more
layer of bricks on it,

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it will topple over."

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Knowing how proud
Churchill was of his

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bricklaying skills,
Thompson did not want to

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deliver the bad news.

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So the bodyguard
and the builder tore down

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the wall and rebuilt it
while Churchill

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enjoyed his lunch.

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Upon his return,
Churchill stood

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before the wall
admiring his work.

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"Look at that," he
proclaimed to Thompson.

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As straight as a die."

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Despite his isolation
at Chartwell, Churchill had

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not stopped paying
attention to world affairs,

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especially
a developing situation

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in Germany.

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MAN: In October 1930--
this is almost

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3 years before Hitler
becomes chancellor--

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Churchill went to
a dinner party

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at the German embassy
in London,

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and the counselor
of the embassy was startled

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because Churchill kept
asking him about Hitler.

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He found it so unusual
that he reported this to

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the German foreign
minister as an oddity.

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KINGSLEY: One of the reasons
why Churchill was

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paying attention
to Hitler's rising

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popularity was his
concern about the Nazi

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leader's views
and rhetoric about Jews.

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Randolph Churchill, his
father, had many close

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Jewish friends.

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After his death just
before Winston's 20th birthday,

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these same friends
looked after him,

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becoming father figures,
and when he began his

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political career
in the early 1900s,

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his first Parliamentary
seat was in Manchester,

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with a large Jewish
constituency.

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Churchill's concern about
Nazism was also shared

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by son Randolph, who in
the early 1930s was

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working as a journalist.

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MAN: My father, when he
was only 21 years old,

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his first commission as
a journalist was to go to

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Nazi Germany and report
on the German election campaign,

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and he made
friends with Hitler's

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press secretary
Putzi Hanfstaengl.

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KINGSLEY: Less than
a year later, Randolph Churchill

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accompanied his father,
his mother Clementine,

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and his sister Sarah on another

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trip to Germany,
this time to Munich.

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Churchill had signed
a contract to write a book

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about his ancestor
the Duke of Marlborough.

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Marlborough had defeated
the French in the 17th century

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in a series of battles
at Blenheim near Munich,

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and Churchill
spent several weeks doing

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research there.

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MAN: It was very fortunate
for history that Churchill,

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when he was in his early
50s, found himself

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in November 1932 in
Munich and saw the Nazi

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thugs marching in
the streets and heard their

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cries and knew that
Hitler was anti-Semitic.

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KINGSLEY: Hitler's press
secretary Hanfstaengl

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heard that Randolph was
in Munich and contacted

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him with an idea.

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Would his father be
interested in meeting

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the leader of the Nazi Party?

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GILBERT: Churchill said,
"Well, I'm happy to meet

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"him, but I'd like to
know why he's so

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against the Jews."

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KINGSLEY: The plan
was for Hitler to meet

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Churchill in the lobby
of his hotel one evening

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after dinner.

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WINSTON S. CHURCHILL:
Apparently, according to

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Hanfstaengl, Hitler
came to the glass door

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of the hotel restaurant
and looked through

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at my grandfather,

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but in the end,

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he didn't dare go through
with the meeting.

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I think Hitler maybe
just didn't have

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the self-confidence
at that particular moment to

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confront my grandfather.

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KINGSLEY: Churchill
returned to England

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and became the country's
main voice against

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Nazism, founding
the British Anti-Nazi League,

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and demanding that
the British government do

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more to help Jewish
refugees from Germany.

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He warned
in the House of Commons,

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in newspaper articles,
and in radio speeches

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about the danger
of Adolf Hitler,

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his true aims for Europe,

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and the rearming
of Germany.

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CHURCHILL: Only a few
hours away by air,

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there dwells to a nation
of nearly 70 million

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of the most educated,
industrious, scientific,

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disciplined people in
the world, who are being

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taught from childhood
to think of war as

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a glorious exercise
and death in battle as

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the noblest fate for man.

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It is but 20 years
since these neighbors

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of ours fought almost
the whole world

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and almost defeated them.

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Now they are rearming
with the utmost speed,

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and ready to their hands
is this new lamentable

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weapon of the air against
which our navy has

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no defense.

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Now, these are facts,
are grim, indisputable facts,

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and in face of these
facts, I ask again,

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what are we to do?

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KINGSLEY: Churchill's
warnings about Nazi Germany

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fell on deaf ears
throughout most

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of the 1930s.

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He was accused of being
a warmonger after sharply

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criticizing Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain

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and Foreign Minister
Lord Halifax

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for their policies which
would have given Hitler

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control of much of Europe
in exchange for friendly

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relations with
Great Britain.

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However, in May 1940,
with Europe

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at war and Great Britain
under threat by Hitler,

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Winston Churchill
was no longer a prophet

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in the wilderness.

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The British people
were demanding that

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Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain step down.

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00:14:04,326 --> 00:14:06,155
Leo Amery,
a senior member

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of the Conservative Party,
spoke for many

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when he addressed Parliament
in the House of Commons.

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He quoted former
Prime Minister Oliver Cromwell's

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famous speech
some 3 centuries earlier

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about another unpopular
and ineffectual government.

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"You have sat here
too long for any good
you may be doing.

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00:14:25,692 --> 00:14:29,109
"Depart, I say, and let
us have done with you.

253
00:14:29,178 --> 00:14:32,906
In the name of God, go."

254
00:14:32,975 --> 00:14:34,874
While the public loudly
cheered Churchill's

255
00:14:34,943 --> 00:14:36,945
appointment as
Prime Minister, many

256
00:14:37,014 --> 00:14:39,119
in the Conservative Party
were less enthusiastic

257
00:14:39,188 --> 00:14:42,433
about his elevation
to the position.

258
00:14:42,502 --> 00:14:45,539
In order to promote
peace within the party,

259
00:14:45,608 --> 00:14:47,887
Churchill decided to keep
Lord Halifax as foreign

260
00:14:47,956 --> 00:14:50,959
secretary and asked
Chamberlain to stay

261
00:14:51,028 --> 00:14:55,998
on in the cabinet as
Lord President of the Council.

262
00:14:56,067 --> 00:14:58,035
LUKACS: Churchill
and his group were still

263
00:14:58,104 --> 00:15:00,830
a minority in
the Conservative Party.

264
00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:06,975
When Churchill first
appears in Parliament

265
00:15:07,044 --> 00:15:11,427
at his inaugural speech
as Prime Minister, he's

266
00:15:11,496 --> 00:15:12,981
not very much cheered.

267
00:15:13,050 --> 00:15:14,775
Chamberlain walks in,
and he's cheered to

268
00:15:14,844 --> 00:15:16,398
high heaven.

269
00:15:16,467 --> 00:15:17,917
KINGSLEY: Churchill
did not let the tepid

270
00:15:17,986 --> 00:15:20,022
reception get in the way
of delivering a speech

271
00:15:20,091 --> 00:15:23,232
on May 13, intended to
prepare the Parliament

272
00:15:23,301 --> 00:15:27,133
and the nation for
the task ahead.

273
00:15:27,202 --> 00:15:32,103
CHURCHILL: Mr. Speaker,
on Friday evening last,

274
00:15:32,172 --> 00:15:36,004
I received His Majesty's
commission to form a new

275
00:15:36,073 --> 00:15:40,042
administration,
but it must be remembered that

276
00:15:40,111 --> 00:15:42,182
we are in
the preliminary stage of one

277
00:15:42,251 --> 00:15:45,220
of the greatest
battles in history.

278
00:15:45,289 --> 00:15:48,016
I would say to the House,
as I said to those who

279
00:15:48,085 --> 00:15:51,053
have joined
the government, I have

280
00:15:51,122 --> 00:15:54,781
nothing to offer
but blood, toil,

281
00:15:54,850 --> 00:15:57,887
tears, and sweat.

282
00:15:57,957 --> 00:16:00,545
You ask,
"What is our aim?"

283
00:16:00,614 --> 00:16:04,239
I can answer in one word--
victory, victory at all

284
00:16:04,308 --> 00:16:09,520
costs, victory in spite
of all terror, victory

285
00:16:09,589 --> 00:16:13,696
however long and hard
the road may be, for without

286
00:16:13,765 --> 00:16:15,733
victory, there
is no survival.

287
00:16:20,324 --> 00:16:22,291
KINGSLEY: The day after
Churchill's address,

288
00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:24,604
Holland fell to the Nazis,
and the French

289
00:16:24,673 --> 00:16:28,056
and Belgian armies
were in full retreat.

290
00:16:28,125 --> 00:16:31,818
The British Expeditionary
Force, some 230,000

291
00:16:31,887 --> 00:16:34,131
English soldiers,
and another 70,000

292
00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:36,788
French troops were
beginning a massive

293
00:16:36,857 --> 00:16:40,413
withdrawal to Dunkirk.

294
00:16:40,482 --> 00:16:44,969
On the evening of May 14,
French Premier Paul Reynaud

295
00:16:45,038 --> 00:16:46,557
frantically
called Churchill to

296
00:16:46,626 --> 00:16:48,214
report that more than
half the British

297
00:16:48,283 --> 00:16:51,734
air force in France had
been destroyed and that they

298
00:16:51,803 --> 00:16:56,222
were desperate
for more planes.

299
00:16:56,291 --> 00:16:58,224
Churchill decided to
fly to France to meet

300
00:16:58,293 --> 00:17:01,089
with Reynaud and view
the situation in Paris

301
00:17:01,158 --> 00:17:04,747
firsthand, but before
leaving London, he wrote

302
00:17:04,816 --> 00:17:07,198
his first letter to
President Franklin Roosevelt

303
00:17:07,267 --> 00:17:09,614
as Prime Minister.

304
00:17:09,683 --> 00:17:13,549
"I trust you realize,
Mr. President, that the voice

305
00:17:13,618 --> 00:17:15,620
"and force of
the United States may count

306
00:17:15,689 --> 00:17:20,556
"for nothing if they are
withheld for too long.

307
00:17:20,625 --> 00:17:22,938
"You may have
a completely subjugated

308
00:17:23,007 --> 00:17:25,113
"Nazified Europe
established

309
00:17:25,182 --> 00:17:27,598
"with astonishing swiftness,
and the weight

310
00:17:27,667 --> 00:17:31,395
may be more than we
can bear," he warned.

311
00:17:31,464 --> 00:17:34,122
Churchill went on to ask
Roosevelt to allow

312
00:17:34,191 --> 00:17:36,607
Great Britain to borrow as
many as 50 old American

313
00:17:36,676 --> 00:17:39,299
destroyers and purchase
new planes,

314
00:17:39,368 --> 00:17:43,855
antiaircraft weaponry,
and much need ammunition.

315
00:17:43,924 --> 00:17:46,755
FDR replied
the very next day.

316
00:17:46,824 --> 00:17:50,621
The news was not what
Churchill wanted to hear.

317
00:17:50,690 --> 00:17:53,348
FDR maintained that now
was not the time for him

318
00:17:53,417 --> 00:17:55,867
to make such a request
of the Congress or

319
00:17:55,936 --> 00:17:57,697
the American people.

320
00:17:57,766 --> 00:18:00,113
A majority of both were
opposed to involvement

321
00:18:00,182 --> 00:18:01,839
in the war in Europe.

322
00:18:03,703 --> 00:18:05,808
WOMAN: My own sense is
that FDR understood even

323
00:18:05,877 --> 00:18:08,604
from the late thirties
that something was going

324
00:18:08,673 --> 00:18:10,710
to have to be done
to contain Hitler,

325
00:18:10,779 --> 00:18:14,369
but he knew that in a democracy
he could not carry his

326
00:18:14,438 --> 00:18:16,785
country into that war
until he had shaped

327
00:18:16,854 --> 00:18:21,721
public opinion to allow
him to bring them along.

328
00:18:21,790 --> 00:18:24,172
Churchill's meeting
in Paris with Premier Reynaud

329
00:18:24,241 --> 00:18:26,243
and his war cabinet
distressed him as

330
00:18:26,312 --> 00:18:28,693
he learned about
the dire state of affairs

331
00:18:28,762 --> 00:18:29,729
for the French military

332
00:18:29,798 --> 00:18:34,596
and the British
Expeditionary Force.

333
00:18:34,665 --> 00:18:37,599
Back in London, Churchill
set out to prepare

334
00:18:37,668 --> 00:18:40,222
the nation on the situation
in France as he delivered

335
00:18:40,291 --> 00:18:44,295
his first radio address
as Prime Minister.

336
00:18:44,364 --> 00:18:46,090
CHURCHILL: A tremendous
battle is raging

337
00:18:46,159 --> 00:18:49,852
in France and Flanders.

338
00:18:49,921 --> 00:18:52,752
Our task is not only to
win the battle but to

339
00:18:52,821 --> 00:18:55,203
win the war.

340
00:18:55,272 --> 00:18:59,207
After this battle in
France abates its force,

341
00:18:59,276 --> 00:19:03,211
there will come
the battle for our Island,

342
00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,697
for all that Britain
is and all that

343
00:19:06,766 --> 00:19:08,664
Britain means.

344
00:19:08,733 --> 00:19:12,496
Centuries ago, words
were written to be a call

345
00:19:12,565 --> 00:19:15,913
and a spur
to the faithful servants

346
00:19:15,982 --> 00:19:19,848
of Truth and Justice:

347
00:19:19,917 --> 00:19:21,574
"Arm yourselves,

348
00:19:21,643 --> 00:19:25,233
"and be ye men of valor,
and be in readiness

349
00:19:25,302 --> 00:19:28,236
"for the conflict;
for it is better for us to

350
00:19:28,305 --> 00:19:31,377
"perish in battle than to
look upon the outrage

351
00:19:31,446 --> 00:19:36,244
of our nation
and our altar."

352
00:19:36,313 --> 00:19:38,246
KINGSLEY: Churchill's
message managed to

353
00:19:38,315 --> 00:19:40,282
inspire the British
people, as well as bring

354
00:19:40,351 --> 00:19:42,595
down the national
stress level.

355
00:19:42,664 --> 00:19:46,323
The polling organization
Mass-Observation reported

356
00:19:46,392 --> 00:19:50,465
on May 20, "Tension
is slightly relieved today,

357
00:19:50,534 --> 00:19:52,398
"slightly less gloom.

358
00:19:52,467 --> 00:19:55,366
"A feeling of grave
seriousness remains,

359
00:19:55,435 --> 00:19:59,059
"if anything, emphasized by
Churchill's broadcast.

360
00:19:59,128 --> 00:20:00,958
"General feeling is
that we shall pull

361
00:20:01,027 --> 00:20:05,204
through, just."

362
00:20:05,273 --> 00:20:07,447
Less inspired by
Churchill's message was

363
00:20:07,516 --> 00:20:12,659
United States ambassador
to England Joseph P. Kennedy.

364
00:20:12,728 --> 00:20:15,352
The ambassador had long
opposed any American

365
00:20:15,421 --> 00:20:17,285
involvement
in the war in Europe.

366
00:20:17,354 --> 00:20:19,287
He believed the greatest
danger to the world was

367
00:20:19,356 --> 00:20:21,599
the Soviet Union
and communism.

368
00:20:21,668 --> 00:20:23,946
Before the war, he'd
written privately

369
00:20:24,015 --> 00:20:26,846
about "Jewish propaganda"
threatening peaceful

370
00:20:26,915 --> 00:20:31,195
relations between Germany
and Great Britain.

371
00:20:31,264 --> 00:20:33,335
He now wrote to FDR,
maintaining that

372
00:20:33,404 --> 00:20:35,510
Great Britain's chances
of winning the war against

373
00:20:35,579 --> 00:20:38,444
Germany were "impossible."

374
00:20:38,513 --> 00:20:42,448
GILBERT: Joseph Kennedy
was urging Roosevelt not

375
00:20:42,517 --> 00:20:44,312
to help Britain because
Britain was finished,

376
00:20:44,381 --> 00:20:46,314
Britain was doomed,
Britain would be defeated,

377
00:20:46,383 --> 00:20:48,764
and therefore,
why waste good armaments,

378
00:20:48,833 --> 00:20:50,559
good destroyers.

379
00:20:54,908 --> 00:20:56,565
KINGSLEY: The news from
France continued to get

380
00:20:56,634 --> 00:20:58,981
worse as reports came in
about British and French

381
00:20:59,050 --> 00:21:02,019
troops retreating in
ever increasing numbers

382
00:21:02,088 --> 00:21:05,367
towards Dunkirk.

383
00:21:05,436 --> 00:21:07,127
The Germans were now
in the position

384
00:21:07,196 --> 00:21:08,681
of annihilating
the retreating

385
00:21:08,750 --> 00:21:11,304
British Expeditionary Forces.

386
00:21:11,373 --> 00:21:13,789
For all intents and purposes,
that would have

387
00:21:13,858 --> 00:21:17,345
meant the end
of the British army.

388
00:21:17,414 --> 00:21:19,968
The 230,000
troops stationed there

389
00:21:20,037 --> 00:21:22,936
represented almost 70%
of the country's entire

390
00:21:23,005 --> 00:21:26,492
armed forces.

391
00:21:26,561 --> 00:21:29,357
On May 24, Adolf Hitler
boarded a plane and flew

392
00:21:29,426 --> 00:21:30,703
from his German
headquarters to

393
00:21:30,772 --> 00:21:35,363
Charleville, France, to
meet with his commanders.

394
00:21:35,432 --> 00:21:37,537
He reviewed the situation
with his top general

395
00:21:37,606 --> 00:21:41,369
Karl von Rundstedt
and decided to call a halt to

396
00:21:41,438 --> 00:21:44,855
the German advance.

397
00:21:44,924 --> 00:21:48,168
The chief of the German
army general staff

398
00:21:48,237 --> 00:21:51,102
Franz Halder was both mystified
and angered by Hitler's

399
00:21:51,171 --> 00:21:54,520
decision, writing in his
diary, "These orders from

400
00:21:54,589 --> 00:21:56,970
"the top just
make no sense.

401
00:21:57,039 --> 00:22:01,112
The tanks are stopped as
if they were paralyzed."

402
00:22:01,181 --> 00:22:04,806
LUKACS: The interesting
thing is why Hitler was

403
00:22:04,875 --> 00:22:10,121
somewhat reluctant to go
into Dunkirk immediately.

404
00:22:10,190 --> 00:22:12,745
Hitler was too cautious.

405
00:22:12,814 --> 00:22:15,334
He said, "Listen.
We have advanced too far.

406
00:22:15,403 --> 00:22:18,302
"The tanks and the Panzers
are worn out.

407
00:22:18,371 --> 00:22:20,408
Let's just stop
for a while."

408
00:22:20,477 --> 00:22:21,995
But there was
another thing.

409
00:22:22,064 --> 00:22:25,482
He let himself to be
convinced by Goering that

410
00:22:25,551 --> 00:22:29,693
the Luftwaffe can do
the job in Dunkirk.

411
00:22:29,762 --> 00:22:31,073
KINGSLEY: The day after
the halt order was

412
00:22:31,142 --> 00:22:34,905
issued, the head of
the SS Heinrich Himmler

413
00:22:34,974 --> 00:22:37,356
arrived in France for
confidential meetings

414
00:22:37,425 --> 00:22:38,978
with Hitler.

415
00:22:39,047 --> 00:22:41,325
The high-ranking
Nazi official brought

416
00:22:41,394 --> 00:22:43,223
a memorandum
with him entitled,

417
00:22:43,292 --> 00:22:47,676
"Reflections on the Treatment
of Alien Races in the East."

418
00:22:47,745 --> 00:22:49,437
Among other things,
the document outlined

419
00:22:49,506 --> 00:22:52,681
Himmler's hope that
the non-Aryan population

420
00:22:52,750 --> 00:22:55,546
"will furnish Germany
annually with migrant

421
00:22:55,615 --> 00:22:57,859
workers for special
tasks" and that

422
00:22:57,928 --> 00:23:02,726
"the concepts of Jews will
be completely extinguished."

423
00:23:02,795 --> 00:23:05,314
Hitler reviewed the memo
and told Himmler that he

424
00:23:05,384 --> 00:23:08,904
found it "very
good and correct."

425
00:23:08,973 --> 00:23:11,459
At the same time,
the Fuehrer also demanded that

426
00:23:11,528 --> 00:23:13,875
it be kept top-secret.

427
00:23:13,944 --> 00:23:16,567
Just a few miles outside
of Dunkirk on the verge

428
00:23:16,636 --> 00:23:18,604
of one of the greatest
military victories

429
00:23:18,673 --> 00:23:22,608
in recorded history,
foremost in Hitler's mind

430
00:23:22,677 --> 00:23:24,955
was that which would
become known as

431
00:23:25,024 --> 00:23:26,681
the Final Solution.

432
00:23:30,823 --> 00:23:33,446
The very next day,
Adolf Hitler lifted the halt

433
00:23:33,515 --> 00:23:38,209
order he had issued some
48 hours previously.

434
00:23:38,278 --> 00:23:41,696
The advance of the German army
was in motion once again.

435
00:23:52,879 --> 00:23:55,675
As this was occurring,
an argument began taking

436
00:23:55,744 --> 00:23:57,608
place in the conference
room at number 10

437
00:23:57,677 --> 00:23:59,817
Downing Street.

438
00:23:59,886 --> 00:24:02,199
WINSTON S. CHURCHILL:
Even though to the world

439
00:24:02,268 --> 00:24:07,307
Churchill was now in
the driving seat, in reality

440
00:24:07,376 --> 00:24:09,931
behind closed doors
within the British

441
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,934
cabinet, there was
a battle royal going on.

442
00:24:13,003 --> 00:24:16,972
It was on a knife edge
whether the cabinet would

443
00:24:17,041 --> 00:24:22,737
back Winston Churchill
in refusing to engage

444
00:24:22,806 --> 00:24:26,637
in negotiations, because
Halifax was saying,

445
00:24:26,706 --> 00:24:32,022
"Let's engage Herr Hitler
to see what terms he

446
00:24:32,091 --> 00:24:33,748
might offer."

447
00:24:33,817 --> 00:24:35,439
KINGSLEY: Halifax was
not the only one who held

448
00:24:35,508 --> 00:24:37,406
such views.

449
00:24:37,476 --> 00:24:41,514
There were people
involved at a very high

450
00:24:41,583 --> 00:24:44,310
level within the British
government saying,

451
00:24:44,379 --> 00:24:47,347
"Do not imagine that all of
us want war with Germany.

452
00:24:47,416 --> 00:24:51,490
"There are many of us who
would accept an honorable

453
00:24:51,559 --> 00:24:54,631
negotiated settlement."
And my grandfather saw

454
00:24:54,700 --> 00:24:58,151
that as the slippery slope,
and he realized

455
00:24:58,220 --> 00:25:03,812
that if one once embarked
on that course of action,

456
00:25:03,881 --> 00:25:06,505
there would be no
holding point,

457
00:25:06,574 --> 00:25:09,508
and the game would be lost.

458
00:25:11,199 --> 00:25:12,580
KINGSLEY: Churchill
realized that if he was

459
00:25:12,649 --> 00:25:15,030
going to win this
argument in the cabinet,

460
00:25:15,099 --> 00:25:17,101
he was going to need
the support

461
00:25:17,170 --> 00:25:19,587
of Neville Chamberlain.

462
00:25:19,656 --> 00:25:22,555
Almost immediately upon
becoming Prime Minister,

463
00:25:22,624 --> 00:25:24,764
he began to cultivate
favor with Chamberlain,

464
00:25:24,833 --> 00:25:27,871
formerly his most
bitter rival.

465
00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:30,080
Knowing how much
Mrs. Chamberlain enjoyed

466
00:25:30,149 --> 00:25:32,531
living at number 10,
he told the former

467
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,291
Prime Minister that they
need not move out

468
00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:37,777
of the residence there.
And just before his trip

469
00:25:37,846 --> 00:25:40,746
to Paris, Churchill took
him aside and asked him

470
00:25:40,815 --> 00:25:45,095
to "mind the store."

471
00:25:45,164 --> 00:25:47,580
None of this was lost
on Chamberlain, who after

472
00:25:47,649 --> 00:25:50,031
having been betrayed
by Hitler was no longer

473
00:25:50,100 --> 00:25:52,412
a believer
in the appeasement philosophy

474
00:25:52,481 --> 00:25:54,622
he once backed.

475
00:25:54,691 --> 00:25:56,727
During one particularly
heated argument between

476
00:25:56,796 --> 00:25:59,661
Churchill and Halifax,
the Prime Minister

477
00:25:59,730 --> 00:26:02,871
suddenly cut the debate
short, explaining that he

478
00:26:02,940 --> 00:26:07,669
had a prior
engagement at Parliament.

479
00:26:07,738 --> 00:26:08,981
GILBERT: Although he'd
been Prime Minister

480
00:26:09,050 --> 00:26:11,293
for 3 weeks, he'd not
yet met the majority

481
00:26:11,362 --> 00:26:14,434
of the junior members
of his administration

482
00:26:14,503 --> 00:26:16,609
because the pressure
of war being so,

483
00:26:16,678 --> 00:26:17,783
and he said, "I have to go.

484
00:26:17,852 --> 00:26:19,681
"It's just next.

485
00:26:19,750 --> 00:26:21,821
I have to speak to them."

486
00:26:21,890 --> 00:26:23,996
So he left the room,
and in the course of speaking

487
00:26:24,065 --> 00:26:27,758
to them, he said, "I'm
one of those who thinks

488
00:26:27,827 --> 00:26:30,658
we should fight
on to the end."

489
00:26:30,727 --> 00:26:32,660
KINGSLEY: The Prime Minister
told the outer

490
00:26:32,729 --> 00:26:35,352
cabinet that making peace
at this moment would not

491
00:26:35,421 --> 00:26:39,667
get Britain better terms
as some were claiming.

492
00:26:39,736 --> 00:26:41,323
"The Germans would
demand our fleet," he

493
00:26:41,392 --> 00:26:45,673
maintained, "our naval
bases, and much else."

494
00:26:45,742 --> 00:26:49,124
"We shall become
a slave state," he added.

495
00:26:49,193 --> 00:26:52,783
"Where would we be at the
end of all that?" he asked.

496
00:26:52,852 --> 00:26:54,716
The Prime Minister argued
that Britain still had

497
00:26:54,785 --> 00:26:57,305
tremendous reserves
and advantages.

498
00:26:57,374 --> 00:26:59,272
Because of that,
he insisted, "We shall go

499
00:26:59,341 --> 00:27:02,586
"on and fight it out here
or elsewhere,

500
00:27:02,655 --> 00:27:05,485
"and if at long last
the story is to end,

501
00:27:05,554 --> 00:27:09,179
"it were better it should
end not through surrender

502
00:27:09,248 --> 00:27:13,562
but only when we are rolling
senseless on the ground."

503
00:27:13,632 --> 00:27:14,874
GILBERT: When he
said that, to his

504
00:27:14,943 --> 00:27:19,776
astonishment, these
40 or 50 junior members

505
00:27:19,845 --> 00:27:23,365
of his administration,
they stood up

506
00:27:23,434 --> 00:27:26,092
and they crowded round him,
and they cheered him to

507
00:27:26,161 --> 00:27:29,820
the rafters, and he was
completely overwhelmed.

508
00:27:29,889 --> 00:27:32,651
He returned to
the meeting of ministers,

509
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:36,206
told them of this
demonstration, and said,

510
00:27:36,275 --> 00:27:39,727
"So I think, gentlemen,
we do have to fight on,"

511
00:27:39,796 --> 00:27:42,005
and Neville Chamberlain
quick as a flash said,

512
00:27:42,074 --> 00:27:46,872
"Yes, I agree," which
isolated Halifax.

513
00:27:46,941 --> 00:27:48,218
KINGSLEY: The debate
about whether to seek

514
00:27:48,287 --> 00:27:53,050
terms with Hitler was
now a thing of the past.

515
00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:56,571
Churchill had convinced
the government to fight on,

516
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,332
but it needed
an army to do that.

517
00:27:59,401 --> 00:28:02,404
The only way to ensure
the battle could continue

518
00:28:02,473 --> 00:28:06,167
would be to evacuate
the British Expeditionary Force

519
00:28:06,236 --> 00:28:08,894
to Great Britain.

520
00:28:08,963 --> 00:28:11,759
Bracing for the worst,
the Prime Minister told

521
00:28:11,828 --> 00:28:14,140
Parliament "We must
prepare ourselves

522
00:28:14,209 --> 00:28:17,765
"for hard
and heavy tidings.

523
00:28:17,834 --> 00:28:20,077
"Nothing in this battle
can happen that can

524
00:28:20,146 --> 00:28:23,460
"relieve us of our duty to
defend the world cause,

525
00:28:23,529 --> 00:28:25,876
"nor can it destroy our
confidence in our power

526
00:28:25,945 --> 00:28:29,121
"to make our way through
disaster and grief to

527
00:28:29,190 --> 00:28:33,850
the ultimate defeat
of our enemy."

528
00:28:33,919 --> 00:28:36,542
Churchill now focused his
attention on what would

529
00:28:36,611 --> 00:28:39,407
become a rescue
unprecedented

530
00:28:39,476 --> 00:28:41,167
in military history.

531
00:28:51,384 --> 00:28:53,801
The plight of the British
Expeditionary Force was

532
00:28:53,870 --> 00:28:56,665
no longer a subject about
which Americans were

533
00:28:56,735 --> 00:28:59,289
remaining neutral.

534
00:28:59,358 --> 00:29:02,810
A year earlier, most
Americans had been

535
00:29:02,879 --> 00:29:06,745
opposed to any involvement
in the war in Europe.

536
00:29:06,814 --> 00:29:09,264
Now public opinion
was shifting away

537
00:29:09,333 --> 00:29:11,922
from isolationism.

538
00:29:11,991 --> 00:29:15,063
Republican Party leaders
meeting in the Midwest

539
00:29:15,132 --> 00:29:17,859
privately expressed their
concerns that sympathy

540
00:29:17,928 --> 00:29:20,931
for the Allied cause was
growing and that this

541
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:22,484
could benefit
the Democrats

542
00:29:22,553 --> 00:29:25,246
in the 1940 elections.

543
00:29:25,315 --> 00:29:28,594
At the 1940 World's Fair
in New York City,

544
00:29:28,663 --> 00:29:30,009
a sign was put up
at the popular

545
00:29:30,078 --> 00:29:31,839
McGinnis Restaurant.

546
00:29:31,908 --> 00:29:34,703
It requested that patrons
refrain from discussing

547
00:29:34,773 --> 00:29:36,498
the war at the bar.

548
00:29:36,567 --> 00:29:38,846
Bartenders were expected
to enforce the rule by

549
00:29:38,915 --> 00:29:41,710
management because loud
disagreements among

550
00:29:41,780 --> 00:29:45,887
patrons were disturbing
the atmosphere.

551
00:29:45,956 --> 00:29:48,027
The change in sympathies
were also being reported

552
00:29:48,096 --> 00:29:51,030
by the nation's press.

553
00:29:51,099 --> 00:29:53,412
In the pages of
the nation's most respected

554
00:29:53,481 --> 00:29:56,277
daily came the following
observation: "What some

555
00:29:56,346 --> 00:29:59,383
"men had feared for many
months now was occurring

556
00:29:59,452 --> 00:30:01,558
"to the whole population.

557
00:30:01,627 --> 00:30:04,112
"Germany might win,
the British fleet might be

558
00:30:04,181 --> 00:30:06,943
"swept from the seas,
an enemy might appear

559
00:30:07,012 --> 00:30:09,324
on this side of
the Atlantic."

560
00:30:09,393 --> 00:30:11,257
And the country's
most influential

561
00:30:11,326 --> 00:30:14,674
syndicated columnist
Walter Lippmann noted,

562
00:30:14,743 --> 00:30:17,574
"The rest of the world would
do well to recognize what is

563
00:30:17,643 --> 00:30:19,887
"happening
in the United States.

564
00:30:19,956 --> 00:30:22,303
"The American public
is changing its

565
00:30:22,372 --> 00:30:23,891
mind profoundly."

566
00:30:29,275 --> 00:30:30,967
KINGSLEY: Sunday, May 26, was

567
00:30:31,036 --> 00:30:33,901
the National Day
of Prayer in England.

568
00:30:33,970 --> 00:30:35,454
That morning, an
order was issued

569
00:30:35,523 --> 00:30:38,560
from the Admiralty to
initiate the evacuation

570
00:30:38,629 --> 00:30:44,118
of the British Expeditionary
Force from Dunkirk.

571
00:30:44,187 --> 00:30:46,948
As early as
the 14th of May, the BBC

572
00:30:47,017 --> 00:30:49,157
had broadcast
an announcement to the owners

573
00:30:49,226 --> 00:30:51,815
of self-propelled
pleasure craft

574
00:30:51,884 --> 00:30:53,610
between 30 and 100 feet long

575
00:30:53,679 --> 00:30:59,340
to contact to Admiralty to
add to its roster of ships.

576
00:30:59,409 --> 00:31:03,275
A flotilla of boats
now began to converge
upon Dover.

577
00:31:03,344 --> 00:31:05,933
This rag-tag collection
of vessels would soon be

578
00:31:06,002 --> 00:31:09,143
making a 22-mile voyage
across the English Channel

579
00:31:09,212 --> 00:31:12,284
to Dunkirk for a maritime
rescue mission

580
00:31:12,353 --> 00:31:14,596
that had never
before been attempted.

581
00:31:20,844 --> 00:31:22,950
MAN: It was
an extraordinary sight.

582
00:31:23,019 --> 00:31:25,849
All manner of small
and medium craft appeared.

583
00:31:25,918 --> 00:31:28,265
Some had never been in
the open sea before.

584
00:31:28,334 --> 00:31:30,336
They were manned
by volunteers.

585
00:31:30,405 --> 00:31:32,269
Most were experienced
sailors, but many were

586
00:31:32,338 --> 00:31:33,892
fledglings who
knew nothing

587
00:31:33,961 --> 00:31:38,206
about maritime hazards.

588
00:31:38,275 --> 00:31:40,864
KINGSLEY: Because
of the shortage of personnel,

589
00:31:40,933 --> 00:31:42,383
many of the men were
asked to volunteer

590
00:31:42,452 --> 00:31:46,042
for a month's duty
in the Royal Navy.

591
00:31:46,111 --> 00:31:47,975
Many had little or no
idea what they were

592
00:31:48,044 --> 00:31:51,081
getting themselves into.

593
00:31:51,150 --> 00:31:52,980
MAN AS OSBORNE:
It was then we were told

594
00:31:53,049 --> 00:31:55,810
in lurid detail
of the stunt at hand.

595
00:31:55,879 --> 00:31:58,157
A cold, hard lump
formed in my stomach.

596
00:31:58,226 --> 00:32:01,126
My tummy felt as if it
had dropped to my knees.

597
00:32:01,195 --> 00:32:02,851
I had not even told my
wife and kiddies that

598
00:32:02,921 --> 00:32:04,750
I had left London,
let alone joined up

599
00:32:04,819 --> 00:32:06,407
with the navy.

600
00:32:08,961 --> 00:32:10,929
KINGSLEY: There was
the 59-foot motor launch

601
00:32:10,998 --> 00:32:13,966
piloted by a former
officer on the Titanic,

602
00:32:14,035 --> 00:32:17,245
his teenage son,
and a Sea Scout.

603
00:32:17,314 --> 00:32:19,799
The smallest craft in
the rescue fleet was

604
00:32:19,868 --> 00:32:24,183
the Tamzine, a 17-foot
fishing boat.

605
00:32:24,252 --> 00:32:26,841
The scene at Dunkirk that
awaited the flotilla was

606
00:32:26,910 --> 00:32:29,154
a desperate one.

607
00:32:29,223 --> 00:32:31,397
[Explosions, gunfire]

608
00:32:38,853 --> 00:32:40,061
MAN: The overhead
bombardment

609
00:32:40,130 --> 00:32:43,064
was terrifying.

610
00:32:43,133 --> 00:32:45,964
I can't describe
the fear I felt as the planes

611
00:32:46,033 --> 00:32:49,415
and gunfire got
closer to me.

612
00:32:49,484 --> 00:32:51,555
Men were lined up
on the beach, waiting

613
00:32:51,624 --> 00:32:54,524
for the boats to come to
ferry them to the ships

614
00:32:54,593 --> 00:32:57,182
waiting in deeper water.

615
00:32:57,251 --> 00:33:00,461
They were sitting
targets.

616
00:33:00,530 --> 00:33:03,119
KINGSLEY: As
the situation worsened, many

617
00:33:03,188 --> 00:33:04,741
soldiers tried swimming
out to the boats

618
00:33:04,810 --> 00:33:08,055
in the Channel.

619
00:33:08,124 --> 00:33:09,953
MAN AS LOWE: It must have
been a mile offshore,

620
00:33:10,022 --> 00:33:12,852
and I swam hard through
discarded equipment

621
00:33:12,921 --> 00:33:15,994
and bodies.

622
00:33:16,063 --> 00:33:17,685
I was exhausted
when I was hauled up

623
00:33:17,754 --> 00:33:19,238
onto the deck.

624
00:33:26,176 --> 00:33:28,937
KINGSLEY: However, being
rescued from Dunkirk did

625
00:33:29,007 --> 00:33:31,388
not ensure
returning home safe.

626
00:33:38,430 --> 00:33:40,708
Many of the ships were
bombed from the air

627
00:33:40,777 --> 00:33:44,091
or sunk by torpedoes.

628
00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,127
One soldier whose ship
had taken a torpedo hit

629
00:33:46,196 --> 00:33:49,406
said, "The disaster was
still trying to penetrate

630
00:33:49,475 --> 00:33:52,409
"the outer layer
of my brain.

631
00:33:52,478 --> 00:33:54,101
"I remember similar
situations

632
00:33:54,170 --> 00:33:56,034
"in American films.

633
00:33:56,103 --> 00:33:59,140
Gary Cooper always
finds a way out."

634
00:34:13,672 --> 00:34:18,021
There were stories
of quiet heroism.

635
00:34:18,090 --> 00:34:19,471
MAN: A boatload
of wounded came

636
00:34:19,540 --> 00:34:21,059
into our ship.

637
00:34:21,128 --> 00:34:22,681
One asked our lieutenant
if he could be brought

638
00:34:22,750 --> 00:34:25,132
back ashore so he could
look after his wounded

639
00:34:25,201 --> 00:34:27,030
comrades there.

640
00:34:27,099 --> 00:34:29,239
Our lieutenant said
it wasn't possible.

641
00:34:29,308 --> 00:34:33,071
Our boat needed to sail
to Dover immediately.

642
00:34:33,140 --> 00:34:36,281
The soldier pleaded
but to no avail.

643
00:34:36,350 --> 00:34:38,938
Then we heard
an approaching motorboat.

644
00:34:39,007 --> 00:34:40,768
The man hailed it
and jumped into it

645
00:34:40,837 --> 00:34:42,218
from our ship.

646
00:34:42,287 --> 00:34:44,910
As he went, I could see
the intense fighting

647
00:34:44,979 --> 00:34:47,154
on the beach
in the distance,

648
00:34:47,223 --> 00:34:48,983
and I knew I wouldn't
have had the courage

649
00:34:49,052 --> 00:34:51,365
to do what he did
that night.

650
00:34:53,608 --> 00:34:55,300
KINGSLEY: A few
kilometers outside

651
00:34:55,369 --> 00:34:57,302
of Dunkirk, directing
the attacking against

652
00:34:57,371 --> 00:34:59,373
the evacuating British forces,

653
00:34:59,442 --> 00:35:02,824
was General Franz Halder,
the chief of the German army

654
00:35:02,893 --> 00:35:06,518
general staff.

655
00:35:06,587 --> 00:35:09,176
Halder, who had strongly
opposed Hitler's halt

656
00:35:09,245 --> 00:35:12,558
order a few days before,
could not contain his

657
00:35:12,627 --> 00:35:14,560
anger about the fact
that the British

658
00:35:14,629 --> 00:35:17,115
were escaping.

659
00:35:17,184 --> 00:35:19,841
He wrote in his diary,
"The pocket would have

660
00:35:19,910 --> 00:35:23,190
"been closed at the coast
if only our armor had not

661
00:35:23,259 --> 00:35:24,984
"been held back.

662
00:35:25,053 --> 00:35:27,780
"Now we must stand by
and watch countless thousands

663
00:35:27,849 --> 00:35:32,889
of the enemy get away to
England under our noses."

664
00:35:43,417 --> 00:35:45,246
As the boats pulled
away from the coastline

665
00:35:45,315 --> 00:35:48,146
of France, among those
rescued were tens

666
00:35:48,215 --> 00:35:51,079
of thousands of French
soldiers, fighting

667
00:35:51,149 --> 00:35:54,221
with the British
Expeditionary Force.

668
00:35:54,290 --> 00:35:57,258
Many had tears streaming
down their faces,

669
00:35:57,327 --> 00:36:02,574
wondering if they would
ever see home again.

670
00:36:02,643 --> 00:36:06,233
For the almost
250,000 English soldiers,

671
00:36:06,302 --> 00:36:08,718
the escape was
much less melancholy.

672
00:36:08,787 --> 00:36:11,030
Recalled one,
the sweetest words he ever

673
00:36:11,099 --> 00:36:14,137
heard were
"Wakey wakey, lads.

674
00:36:14,206 --> 00:36:17,209
You're at Dover."

675
00:36:17,278 --> 00:36:20,316
Until the masses
of troops started arriving home,

676
00:36:20,385 --> 00:36:22,559
the British people
had been kept in the dark

677
00:36:22,628 --> 00:36:25,355
about the evacuation
for security purposes.

678
00:36:25,424 --> 00:36:27,254
Newspapers were now
filled with emotional

679
00:36:27,323 --> 00:36:30,326
stories of
the returning troops.

680
00:36:30,395 --> 00:36:32,776
The "Manchester Guardian"
noted "One watched them

681
00:36:32,845 --> 00:36:35,814
"with a pride that
became almost pain as one

682
00:36:35,883 --> 00:36:40,198
cheerful, patient figure
succeeded another."

683
00:36:40,267 --> 00:36:41,751
A reporter from
the "Daily Express"

684
00:36:41,820 --> 00:36:44,098
exclaimed, "It is
the greatest sight

685
00:36:44,167 --> 00:36:45,479
"I've ever seen!

686
00:36:45,548 --> 00:36:48,378
"The men came ashore in
heaps, barely able to

687
00:36:48,447 --> 00:36:51,278
"stand, yet they pulled
themselves in straight

688
00:36:51,347 --> 00:36:55,213
lines and walked to
the harbor gates."

689
00:36:55,282 --> 00:36:56,938
The public welcomed
the soldiers

690
00:36:57,007 --> 00:36:59,665
home enthusiastically.

691
00:36:59,734 --> 00:37:02,358
Crowds awaited them
with signs proclaiming,

692
00:37:02,427 --> 00:37:05,913
"Well done, BEF,"
and "Thumbs-up!"

693
00:37:08,985 --> 00:37:11,574
The Women's Voluntary
Services, which had been

694
00:37:11,643 --> 00:37:15,267
formed in 1938 to
assist in civil defense,

695
00:37:15,336 --> 00:37:17,338
worked around the clock
to provide sandwiches

696
00:37:17,407 --> 00:37:19,375
and tea for the returnees
as they arrived

697
00:37:19,444 --> 00:37:21,480
at the railway stations.

698
00:37:27,383 --> 00:37:29,592
But not everyone
was as welcoming.

699
00:37:29,661 --> 00:37:31,939
One civil servant who'd
taken the day off

700
00:37:32,008 --> 00:37:34,631
at the weekend was questioned
by his boss, a government

701
00:37:34,700 --> 00:37:36,840
official, about
the suntan he'd

702
00:37:36,909 --> 00:37:38,497
returned with.

703
00:37:38,566 --> 00:37:41,293
Had he been sunbathing in
Hyde Park, the suspicious

704
00:37:41,362 --> 00:37:43,122
official wanted to know.

705
00:37:43,191 --> 00:37:44,641
"No, sir,"
the man answered.

706
00:37:44,710 --> 00:37:47,161
"I've been with my small
sailing boat to rescue

707
00:37:47,230 --> 00:37:50,854
survivors from
the beaches near Dunkirk."

708
00:37:50,923 --> 00:37:53,029
And then there was
the Marquess of Reading,

709
00:37:53,098 --> 00:37:55,687
the commanding officer of
one particular unit that

710
00:37:55,756 --> 00:37:58,414
fought heroically
on the beaches.

711
00:37:58,483 --> 00:38:01,175
He ordered his troops to
line up for inspection as

712
00:38:01,244 --> 00:38:03,108
they arrived at
the train station.

713
00:38:03,177 --> 00:38:05,766
As he looked them over,
he sneered, "Never in all

714
00:38:05,835 --> 00:38:08,562
"my army career have
I seen such a display

715
00:38:08,631 --> 00:38:11,875
"of filth and dirt,
an absolute disgrace to

716
00:38:11,944 --> 00:38:15,051
the men wearing
His Majesty's uniform."

717
00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:17,536
One of the soldiers his
lordship was dressing

718
00:38:17,605 --> 00:38:20,436
down was Fred Pelican,
a Jewish immigrant from

719
00:38:20,505 --> 00:38:22,507
Breslau, Germany,
who had joined

720
00:38:22,576 --> 00:38:25,441
the British Expeditionary Force
almost immediately upon

721
00:38:25,510 --> 00:38:27,891
his arrival in England.

722
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:29,928
Just two years
previously, he'd been

723
00:38:29,997 --> 00:38:33,138
an inmate at the Dachau
concentration camp, where

724
00:38:33,207 --> 00:38:34,933
he was tortured.

725
00:38:35,002 --> 00:38:37,936
Miraculously, he'd been
released when his mother

726
00:38:38,005 --> 00:38:40,732
managed to secure
an immigration visa for him,

727
00:38:40,801 --> 00:38:44,736
which brought him
to Great Britain.

728
00:38:44,805 --> 00:38:49,154
Stanley Mewis was
another of the returnees.

729
00:38:49,223 --> 00:38:50,949
He was one of less
than 70 survivors

730
00:38:51,018 --> 00:38:54,193
of the torpedo attack on
the HMS Wakeful in which

731
00:38:54,262 --> 00:38:57,404
almost 700 soldiers
were killed.

732
00:38:57,473 --> 00:38:59,406
Unbeknownst to Mewis,
his mother had received

733
00:38:59,475 --> 00:39:01,546
a telegram saying
he was missing

734
00:39:01,615 --> 00:39:03,893
and presumed killed.

735
00:39:03,962 --> 00:39:05,515
MAN AS MEWIS:
My mother was overwhelmed.

736
00:39:05,584 --> 00:39:07,414
I didn't tell her
I was coming.

737
00:39:07,483 --> 00:39:09,657
I just turned up,
and she was very shocked.

738
00:39:09,726 --> 00:39:12,453
It was a few weeks after
this that I got married.

739
00:39:12,522 --> 00:39:14,766
The vicar wanted me
to get married in my uniform,

740
00:39:14,835 --> 00:39:16,423
but it was
covered in black oil

741
00:39:16,492 --> 00:39:17,769
and was filthy.

742
00:39:17,838 --> 00:39:21,600
I certainly couldn't
get married like that.

743
00:39:21,669 --> 00:39:24,431
KINGSLEY: The rescue of
the British Expeditionary Force

744
00:39:24,500 --> 00:39:26,364
seemed to unify
the nation and give it

745
00:39:26,433 --> 00:39:29,332
a much needed
psychological boost.

746
00:39:29,401 --> 00:39:31,610
Harold Nicolson,
who as a junior member

747
00:39:31,679 --> 00:39:33,854
of the Churchill
government, had urged his

748
00:39:33,923 --> 00:39:38,445
wife, the famed writer
Vita Sackville-West, to

749
00:39:38,514 --> 00:39:41,931
prepare a suicide pill
only days before,

750
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:45,797
convinced that
the Germans would defeat them.

751
00:39:45,866 --> 00:39:48,386
Now he wrote to her,
"My darling,

752
00:39:48,455 --> 00:39:50,629
"how infectious courage is.

753
00:39:50,698 --> 00:39:52,562
"I am rendered far
stronger in heart

754
00:39:52,631 --> 00:39:56,566
and confidence
by such bravery."

755
00:39:56,635 --> 00:39:59,880
Nellie Last, a Lancashire
housewife, jotted in her

756
00:39:59,949 --> 00:40:03,297
diary, "I forgot I was
a middle-aged woman who

757
00:40:03,366 --> 00:40:05,955
"woke up tired
and often had a backache.

758
00:40:06,024 --> 00:40:08,336
"The story made me feel
a part of something that

759
00:40:08,406 --> 00:40:11,409
was undying
and never old."

760
00:40:14,032 --> 00:40:15,792
And in a small apartment
in Hampstead

761
00:40:15,861 --> 00:40:19,796
in North London,
David Ben-Gurion,

762
00:40:19,865 --> 00:40:22,972
who would become Israel's
first Prime Minister,

763
00:40:23,041 --> 00:40:24,076
was listening closely to

764
00:40:24,145 --> 00:40:27,010
radio reports about
the Dunkirk rescue.

765
00:40:27,079 --> 00:40:29,012
Ben-Gurion had come
to England to consult

766
00:40:29,081 --> 00:40:32,706
with Zionist Organization
President Chaim Weizmann,

767
00:40:32,775 --> 00:40:34,915
who was based in London.

768
00:40:34,984 --> 00:40:37,814
In a letter to his
wife Paula in Tel Aviv,

769
00:40:37,883 --> 00:40:40,438
he marveled at Britain's
perseverance in fighting

770
00:40:40,507 --> 00:40:42,612
until victory even
when it remained alone

771
00:40:42,681 --> 00:40:44,511
in the struggle.

772
00:40:44,580 --> 00:40:47,030
"As it happens," he
wrote, "I was called here

773
00:40:47,099 --> 00:40:49,895
"during days that will
not quickly be forgotten

774
00:40:49,964 --> 00:40:52,173
by history."

775
00:40:57,627 --> 00:41:00,837
In the end, over 860
ships belonging to

776
00:41:00,906 --> 00:41:03,530
the Royal Navy
or civilians participated

777
00:41:03,599 --> 00:41:05,393
in the rescue.

778
00:41:05,463 --> 00:41:10,019
More than
240 were sunk.

779
00:41:10,088 --> 00:41:12,642
Over 300,000 allied
troops were brought out

780
00:41:12,711 --> 00:41:17,405
of Dunkirk, 228,000
British,

781
00:41:17,475 --> 00:41:20,098
and the remainder French.

782
00:41:20,167 --> 00:41:23,239
Over 2,000 were
killed in the treacherous

783
00:41:23,308 --> 00:41:27,554
crossing
of the English Channel.

784
00:41:27,623 --> 00:41:30,833
As the evacuation was
completed on June 4,

785
00:41:30,902 --> 00:41:33,491
Churchill addressed
Parliament, acknowledging

786
00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:37,011
that a miracle had
taken place at Dunkirk.

787
00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:39,704
At the same time, he
wanted the nation to be

788
00:41:39,773 --> 00:41:43,121
realistic about what
had actually occurred.

789
00:41:43,190 --> 00:41:45,572
CHURCHILL: We must be
very careful not to

790
00:41:45,641 --> 00:41:48,367
assign to this
deliverance

791
00:41:48,436 --> 00:41:51,232
the attributes of a victory.

792
00:41:51,301 --> 00:41:54,512
Wars are not won
by evacuation.

793
00:41:54,581 --> 00:41:58,308
Our thankfulness
at the escape of our army

794
00:41:58,377 --> 00:42:02,623
and so many men does not
blind us to the fact that

795
00:42:02,692 --> 00:42:07,352
what happened in France
and Belgium is a colossal

796
00:42:07,421 --> 00:42:09,354
military disaster.

797
00:42:09,423 --> 00:42:12,253
So I have, myself, full
confidence that if all do

798
00:42:12,322 --> 00:42:15,602
their duty, we shall
prove ourselves once more

799
00:42:15,671 --> 00:42:18,812
able to defend
our Island home.

800
00:42:18,881 --> 00:42:21,884
We shall go on to
the end, we shall fight

801
00:42:21,953 --> 00:42:26,889
in France, we shall fight
on the seas and oceans,

802
00:42:26,958 --> 00:42:29,547
we shall fight with
growing confidence

803
00:42:29,616 --> 00:42:32,757
and growing strength
in the air,

804
00:42:32,826 --> 00:42:34,862
we shall defend our Island,

805
00:42:34,931 --> 00:42:37,313
whatever the cost may be.

806
00:42:37,382 --> 00:42:39,142
We shall fight
on the beaches,

807
00:42:39,211 --> 00:42:41,869
we shall fight
on the landing grounds,

808
00:42:41,938 --> 00:42:45,632
we shall fight in the fields
and in the streets,

809
00:42:45,701 --> 00:42:48,289
we shall fight
in the hills;

810
00:42:48,358 --> 00:42:50,257
we shall never surrender.

811
00:42:56,953 --> 00:42:59,300
KINGSLEY: In the United States,
Churchill's words

812
00:42:59,369 --> 00:43:02,890
resonated deeply to both
the average American,

813
00:43:02,959 --> 00:43:05,893
as well as
to President Roosevelt.

814
00:43:05,962 --> 00:43:08,827
GOODWIN: When Churchill
was able to give words

815
00:43:08,896 --> 00:43:11,623
that gave meaning to
the Dunkirk evacuation,

816
00:43:11,692 --> 00:43:13,418
that is something
that both Roosevelt

817
00:43:13,487 --> 00:43:16,283
and the American people
had enormous respect for,

818
00:43:16,352 --> 00:43:18,941
and Roosevelt especially
was a man of words.

819
00:43:19,010 --> 00:43:22,669
He knew how important
it could be to instill

820
00:43:22,738 --> 00:43:24,947
confidence in a people to
get them through, as he

821
00:43:25,016 --> 00:43:26,604
had gotten them through
those early days

822
00:43:26,673 --> 00:43:28,675
of the Depression,
and now he hears

823
00:43:28,744 --> 00:43:30,642
and the American people
hear those extraordinary

824
00:43:30,711 --> 00:43:33,887
words that Churchill gave
after Dunkirk, plus

825
00:43:33,956 --> 00:43:36,372
the miraculous evacuation,
which made people feel,

826
00:43:36,441 --> 00:43:39,133
Yes, There's something
in that British spirit.

827
00:43:42,102 --> 00:43:44,000
KINGSLEY: Less than
a week after the evacuation

828
00:43:44,069 --> 00:43:46,796
at Dunkirk
and the Prime Minister's speech,

829
00:43:46,865 --> 00:43:49,523
a nationwide Gallup
poll found that 62%

830
00:43:49,592 --> 00:43:52,008
of Americans were
convinced that if

831
00:43:52,077 --> 00:43:55,391
the Nazis defeated France
and Britain, the United States

832
00:43:55,460 --> 00:43:59,706
would be attacked next.
And in a "Life" magazine

833
00:43:59,775 --> 00:44:03,675
survey, over 70% said
that they were in favor

834
00:44:03,744 --> 00:44:05,781
of the adoption
of immediate compulsory

835
00:44:05,850 --> 00:44:09,370
military training for
young men, while 88%

836
00:44:09,439 --> 00:44:13,202
answered that the U.S.
should "Arm to the teeth

837
00:44:13,271 --> 00:44:16,067
at any expense."

838
00:44:16,136 --> 00:44:18,103
On June 10,
President Roosevelt addressed

839
00:44:18,172 --> 00:44:21,072
the graduating class at
the University of Virginia,

840
00:44:21,141 --> 00:44:24,178
which included his son
Franklin Roosevelt Jr.

841
00:44:24,247 --> 00:44:26,733
He had decided to use
the occasion to make a strong

842
00:44:26,802 --> 00:44:29,701
statement in support
of the British and to condemn

843
00:44:29,770 --> 00:44:32,670
Italy, which had just
joined Nazi Germany

844
00:44:32,739 --> 00:44:35,811
and declared war
on the Allies.

845
00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:41,782
ROOSEVELT: In our unity,
in our American unity,

846
00:44:41,851 --> 00:44:45,752
we will extend
to the opponents of force

847
00:44:45,821 --> 00:44:49,479
the material resources
of this nation.

848
00:44:49,548 --> 00:44:51,447
[Applause]

849
00:44:57,315 --> 00:45:01,250
We will harness
and speed up the use

850
00:45:01,319 --> 00:45:03,873
of those resources.

851
00:45:03,942 --> 00:45:09,741
We will not slow
down or detour.

852
00:45:09,810 --> 00:45:14,297
Signs and signals
call for speed,

853
00:45:14,366 --> 00:45:17,749
full speed ahead.

854
00:45:17,818 --> 00:45:19,958
[Applause]

855
00:45:24,411 --> 00:45:26,758
KINGSLEY: Prime Minister
Churchill was extremely

856
00:45:26,827 --> 00:45:29,209
heartened by FDR's
speech, cabling

857
00:45:29,278 --> 00:45:32,039
the President that his words
were "an encouragement to

858
00:45:32,108 --> 00:45:34,973
the Allies
in a dark hour."

859
00:45:38,632 --> 00:45:41,980
The hour was getting even
darker as the German army

860
00:45:42,049 --> 00:45:44,949
was now advancing on
Paris with the Luftwaffe

861
00:45:45,018 --> 00:45:48,159
already bombing
parts of the city.

862
00:45:48,228 --> 00:45:50,920
At this point, Premier Reynaud
and the cabinet

863
00:45:50,989 --> 00:45:52,819
moved the government
a hundred miles southwest

864
00:45:52,888 --> 00:45:55,822
of Paris, the first
of two moves that would

865
00:45:55,891 --> 00:45:59,204
occur over
the next two weeks.

866
00:45:59,273 --> 00:46:01,759
The developments in Paris
alarmed Churchill, who

867
00:46:01,828 --> 00:46:05,038
was determined to keep
the French in the fight.

868
00:46:05,107 --> 00:46:07,350
Churchill conferred
with his war cabinet and then

869
00:46:07,419 --> 00:46:11,734
sent another urgent cable
to President Roosevelt.

870
00:46:11,803 --> 00:46:14,047
"This is the moment for
you," Churchill told

871
00:46:14,116 --> 00:46:16,739
the President,
"to strengthen Reynaud

872
00:46:16,808 --> 00:46:18,948
the utmost you can."

873
00:46:19,017 --> 00:46:21,192
The Prime Minister then
flew to France to meet

874
00:46:21,261 --> 00:46:24,471
with Reynaud
and the French war cabinet.

875
00:46:24,540 --> 00:46:26,784
The premier was not
encouraged by Churchill's

876
00:46:26,853 --> 00:46:29,752
correspondence with FDR.

877
00:46:29,821 --> 00:46:31,409
However, Churchill
managed to convince

878
00:46:31,478 --> 00:46:33,998
Reynaud to hang on
until he heard back

879
00:46:34,067 --> 00:46:36,379
from the President.

880
00:46:36,448 --> 00:46:38,554
This was not what
the French war cabinet

881
00:46:38,623 --> 00:46:40,867
wanted to hear.

882
00:46:40,936 --> 00:46:44,111
The French chief of staff,
General Maxime Weygand,

883
00:46:44,180 --> 00:46:46,493
gave Churchill
an extremely bleak

884
00:46:46,562 --> 00:46:47,770
assessment
of the situation

885
00:46:47,839 --> 00:46:50,393
of the French military.

886
00:46:50,462 --> 00:46:52,948
As Weygand saw things,
France had no other

887
00:46:53,017 --> 00:46:55,536
choice but to
negotiate an armistice

888
00:46:55,605 --> 00:46:57,711
with Hitler.

889
00:46:57,780 --> 00:46:59,575
The general
and Reynaud had been arguing

890
00:46:59,644 --> 00:47:02,026
about this for days.

891
00:47:02,095 --> 00:47:03,993
Disagreements
between the premier

892
00:47:04,062 --> 00:47:06,720
and the chief of staff
often turned into

893
00:47:06,789 --> 00:47:09,412
personal shouting matches.

894
00:47:09,481 --> 00:47:11,898
Weygand accused Reynaud
of being callous towards

895
00:47:11,967 --> 00:47:13,900
the French people, who
were suffering because he

896
00:47:13,969 --> 00:47:17,835
insisted on continuing
the fight.

897
00:47:17,904 --> 00:47:20,907
Reynaud argued that in
negotiating peace terms,

898
00:47:20,976 --> 00:47:23,150
Weygand was "taking
Hitler for Kaiser Wilhelm,

899
00:47:23,219 --> 00:47:25,463
"the old gentleman
who only took

900
00:47:25,532 --> 00:47:27,810
from us Alsace-Lorraine."

901
00:47:27,879 --> 00:47:29,743
"Hitler," shouted
the primer,

902
00:47:29,812 --> 00:47:32,953
"is Genghis Khan!"

903
00:47:33,022 --> 00:47:35,576
Adding to the strain
the French leader was under

904
00:47:35,645 --> 00:47:37,578
was the pressure being
brought onto him by his

905
00:47:37,647 --> 00:47:40,098
mistress, the Countess
Hélène de Portes,

906
00:47:40,167 --> 00:47:43,930
a well-known fascist
sympathizer.

907
00:47:43,999 --> 00:47:45,897
She read his private
correspondence,

908
00:47:45,966 --> 00:47:48,106
interfered in government
affairs, and tried

909
00:47:48,175 --> 00:47:52,593
cajoling him into
making an armistice.

910
00:47:52,662 --> 00:47:55,803
In fact, the countess
was so infuriated that

911
00:47:55,873 --> 00:47:57,357
Churchill was prodding
her lover to keep

912
00:47:57,426 --> 00:47:59,946
fighting the Nazis that
as the two men were

913
00:48:00,015 --> 00:48:02,051
saying an emotional good-bye
to one another before

914
00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:05,330
the Prime Minister's
return to England,

915
00:48:05,399 --> 00:48:08,299
she lunged at Churchill,
trying to attack him.

916
00:48:10,680 --> 00:48:11,992
Inspector Walter H. Thompson,

917
00:48:12,061 --> 00:48:14,546
the Prime Minister's
personal bodyguard,

918
00:48:14,615 --> 00:48:16,894
managed to stop the assault.

919
00:48:16,963 --> 00:48:18,826
"She had no gun,"
he explained, "but we found

920
00:48:18,896 --> 00:48:22,382
a knife on her person."

921
00:48:22,451 --> 00:48:24,349
The threat to Churchill's
physical safety on their

922
00:48:24,418 --> 00:48:27,559
trip did not stop
with the Countess de Portes.

923
00:48:27,628 --> 00:48:29,837
Flying across
the English Channel on the way

924
00:48:29,907 --> 00:48:32,771
back to London without
a fighter escort,

925
00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:36,085
the Prime Minister's plane
suddenly dove towards the sea.

926
00:48:36,154 --> 00:48:38,674
A Nazi fighter plane was
attacking French fishing

927
00:48:38,743 --> 00:48:40,848
boats in the channel.

928
00:48:40,918 --> 00:48:42,989
The quick action
of Churchill's pilot,

929
00:48:43,058 --> 00:48:45,646
diving into the sea mist,
kept he Luftwaffe airman

930
00:48:45,715 --> 00:48:48,166
from seeing
the Prime Minister's plane.

931
00:48:48,235 --> 00:48:50,997
Commented Inspector
Thompson, "Some German

932
00:48:51,066 --> 00:48:53,344
"pilot will never know how
close he was to winning

933
00:48:53,413 --> 00:48:56,174
an Iron Cross
first class."

934
00:49:00,075 --> 00:49:02,215
Premier Reynaud sent
one last desperate

935
00:49:02,284 --> 00:49:04,631
correspondence to
Roosevelt early

936
00:49:04,700 --> 00:49:06,426
on June 14.

937
00:49:06,495 --> 00:49:09,256
"If you cannot give to
France the certainty that

938
00:49:09,325 --> 00:49:11,465
"the United States will
come into the war within

939
00:49:11,534 --> 00:49:14,296
a very short time,"
wrote Reynaud, "the fate

940
00:49:14,365 --> 00:49:18,127
of the world will
change."

941
00:49:18,196 --> 00:49:19,784
But was too late.

942
00:49:19,853 --> 00:49:23,581
That same day, the German
army marched into Paris

943
00:49:23,650 --> 00:49:25,445
and occupied the city.

944
00:49:25,514 --> 00:49:28,172
Infantrymen paraded
down the Champs-Elysees

945
00:49:28,241 --> 00:49:31,037
and through
the Arc de Triomphe.

946
00:49:31,106 --> 00:49:33,349
Nazi soldiers acted
like tourists, enjoying

947
00:49:33,418 --> 00:49:35,973
themselves in the cafes
and photographing each

948
00:49:36,042 --> 00:49:38,251
other in front
of the Eiffel Tower.

949
00:49:42,531 --> 00:49:45,465
The news that Paris had
fallen stunned the rest

950
00:49:45,534 --> 00:49:48,157
of the world.

951
00:49:48,226 --> 00:49:51,057
In New York's
Tin Pan Alley, Jerome Kern

952
00:49:51,126 --> 00:49:53,473
and Oscar Hammerstein
quickly wrote a song that

953
00:49:53,542 --> 00:49:56,821
became a bestseller, as
well as a lament for what

954
00:49:56,890 --> 00:49:58,547
had been lost.

955
00:49:58,616 --> 00:50:06,072
WOMAN: ♪ The last
time I saw Paris ♪

956
00:50:06,141 --> 00:50:12,043
♪ Her heart was
warm and gay ♪

957
00:50:12,112 --> 00:50:18,015
♪ I heard
the laughter of her heart ♪

958
00:50:18,084 --> 00:50:24,228
♪ In every street cafe ♪

959
00:50:24,297 --> 00:50:31,614
♪ The last time
I saw Paris ♪

960
00:50:31,683 --> 00:50:37,517
♪ Her heart was
young and gay ♪

961
00:50:37,586 --> 00:50:46,043
♪ No matter how
they change her ♪

962
00:50:46,112 --> 00:50:59,573
♪ I'll remember
her that way ♪

963
00:51:05,269 --> 00:51:07,650
KINGSLEY: Within two
days, Reynaud resigned,

964
00:51:07,719 --> 00:51:09,376
and a new French
government headed by

965
00:51:09,445 --> 00:51:11,447
the venerated
World War I hero

966
00:51:11,516 --> 00:51:15,141
Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain
was now in place,

967
00:51:15,210 --> 00:51:17,798
with its capital in Vichy.

968
00:51:17,867 --> 00:51:20,215
Churchill sent word to
Reynaud, asking that he

969
00:51:20,284 --> 00:51:23,149
come to England and head
up the French resistance

970
00:51:23,218 --> 00:51:26,117
movement there,
but the now former premier

971
00:51:26,186 --> 00:51:28,257
declined the offer.

972
00:51:28,326 --> 00:51:30,363
Fearing arrest,
he quickly left

973
00:51:30,432 --> 00:51:32,710
with Countess de Portes,
driving south,

974
00:51:32,779 --> 00:51:36,265
where the Nazis had not
yet occupied the country.

975
00:51:36,334 --> 00:51:39,165
A few miles away, their
car crashed into a tree,

976
00:51:39,234 --> 00:51:42,685
killing the countess
instantly.

977
00:51:42,754 --> 00:51:45,171
A few weeks later,
the former premier would be

978
00:51:45,240 --> 00:51:47,794
arrested by the Vichy
government and imprisoned

979
00:51:47,863 --> 00:51:49,623
for the rest of the war.

980
00:51:49,692 --> 00:51:51,453
Almost immediately
after being named

981
00:51:51,522 --> 00:51:54,352
the new French leader,
Marshal Pétain sent word

982
00:51:54,421 --> 00:51:57,666
to Hitler requesting
an armistice.

983
00:51:57,735 --> 00:52:00,289
24 hours later,
the Vichy government signed

984
00:52:00,358 --> 00:52:05,605
terms capitulating
to Nazi Germany.

985
00:52:05,674 --> 00:52:07,814
Within a few months,
German military

986
00:52:07,883 --> 00:52:11,128
authorities in France
issued the first laws

987
00:52:11,197 --> 00:52:13,716
severely limiting
Jewish rights.

988
00:52:13,785 --> 00:52:16,443
Jewish businesses were
required to post signs

989
00:52:16,512 --> 00:52:18,652
identifying them as such.

990
00:52:18,721 --> 00:52:21,690
Jews were required to
submit to a census and to

991
00:52:21,759 --> 00:52:27,799
carry I.D. cards
with the marking "Juif."

992
00:52:27,868 --> 00:52:30,319
The bad news about
France was leading to

993
00:52:30,388 --> 00:52:32,459
speculation that
a similar onslaught was

994
00:52:32,528 --> 00:52:35,600
ahead for Great Britain.

995
00:52:35,669 --> 00:52:37,706
The Prime Minister
decided to send a message

996
00:52:37,775 --> 00:52:40,398
to Hitler and the rest of
the world in what would

997
00:52:40,467 --> 00:52:42,814
become one of his most
dramatic addresses to

998
00:52:42,883 --> 00:52:45,783
the House of Commons.

999
00:52:45,852 --> 00:52:48,165
CHURCHILL: I expect that
the Battle of Britain is

1000
00:52:48,234 --> 00:52:50,305
about to begin.

1001
00:52:50,374 --> 00:52:54,032
The whole fury and might
of the enemy must very

1002
00:52:54,101 --> 00:52:56,345
soon be turned on us.

1003
00:52:56,414 --> 00:52:59,245
If we can stand up
to him, all Europe

1004
00:52:59,314 --> 00:53:01,626
may be free.

1005
00:53:01,695 --> 00:53:05,492
But if we fail, then
the whole world will sink

1006
00:53:05,561 --> 00:53:09,324
into the abyss
of a new Dark Age.

1007
00:53:09,393 --> 00:53:15,261
Let us therefore brace
ourselves to our duties,

1008
00:53:15,330 --> 00:53:20,093
and so bear ourselves
that, if the British Empire

1009
00:53:20,162 --> 00:53:22,751
and its Commonwealth last

1010
00:53:22,820 --> 00:53:27,963
for a thousand years,
men will still say,

1011
00:53:28,032 --> 00:53:31,380
"This was their
finest hour."

1012
00:53:44,186 --> 00:53:45,360
KINGSLEY: Despite
the fact that French

1013
00:53:45,429 --> 00:53:47,603
armistice terms with
Germany did not require

1014
00:53:47,672 --> 00:53:50,744
surrendering their navy,
Prime Minister Churchill

1015
00:53:50,813 --> 00:53:53,022
was convinced that
the Nazis would get

1016
00:53:53,091 --> 00:53:55,335
control of it.

1017
00:53:55,404 --> 00:53:57,061
Through the prime
minister's office,

1018
00:53:57,130 --> 00:53:59,581
the French admiral in Algiers
was ordered to either

1019
00:53:59,650 --> 00:54:03,343
join the British or
neutralize his ships.

1020
00:54:03,412 --> 00:54:06,243
When he refused,
the British navy attacked

1021
00:54:06,312 --> 00:54:08,314
the French fleet there.

1022
00:54:08,383 --> 00:54:10,902
More than a thousand
French sailors were killed,

1023
00:54:10,971 --> 00:54:13,319
and the ships were sunk.

1024
00:54:13,388 --> 00:54:14,803
The decision was
a heart-wrenching one

1025
00:54:14,872 --> 00:54:17,737
for Churchill, who was in
tears when he announced

1026
00:54:17,806 --> 00:54:21,534
it to Parliament.

1027
00:54:21,603 --> 00:54:25,158
In France, the reaction
to the news was so bitter

1028
00:54:25,227 --> 00:54:26,884
that all relations
between the Pétain

1029
00:54:26,953 --> 00:54:29,956
government and Great
Britain were broken off.

1030
00:54:37,550 --> 00:54:40,346
On July 10, what
Churchill had described

1031
00:54:40,415 --> 00:54:42,451
as the Battle of Britain
a month earlier

1032
00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:45,799
officially began.
But it was not the German

1033
00:54:45,868 --> 00:54:48,871
land invasion that
so many had predicted.

1034
00:54:48,940 --> 00:54:51,011
The Luftwaffe started
bombing British shipping

1035
00:54:51,080 --> 00:54:54,152
convoys in
the English Channel.

1036
00:54:54,221 --> 00:54:56,051
The Royal Air Force
quickly responded,

1037
00:54:56,120 --> 00:54:58,433
and battles were soon
taking place in the skies

1038
00:54:58,502 --> 00:55:00,297
above England.

1039
00:55:17,728 --> 00:55:20,386
With France defeated
and tens of thousands

1040
00:55:20,455 --> 00:55:22,629
of German troops
in northern France,

1041
00:55:22,698 --> 00:55:25,391
some 20 miles across
the English Channel,

1042
00:55:25,460 --> 00:55:29,705
why didn't Hitler invade
the British Isles?

1043
00:55:29,774 --> 00:55:32,329
British intelligence
agents at Bletchley Park

1044
00:55:32,398 --> 00:55:34,192
outside London got
advanced word of such

1045
00:55:34,261 --> 00:55:35,780
an attack.

1046
00:55:35,849 --> 00:55:38,335
They had captured
the German military encoding

1047
00:55:38,404 --> 00:55:40,785
machine called Enigma
and had broken its code

1048
00:55:40,854 --> 00:55:44,548
on the same day Churchill
became Prime Minister.

1049
00:55:44,617 --> 00:55:46,412
For weeks, they had been
intercepting orders from

1050
00:55:46,481 --> 00:55:49,276
the Nazi high command
and sending them to Churchill

1051
00:55:49,346 --> 00:55:52,418
and the war cabinet.

1052
00:55:52,487 --> 00:55:54,834
On July 16, they
decrypted an order

1053
00:55:54,903 --> 00:55:58,424
from Hitler called Operation
Sea Lion, in which he

1054
00:55:58,493 --> 00:56:00,426
said, "I have decided
to begin to prepare

1055
00:56:00,495 --> 00:56:03,429
"for and if necessary
carry out an invasion

1056
00:56:03,498 --> 00:56:05,431
of England."

1057
00:56:05,500 --> 00:56:07,536
There was little
question at that time

1058
00:56:07,605 --> 00:56:09,504
about the ability of
the German infantry to carry

1059
00:56:09,573 --> 00:56:12,955
off an exercise
of this nature.

1060
00:56:13,024 --> 00:56:15,406
Even in the Churchill
home, there was concern

1061
00:56:15,475 --> 00:56:18,444
about the likelihood
of a Nazi invasion.

1062
00:56:18,513 --> 00:56:21,516
WINSTON S. CHURCHILL:
I remember my mother

1063
00:56:21,585 --> 00:56:24,104
Pamela Harriman,
who later became American

1064
00:56:24,173 --> 00:56:29,178
ambassador to France,
telling me how age 20,

1065
00:56:29,247 --> 00:56:32,665
6 months pregnant with me,
dining alone with her

1066
00:56:32,734 --> 00:56:35,702
in-laws,
with my grandfather

1067
00:56:35,771 --> 00:56:37,739
and grandmother,
my grandfather comes

1068
00:56:37,808 --> 00:56:41,121
to table,
and silence reigns.

1069
00:56:41,190 --> 00:56:44,159
Nobody says anything,
and he's far away, brooding

1070
00:56:44,228 --> 00:56:46,989
in his thoughts, and he
suddenly brings his eyes

1071
00:56:47,058 --> 00:56:53,133
into focus on my mother's
and said, "If the Hun

1072
00:56:53,202 --> 00:56:57,862
"comes, I'm counting on
each one of you to take

1073
00:56:57,931 --> 00:57:00,175
one with you
before you go."

1074
00:57:00,244 --> 00:57:03,868
And my mother said, "But,
Papa, I don't have a gun,

1075
00:57:03,937 --> 00:57:06,457
and if I did, I wouldn't
know how to use it."

1076
00:57:06,526 --> 00:57:08,977
"But, my dear, you can
go to the kitchen and get

1077
00:57:09,046 --> 00:57:11,635
a carving knife."

1078
00:57:11,704 --> 00:57:13,430
KINGSLEY: However, Hitler
delayed launching

1079
00:57:13,499 --> 00:57:16,122
a land invasion
for the time being.

1080
00:57:16,191 --> 00:57:18,849
As was the case in
Dunkirk, he may have been

1081
00:57:18,918 --> 00:57:21,645
listening to Goering, who
maintained that in order

1082
00:57:21,714 --> 00:57:24,510
to successfully invade
Britain, Germany needed to

1083
00:57:24,579 --> 00:57:27,996
first obliterate
the RAF and gain control

1084
00:57:28,065 --> 00:57:31,724
of the skies. And Goering
was betting on a quick

1085
00:57:31,793 --> 00:57:35,452
victory, as the Luftwaffe
outnumbered the RAF more

1086
00:57:35,521 --> 00:57:38,385
than two to one
at that moment.

1087
00:57:38,455 --> 00:57:39,973
The Germans initially
concentrated their

1088
00:57:40,042 --> 00:57:42,459
attacks on Dover
and the southeastern corner

1089
00:57:42,528 --> 00:57:44,115
of England.

1090
00:57:44,184 --> 00:57:45,910
Defeating the British
thee would make it easier

1091
00:57:45,979 --> 00:57:47,912
for the Nazis to launch
a cross-Channel

1092
00:57:47,981 --> 00:57:51,640
land invasion.

1093
00:57:51,709 --> 00:57:54,091
In spite of being
outnumbered by the Germans,

1094
00:57:54,160 --> 00:57:56,818
the RAF's two
main fighter aircraft,

1095
00:57:56,887 --> 00:57:58,716
the Spitfire
and the Hurricane,

1096
00:57:58,785 --> 00:58:00,994
were superior to the Luftwaffe's
principal fighter,

1097
00:58:01,063 --> 00:58:05,620
the Messerschmitt, in both
range and firepower.

1098
00:58:05,689 --> 00:58:08,588
Throughout July and early
August, the Germans lost

1099
00:58:08,657 --> 00:58:11,004
more than twice as many
planes as the British.

1100
00:58:11,073 --> 00:58:13,386
ANNOUNCER: Somebody's hit
a German, and he's coming

1101
00:58:13,455 --> 00:58:14,905
down in a long streak.

1102
00:58:14,974 --> 00:58:16,562
He's coming down
completely out of control,

1103
00:58:16,631 --> 00:58:18,529
a long streak of smoke.

1104
00:58:18,598 --> 00:58:20,497
The man's bailed
out by parachute.

1105
00:58:20,566 --> 00:58:21,912
The pilot's bailed
out by parachute.

1106
00:58:21,981 --> 00:58:24,259
It's a Junker 87,
and it's going slap into

1107
00:58:24,328 --> 00:58:25,432
the sea, and there he goes.

1108
00:58:25,502 --> 00:58:27,607
Smash!

1109
00:58:27,676 --> 00:58:29,609
KINGSLEY: A frustrated
Goering called a meeting

1110
00:58:29,678 --> 00:58:31,818
of his top fighter aces
to ask if there was

1111
00:58:31,887 --> 00:58:34,234
something else they
needed to turn the tide

1112
00:58:34,303 --> 00:58:36,133
against the RAF.

1113
00:58:36,202 --> 00:58:38,756
When he asked Adolf Galland,
the Luftwaffe's

1114
00:58:38,825 --> 00:58:40,931
most famous and feared
fighter pilot, the German

1115
00:58:41,000 --> 00:58:43,623
ace answered,
"I should like an outfit

1116
00:58:43,692 --> 00:58:45,936
of Spitfires."

1117
00:58:46,005 --> 00:58:49,249
Goering stormed out
of the meeting in a rage.

1118
00:58:49,318 --> 00:58:52,183
But this was not a one-sided
battle, especially

1119
00:58:52,252 --> 00:58:54,703
when Goering ordered
massive strikes on RAF

1120
00:58:54,772 --> 00:58:56,533
airfields to knock
out the Spitfires

1121
00:58:56,602 --> 00:58:58,604
and the Hurricanes before
they could take to

1122
00:58:58,673 --> 00:59:00,951
the air, in an operation
called The Attack

1123
00:59:01,020 --> 00:59:02,987
of the Eagles.

1124
00:59:04,748 --> 00:59:07,751
[Air raid siren]

1125
00:59:07,820 --> 00:59:09,960
An additional component
of this strategy was

1126
00:59:10,029 --> 00:59:12,065
German raids on key
British factories

1127
00:59:12,134 --> 00:59:14,723
and industries during
the evening hours, taking

1128
00:59:14,792 --> 00:59:16,483
advantage
of the Luftwaffe's

1129
00:59:16,553 --> 00:59:20,177
superior nighttime
bombing techniques.

1130
00:59:20,246 --> 00:59:21,937
Bletchley Park decoders
had picked up

1131
00:59:22,006 --> 00:59:24,802
the Luftwaffe chief's
orders for the operation,

1132
00:59:24,871 --> 00:59:29,773
learning that it would
start anytime after August 5.

1133
00:59:29,842 --> 00:59:31,947
While Goering's Attack
of the Eagles strategy

1134
00:59:32,016 --> 00:59:34,674
inflicted serious
damage on RAF airfields

1135
00:59:34,743 --> 00:59:37,056
and British
industry, poor German

1136
00:59:37,125 --> 00:59:40,784
intelligence seriously
hampered the effort.

1137
00:59:40,853 --> 00:59:43,027
The Luftwaffe's
intelligence chief,

1138
00:59:43,096 --> 00:59:46,652
Colonel Joseph "Beppo" Schmidt,
often told Goering what

1139
00:59:46,721 --> 00:59:48,757
he wanted to hear
rather than the reality

1140
00:59:48,826 --> 00:59:51,104
of the situation.

1141
00:59:51,173 --> 00:59:53,244
At one point, Schmidt
reported that

1142
00:59:53,313 --> 00:59:56,558
the Luftwaffe had destroyed
so much of the RAF that

1143
00:59:56,627 --> 00:59:58,525
it had no more
than 300-400

1144
00:59:58,595 --> 01:00:00,735
fighters left.

1145
01:00:00,804 --> 01:00:04,048
The truth was
it was almost 650

1146
01:00:04,117 --> 01:00:05,636
at that moment.

1147
01:00:10,296 --> 01:00:12,401
Britain's aircraft
industry was quickly

1148
01:00:12,470 --> 01:00:14,438
closing the gap,
producing planes

1149
01:00:14,507 --> 01:00:19,374
at the rate of 4-1
over the Germans.

1150
01:00:19,443 --> 01:00:20,858
[Ringing]

1151
01:00:20,927 --> 01:00:23,965
During this period, RAF
pilots scrambled to their

1152
01:00:24,034 --> 01:00:27,278
planes as many as
6 or 7 times a day.

1153
01:00:27,347 --> 01:00:30,350
While the RAF may have
been lacking in numbers,

1154
01:00:30,419 --> 01:00:33,664
they weren't to short
on spirit or courage.

1155
01:00:33,733 --> 01:00:34,976
The majority of the flyers were

1156
01:00:35,045 --> 01:00:38,807
in their late teens
and early 20s.

1157
01:00:38,876 --> 01:00:41,085
The squadrons were
on permanent alert,

1158
01:00:41,154 --> 01:00:42,846
with the young pilots
practically living

1159
01:00:42,915 --> 01:00:45,711
in their flight suits
on the Tarmac,

1160
01:00:45,780 --> 01:00:48,852
sleeping in tents
or makeshift huts,

1161
01:00:48,921 --> 01:00:53,926
scrambling at the sound
of the alarm.

1162
01:00:53,995 --> 01:00:56,031
In minutes, they were in
the air, taking off from

1163
01:00:56,100 --> 01:00:59,103
landing strips that were
often hastily converted

1164
01:00:59,172 --> 01:01:00,933
farm fields.

1165
01:01:01,002 --> 01:01:03,211
The key was to keep alert
in the air and watch

1166
01:01:03,280 --> 01:01:06,973
from all sides,
remembering the refrain

1167
01:01:07,042 --> 01:01:09,458
"Watch for the Hun
in the sun."

1168
01:01:11,806 --> 01:01:14,118
There was squadron leader
Douglas Bader, who flew

1169
01:01:14,187 --> 01:01:18,329
despite the fact that he
had lost both of his legs.

1170
01:01:18,398 --> 01:01:21,539
And Sailor Malan,
a South African who reportedly

1171
01:01:21,608 --> 01:01:24,957
got his nickname from serving
in the merchant marines.

1172
01:01:25,026 --> 01:01:27,304
The truth was that he
preferred Sailor to his real

1173
01:01:27,373 --> 01:01:29,789
first name--Adolph.

1174
01:01:29,858 --> 01:01:32,309
His 10 rules for
air fighting began with,

1175
01:01:32,378 --> 01:01:36,658
"Wait until you see
the whites of his eyes."

1176
01:01:36,727 --> 01:01:38,936
Not all of them
were youngsters.

1177
01:01:39,005 --> 01:01:42,526
42-year-old Ernie Mayne
was a World War I fighter pilot

1178
01:01:42,595 --> 01:01:43,803
who volunteered
and flew alongside

1179
01:01:43,872 --> 01:01:47,324
the 19- and 20-year-olds.

1180
01:01:47,393 --> 01:01:49,775
Billy Fiske was one
of the 10 Americans flying

1181
01:01:49,844 --> 01:01:52,122
with the RAF then.

1182
01:01:52,191 --> 01:01:54,538
An Olympic gold medalist,
he'd come to England to

1183
01:01:54,607 --> 01:01:56,333
study at Cambridge
and married

1184
01:01:56,402 --> 01:01:58,300
the Countess of Warwick.

1185
01:01:58,369 --> 01:02:00,993
Masquerading as
a Canadian, he joined

1186
01:02:01,062 --> 01:02:03,996
the RAF, flying a Hurricane.

1187
01:02:04,065 --> 01:02:06,999
Other Americans included
Eugene "Red" Tobin from

1188
01:02:07,068 --> 01:02:09,829
California, who'd worked
as a studio messenger

1189
01:02:09,898 --> 01:02:12,383
at MGM to finance
his flying lessons

1190
01:02:12,452 --> 01:02:16,077
before he came to England
to volunteer.

1191
01:02:16,146 --> 01:02:20,012
And Andy Mamedoff from Miami
was a well-known stunt flyer,

1192
01:02:20,081 --> 01:02:22,221
who had barnstormed
across the U.S. before

1193
01:02:22,290 --> 01:02:24,948
joining the RAF.

1194
01:02:25,017 --> 01:02:28,192
Vernon "Shorty" Keough
from Brooklyn, New York,

1195
01:02:28,261 --> 01:02:32,127
was 4'10", the shortest
officer in the RAF.

1196
01:02:32,196 --> 01:02:34,164
He needed two inflatable
pillows to see out

1197
01:02:34,233 --> 01:02:37,788
through the windows
of his Hurricane.

1198
01:02:37,857 --> 01:02:40,826
None would survive
the war.

1199
01:02:40,895 --> 01:02:44,001
GILBERT: There was even
a German fighter pilot

1200
01:02:44,070 --> 01:02:47,833
in the Battle of Britain--
Ken Adam--later

1201
01:02:47,902 --> 01:02:49,938
a distinguished
filmmaker involved

1202
01:02:50,007 --> 01:02:54,736
in the James Bond films,
and Ken Adam was a young

1203
01:02:54,805 --> 01:02:58,050
flight lieutenant, was
one of the bravest

1204
01:02:58,119 --> 01:03:01,122
of the British
fighter pilots,

1205
01:03:01,191 --> 01:03:04,401
and he was
a German Jewish refugee.

1206
01:03:09,026 --> 01:03:10,338
KINGSLEY: There were also
the women who joined

1207
01:03:10,407 --> 01:03:13,444
the Women's
Auxiliary Air Force.

1208
01:03:13,513 --> 01:03:15,377
While some in the RAF
referred to them as

1209
01:03:15,446 --> 01:03:18,242
the Beauty Chorus, their
bravery and ability to

1210
01:03:18,311 --> 01:03:21,936
keep calm under fire
was unquestioned.

1211
01:03:22,005 --> 01:03:23,523
Some of the first
casualties

1212
01:03:23,592 --> 01:03:25,525
of the Battle of Britain
were volunteers belonging to

1213
01:03:25,594 --> 01:03:28,183
the Women's Auxiliary
Air Force, who refused to

1214
01:03:28,252 --> 01:03:30,358
leave their posts
and radar stations

1215
01:03:30,427 --> 01:03:32,532
that came under attack.

1216
01:03:32,601 --> 01:03:34,431
These young women were
also the witnesses to

1217
01:03:34,500 --> 01:03:37,365
the last screams of RAF
pilots trapped in their

1218
01:03:37,434 --> 01:03:39,608
cockpits as their
flaming planes plunged

1219
01:03:39,677 --> 01:03:41,196
to the ground.

1220
01:03:43,440 --> 01:03:45,373
Those who were able to eject
themselves from their

1221
01:03:45,442 --> 01:03:48,307
disabled aircraft were
not assured rescue

1222
01:03:48,376 --> 01:03:49,895
or survival.

1223
01:03:49,964 --> 01:03:51,828
Many who bailed out
into the freezing waters

1224
01:03:51,897 --> 01:03:54,175
of the English Channel
died of hypothermia

1225
01:03:54,244 --> 01:03:57,937
waiting for help in view
of the white cliffs of Dover.

1226
01:03:58,006 --> 01:04:00,733
The heroism of these
young airmen was not lost

1227
01:04:00,802 --> 01:04:03,184
on Winston Churchill.

1228
01:04:03,253 --> 01:04:05,117
In mid August,
at the height

1229
01:04:05,186 --> 01:04:07,913
of The Attack of the Eagles,
the Prime Minister

1230
01:04:07,982 --> 01:04:10,432
and Military
Chief of Staff Lord Ismay

1231
01:04:10,501 --> 01:04:12,124
drove down to Oxbridge,

1232
01:04:12,193 --> 01:04:14,954
the RAF's southern
headquarters.

1233
01:04:15,023 --> 01:04:16,853
During the course
of their visit, waves

1234
01:04:16,922 --> 01:04:19,062
of German bombers began
attacking, and the RAF

1235
01:04:19,131 --> 01:04:21,271
immediately responded
with its Spitfires

1236
01:04:21,340 --> 01:04:23,376
and Hurricanes.

1237
01:04:23,445 --> 01:04:25,275
Churchill was quite
taken with the courage

1238
01:04:25,344 --> 01:04:27,587
of the RAF pilots,
the ground crews,

1239
01:04:27,656 --> 01:04:33,076
and the radio operators
of the Women's Auxiliary
Air Force.

1240
01:04:33,145 --> 01:04:35,975
After the battle was over,
Churchill and Lord Ismay

1241
01:04:36,044 --> 01:04:38,046
left Oxbridge.

1242
01:04:38,115 --> 01:04:40,807
As the car pulled away,
Churchill admonished

1243
01:04:40,877 --> 01:04:42,948
the general,
"Don't speak to me.

1244
01:04:43,017 --> 01:04:46,468
I have never
been so moved."

1245
01:04:46,537 --> 01:04:48,332
A few minutes later,
he turned to Ismay

1246
01:04:48,401 --> 01:04:50,093
and uttered the words
that became part of one

1247
01:04:50,162 --> 01:04:54,097
of his most celebrated
speeches of the war.

1248
01:04:54,166 --> 01:04:55,788
CHURCHILL: The gratitude
of every home in our

1249
01:04:55,857 --> 01:05:00,931
Island, in our Empire,
and indeed throughout the world

1250
01:05:01,000 --> 01:05:03,969
goes out to the British
airmen who, undaunted by

1251
01:05:04,038 --> 01:05:07,765
odds, unwearied in
their constant challenge

1252
01:05:07,834 --> 01:05:11,079
and mortal danger,
are turning the tide

1253
01:05:11,148 --> 01:05:13,806
of the world war
by their prowess

1254
01:05:13,875 --> 01:05:15,912
and by their devotion.

1255
01:05:15,981 --> 01:05:18,915
Never in the field
of human conflict was

1256
01:05:18,984 --> 01:05:23,540
so much owed
by so many to so few.

1257
01:05:27,095 --> 01:05:28,786
KINGSLEY: In the closing
days of August,

1258
01:05:28,855 --> 01:05:31,375
the Luftwaffe's bombers
caused their most serious

1259
01:05:31,444 --> 01:05:35,345
damage to the RAF during
the Battle of Britain.

1260
01:05:35,414 --> 01:05:37,036
Had the Nazis
continued to focus

1261
01:05:37,105 --> 01:05:39,659
on the airfields, the RAF
might not have been able

1262
01:05:39,728 --> 01:05:42,455
to recover, and Operation
Sea Lion, Hitler's

1263
01:05:42,524 --> 01:05:45,148
proposed land invasion
of the British Isles,

1264
01:05:45,217 --> 01:05:48,116
might have succeeded.

1265
01:05:48,185 --> 01:05:50,498
On the evening
of August 24, a simple

1266
01:05:50,567 --> 01:05:53,156
navigational error led
German bombers to drop

1267
01:05:53,225 --> 01:05:55,952
their payload on
civilian areas of London.

1268
01:06:03,718 --> 01:06:06,238
Prime Minister Churchill
was furious and ordered

1269
01:06:06,307 --> 01:06:08,723
retaliatory raids on
Berlin to take place

1270
01:06:08,792 --> 01:06:11,277
within 24 hours.

1271
01:06:11,346 --> 01:06:13,486
They continued for
the next 4 days, terrifying

1272
01:06:13,555 --> 01:06:15,557
the German public
and humiliating

1273
01:06:15,626 --> 01:06:18,043
Hermann Goering.

1274
01:06:18,112 --> 01:06:20,045
He had promised Berliners
that the Luftwaffe would

1275
01:06:20,114 --> 01:06:23,600
ensure their city
would always be safe.

1276
01:06:23,669 --> 01:06:26,016
He had once said that,
"If one British bomb ever

1277
01:06:26,085 --> 01:06:31,056
fell on Berlin,
my name is Meyer."

1278
01:06:31,125 --> 01:06:32,333
Hitler could not
contain his anger

1279
01:06:32,402 --> 01:06:34,991
about the British attack,
and in a speech

1280
01:06:35,060 --> 01:06:37,062
at the beginning of
September, he promised

1281
01:06:37,131 --> 01:06:40,513
a frenzied crowd, "If they
attack our cities, we

1282
01:06:40,582 --> 01:06:42,515
will wipe out theirs."

1283
01:06:42,584 --> 01:06:43,758
Heil!

1284
01:06:43,827 --> 01:06:44,828
Sieg...

1285
01:06:44,897 --> 01:06:45,829
Heil!

1286
01:06:45,898 --> 01:06:46,899
Sieg...

1287
01:06:46,968 --> 01:06:48,280
Heil!

1288
01:06:51,697 --> 01:06:53,837
KINGSLEY: By attacking
Berlin, Churchill

1289
01:06:53,906 --> 01:06:56,150
provoked Hitler into
changing the Luftwaffe's

1290
01:06:56,219 --> 01:06:58,359
strategy from bombing
Britain's airfields

1291
01:06:58,428 --> 01:07:03,329
and industry to attacking
its cities and civilians.

1292
01:07:03,398 --> 01:07:07,023
It also forced the Fuehrer
to put Operation Sea Lion

1293
01:07:07,092 --> 01:07:09,542
on hold indefinitely.

1294
01:07:09,611 --> 01:07:12,097
This enabled the RAF
to replenish itself

1295
01:07:12,166 --> 01:07:14,099
for the fight ahead.

1296
01:07:14,168 --> 01:07:16,584
England had held out
and decisively won

1297
01:07:16,653 --> 01:07:21,106
the Battle of Britain,
a turning point in the war.

1298
01:07:21,175 --> 01:07:23,349
At the same time,
the British people were

1299
01:07:23,418 --> 01:07:25,696
about to experience
a period of almost

1300
01:07:25,765 --> 01:07:27,733
unrelenting terror.

1301
01:07:34,636 --> 01:07:35,982
MAN: I'm standing
on the roof

1302
01:07:36,052 --> 01:07:37,812
of Broadcasting House
on this evening

1303
01:07:37,881 --> 01:07:40,711
of Sunday, in September,

1304
01:07:40,780 --> 01:07:43,128
and we had a warning
earlier on in the day,

1305
01:07:43,197 --> 01:07:44,646
but this is the first
time the raiders

1306
01:07:44,715 --> 01:07:46,476
actually appeared over London.
And they were met

1307
01:07:46,545 --> 01:07:49,099
by a tremendous barrage
of antiaircraft fire.

1308
01:07:49,168 --> 01:07:51,722
[Air raid sirens]

1309
01:07:51,791 --> 01:07:54,484
You could see their
flashes quite plainly,

1310
01:07:54,553 --> 01:07:56,693
and we had shrapnel
falling around,

1311
01:07:56,762 --> 01:08:00,766
and away on the far side
of the river, there's another

1312
01:08:00,835 --> 01:08:04,252
severe fire over
in the direction of Woolwich,

1313
01:08:04,321 --> 01:08:06,875
where they've started
another large fire.

1314
01:08:06,944 --> 01:08:09,464
I can actually see
Saint Paul's and the city

1315
01:08:09,533 --> 01:08:14,331
churches silhouetted
against the blaze.

1316
01:08:14,400 --> 01:08:17,334
KINGSLEY: September the 7th,
1940, became known as

1317
01:08:17,403 --> 01:08:20,372
Black Saturday,
the official beginning

1318
01:08:20,441 --> 01:08:24,686
of what the world would
soon call the Blitz.

1319
01:08:24,755 --> 01:08:27,068
Throughout the fall
and winter of 1940

1320
01:08:27,137 --> 01:08:30,002
and well into 1941,
German bombers conducted

1321
01:08:30,071 --> 01:08:32,591
nightly raids
over London.

1322
01:08:32,660 --> 01:08:36,146
The air raid sirens would sound,
and wherever

1323
01:08:36,215 --> 01:08:38,355
one was in the city,
he or she would run to

1324
01:08:38,424 --> 01:08:40,564
the closest shelter.

1325
01:08:40,633 --> 01:08:43,878
Some people would go
down into deep shelters

1326
01:08:43,947 --> 01:08:46,467
in the Underground.

1327
01:08:46,536 --> 01:08:49,677
The trains kept running
until about midnight,

1328
01:08:49,746 --> 01:08:51,713
and people getting on
and off the trains, so you

1329
01:08:51,782 --> 01:08:54,199
could only actually
sleep at the back

1330
01:08:54,268 --> 01:08:58,789
of the platform
and in passageways.

1331
01:08:58,858 --> 01:09:02,034
If you had a back garden,
you could have your own

1332
01:09:02,103 --> 01:09:03,725
Anderson shelter.

1333
01:09:03,794 --> 01:09:07,315
You got two pieces
of corrugated iron that were

1334
01:09:07,384 --> 01:09:08,765
bolted together.

1335
01:09:08,834 --> 01:09:12,078
There were quite a few
cases where people slept

1336
01:09:12,148 --> 01:09:15,944
under railway arches,
and a direct hit,

1337
01:09:16,013 --> 01:09:18,947
and everybody died.

1338
01:09:19,016 --> 01:09:21,260
KINGSLEY: For parents,
many of whom were working

1339
01:09:21,329 --> 01:09:24,746
in the city, the anxiety
about their children,

1340
01:09:24,815 --> 01:09:26,886
who were either
at school or at home,

1341
01:09:26,955 --> 01:09:28,888
was overwhelming.

1342
01:09:28,957 --> 01:09:31,512
Many opted to send them
to relatives, friends,

1343
01:09:31,581 --> 01:09:34,066
even strangers
in the countryside, where

1344
01:09:34,135 --> 01:09:39,175
the Luftwaffe was not
dropping bombs.

1345
01:09:39,244 --> 01:09:41,280
[Air raid sirens]

1346
01:09:43,179 --> 01:09:45,284
[Explosions]

1347
01:09:53,465 --> 01:09:56,606
The Luftwaffe's bombs
fell indiscriminately.

1348
01:09:56,675 --> 01:09:58,642
From the wealth
of Mayfair to the poor

1349
01:09:58,711 --> 01:10:01,542
Italian and Jewish
neighborhoods in the East End,

1350
01:10:01,611 --> 01:10:04,130
no one was shown any mercy.

1351
01:10:04,200 --> 01:10:05,477
Yet, the next day,

1352
01:10:05,546 --> 01:10:08,307
people picked up
the pieces of their lives.

1353
01:10:08,376 --> 01:10:11,068
They found new places
to live if they had to

1354
01:10:11,137 --> 01:10:12,829
and went off
to their jobs.

1355
01:10:12,898 --> 01:10:14,762
GASKIN: And if
the office wasn't there,

1356
01:10:14,831 --> 01:10:16,591
there would probably be
a rope across

1357
01:10:16,660 --> 01:10:20,285
with a piece of paper saying,
"The office has moved to

1358
01:10:20,354 --> 01:10:22,494
so and so," and then
they'd have to sort of

1359
01:10:22,563 --> 01:10:24,496
climb over whatever
they had to climb over to

1360
01:10:24,565 --> 01:10:26,567
get to the new office.

1361
01:10:26,636 --> 01:10:29,294
My mum, for example,
she would be working up

1362
01:10:29,363 --> 01:10:31,365
in the city,
and she said you would turn up,

1363
01:10:31,434 --> 01:10:33,850
and sometimes,
the buildings just weren't

1364
01:10:33,919 --> 01:10:36,232
there anymore, and I'd
say, "Well, how did you

1365
01:10:36,301 --> 01:10:37,543
carry on?"

1366
01:10:37,612 --> 01:10:39,373
And she said, "Well, you
just got on with it."

1367
01:10:41,892 --> 01:10:43,687
KINGSLEY: American
journalists covering

1368
01:10:43,756 --> 01:10:45,724
the Blitz spent
a great deal of time

1369
01:10:45,793 --> 01:10:49,279
trying to figure
out what kept
the British going.

1370
01:10:51,971 --> 01:10:54,629
The American newspaper
reporter Ernie Pyle

1371
01:10:54,698 --> 01:10:56,631
published a dispatch
when the country's most

1372
01:10:56,700 --> 01:10:59,634
important church after
Westminster Abbey,

1373
01:10:59,703 --> 01:11:02,085
Saint Paul's,
was bombed during one raid

1374
01:11:02,154 --> 01:11:04,501
in November 1940.

1375
01:11:04,570 --> 01:11:06,469
He noted that Londoners
looked at the damage

1376
01:11:06,538 --> 01:11:09,472
without sadness and said,
"We would rather have it

1377
01:11:09,541 --> 01:11:13,614
"that way in a free London
than have it whole like

1378
01:11:13,683 --> 01:11:18,412
Notre Dame in
an imprisoned Paris."

1379
01:11:18,481 --> 01:11:20,655
One of the key reasons
why the British managed

1380
01:11:20,724 --> 01:11:23,071
to keep going despite
the nightly barrage

1381
01:11:23,140 --> 01:11:26,799
of Luftwaffe bombs was
seeing their Prime Minister

1382
01:11:26,868 --> 01:11:31,356
Winston Churchill out among them
on a regular basis.

1383
01:11:31,425 --> 01:11:33,668
From the moment
the Blitz started, Churchill

1384
01:11:33,737 --> 01:11:36,222
ventured out into
the streets to inspect damage

1385
01:11:36,292 --> 01:11:38,052
and offer comfort
to Londoners.

1386
01:11:42,608 --> 01:11:45,956
CHURCHILL: These cruel,
wanton, indiscriminate

1387
01:11:46,025 --> 01:11:51,168
bombings of London are, of
course, a part of Hitler's

1388
01:11:51,237 --> 01:11:53,378
invasion plan.

1389
01:11:53,447 --> 01:11:55,587
Little does he know
the spirit of the British

1390
01:11:55,656 --> 01:12:01,351
nation or the tough
fiber of the Londoners.

1391
01:12:03,767 --> 01:12:05,113
KINGSLEY: To protect
the Prime Minister,

1392
01:12:05,182 --> 01:12:07,875
the cabinet, the highest
echelons of the military,

1393
01:12:07,944 --> 01:12:10,222
and the government,
a heavily fortified

1394
01:12:10,291 --> 01:12:12,397
underground complex was
built, called

1395
01:12:12,466 --> 01:12:15,192
the Cabinet War Rooms,
just steps away

1396
01:12:15,261 --> 01:12:18,057
from number 10 Downing Street.

1397
01:12:18,126 --> 01:12:20,508
The Prime Minister's wife
Clementine, his personal

1398
01:12:20,577 --> 01:12:23,546
bodyguard Inspector
Walter H. Thompson,

1399
01:12:23,615 --> 01:12:25,479
as well as many in
the government would have

1400
01:12:25,548 --> 01:12:27,239
preferred that he
remained in the safety

1401
01:12:27,308 --> 01:12:28,758
of the Cabinet War Rooms.

1402
01:12:28,827 --> 01:12:32,589
But to the chagrin
of those surrounding him,

1403
01:12:32,658 --> 01:12:37,145
Churchill insisted
on being where
the action was.

1404
01:12:37,214 --> 01:12:38,595
He would often go
up on the roof

1405
01:12:38,664 --> 01:12:40,873
of the government offices
in Whitehall to view

1406
01:12:40,942 --> 01:12:42,944
an air raid as
it was occurring.

1407
01:12:43,013 --> 01:12:45,464
On one occasion, while
dining with the King

1408
01:12:45,533 --> 01:12:48,571
at number 10,
the Luftwaffe began bombing

1409
01:12:48,640 --> 01:12:50,331
and both His Majesty
and the Prime Minister

1410
01:12:50,400 --> 01:12:53,576
were asked to go into the
shelter, but Churchill refused,

1411
01:12:53,645 --> 01:12:56,441
telling the King,
"I must go out

1412
01:12:56,510 --> 01:12:58,995
and see how
things are going."

1413
01:12:59,064 --> 01:13:00,893
The Prime Minister
did not like to sleep

1414
01:13:00,962 --> 01:13:04,414
in the bedroom provided for him
in the Cabinet War Rooms.

1415
01:13:04,483 --> 01:13:06,968
He preferred
the residence at number 10

1416
01:13:07,037 --> 01:13:08,763
so he could get outside
quickly during a raid

1417
01:13:08,832 --> 01:13:11,387
and see what
was happening.

1418
01:13:12,698 --> 01:13:15,770
One day, Mrs. Churchill
got word from the Air Ministry

1419
01:13:15,839 --> 01:13:18,497
that a big attack was expected.

1420
01:13:18,566 --> 01:13:20,948
She made her husband
promise that they would

1421
01:13:21,017 --> 01:13:24,745
sleep in the private quarters
at the Cabinet War Rooms.

1422
01:13:24,814 --> 01:13:26,988
She asked Inspector Thompson
to make sure

1423
01:13:27,057 --> 01:13:30,440
that the Prime Minister
did just that.

1424
01:13:30,509 --> 01:13:33,547
When the air raid began,
the bodyguard was amazed

1425
01:13:33,616 --> 01:13:35,963
to see Churchill getting
into his bedclothes

1426
01:13:36,032 --> 01:13:39,138
and doing exactly
what his wife
had requested of him.

1427
01:13:39,207 --> 01:13:41,658
But when Thompson
returned to his own room,

1428
01:13:41,727 --> 01:13:43,867
his bell rang,
and he returned to find

1429
01:13:43,936 --> 01:13:45,835
the Prime Minister
in his dressing gown

1430
01:13:45,904 --> 01:13:46,939
and slippers.

1431
01:13:47,008 --> 01:13:49,563
"Thompson, get my
clothes," he said.

1432
01:13:49,632 --> 01:13:51,599
"I've kept my promise
to Mrs. Churchill.

1433
01:13:51,668 --> 01:13:54,947
Now I'm going
upstairs to sleep."

1434
01:13:55,016 --> 01:13:56,742
Churchill insisted
on taking his nightly

1435
01:13:56,811 --> 01:13:59,435
constitutional
in Saint James' Park

1436
01:13:59,504 --> 01:14:01,126
despite the danger.

1437
01:14:01,195 --> 01:14:03,853
After one such walk as
he and Inspector Thompson

1438
01:14:03,922 --> 01:14:07,339
stepped into the annex at
number 10, a tremendous

1439
01:14:07,408 --> 01:14:09,030
explosion occurred.

1440
01:14:09,099 --> 01:14:11,067
The bodyguard was hoping
that his might dissuade

1441
01:14:11,136 --> 01:14:14,622
the Prime Minister from
taking further strolls,

1442
01:14:14,691 --> 01:14:17,245
but he was undaunted,
telling Thompson,

1443
01:14:17,314 --> 01:14:20,525
"There is someone looking
after me besides you."

1444
01:14:20,594 --> 01:14:22,837
"Do you mean Sergeant Davis?"
the inspector asked,

1445
01:14:22,906 --> 01:14:24,701
referring to his assistant.

1446
01:14:24,770 --> 01:14:28,498
"No," answered
the Prime Minister,
as he pointed his finger

1447
01:14:28,567 --> 01:14:29,879
towards the skies.

1448
01:14:29,948 --> 01:14:32,329
"I have a mission to
perform," said Churchill,

1449
01:14:32,398 --> 01:14:38,922
and that person
intends to see
that it is performed."

1450
01:14:38,991 --> 01:14:41,028
It was Churchill's
practice to go out among

1451
01:14:41,097 --> 01:14:43,202
the people, especially
after a particularly

1452
01:14:43,271 --> 01:14:45,688
severe bombing raid.

1453
01:14:45,757 --> 01:14:47,931
Inspector Thompson
recalled that, surrounded

1454
01:14:48,000 --> 01:14:49,830
by the intense
devastation of a whole

1455
01:14:49,899 --> 01:14:54,179
block or cluster of homes,
he would stand and talk,

1456
01:14:54,248 --> 01:14:56,733
chatting with survivors,
listening to their

1457
01:14:56,802 --> 01:14:59,667
accountings of what
had happened to them.

1458
01:14:59,736 --> 01:15:02,014
After one raid,
the Prime Minister arrived

1459
01:15:02,083 --> 01:15:04,638
at the scene of a bombed
house, only to pitch in

1460
01:15:04,707 --> 01:15:07,088
and help the rescue workers.

1461
01:15:07,157 --> 01:15:09,125
MAN AS THOMPSON: Winston
went down on his knees to

1462
01:15:09,194 --> 01:15:12,818
clutch a woman who,
still conscious,
was being dug out.

1463
01:15:12,887 --> 01:15:14,786
For a moment, they looked
at one another,

1464
01:15:14,855 --> 01:15:16,753
Winston with his coat
and trousers spattered

1465
01:15:16,822 --> 01:15:19,100
with mud, the woman
covered from head to

1466
01:15:19,169 --> 01:15:20,723
foot in dust.

1467
01:15:20,792 --> 01:15:23,346
Then with a tremor in her
voice, she thanked him

1468
01:15:23,415 --> 01:15:25,590
and was taken
away by friends.

1469
01:15:25,659 --> 01:15:28,489
"There goes
greatness," Winston said.

1470
01:15:28,558 --> 01:15:31,112
Tears were streaming
down his face.

1471
01:15:31,181 --> 01:15:33,598
There were many occasions
when he would silently

1472
01:15:33,667 --> 01:15:35,876
and without shame
or embarrassment

1473
01:15:35,945 --> 01:15:40,605
weep without speaking
for many minutes.

1474
01:15:40,674 --> 01:15:42,020
KINGSLEY: Winston Churchill's
visibility

1475
01:15:42,089 --> 01:15:44,298
among the people, as
well as his addresses

1476
01:15:44,367 --> 01:15:47,197
on the radio, helped to
send a message to Britons

1477
01:15:47,266 --> 01:15:50,373
that became a watchword
during the Blitz--

1478
01:15:50,442 --> 01:15:54,619
Keep calm and carry on.

1479
01:15:54,688 --> 01:15:56,655
GASKIN: Winston Churchill
really sort of put all

1480
01:15:56,724 --> 01:15:58,450
the right words
in the right order so that

1481
01:15:58,519 --> 01:15:59,762
people could
say, "Yes, yes.

1482
01:15:59,831 --> 01:16:02,627
"I can move, fight on.

1483
01:16:02,696 --> 01:16:07,079
"I can get myself up
and do the next day.

1484
01:16:07,148 --> 01:16:09,979
We will keep going."

1485
01:16:10,048 --> 01:16:12,153
KINGSLEY: On several
occasions, the Prime Minister

1486
01:16:12,222 --> 01:16:14,846
was accompanied
by the King and Queen.

1487
01:16:14,915 --> 01:16:16,641
While many in
the government had insisted

1488
01:16:16,710 --> 01:16:18,574
that the royal family
move to Canada for their

1489
01:16:18,643 --> 01:16:21,818
safety, the King
and Queen refused,

1490
01:16:21,887 --> 01:16:25,857
insisting it was their duty
to stay in England.

1491
01:16:25,926 --> 01:16:27,341
They remained
in Buckingham Palace

1492
01:16:27,410 --> 01:16:29,895
with the two princesses
even after it was bombed

1493
01:16:29,964 --> 01:16:31,794
during one raid,
killing a member

1494
01:16:31,863 --> 01:16:33,865
of the Royal Guard.

1495
01:16:36,902 --> 01:16:39,077
WOMAN: When we heard
that our King and Queen

1496
01:16:39,146 --> 01:16:41,873
weren't deserting us
and going to a safer country,

1497
01:16:41,942 --> 01:16:45,014
of course we were all
thrilled, and it gave

1498
01:16:45,083 --> 01:16:49,121
everybody a lot
of hope and courage,

1499
01:16:49,190 --> 01:16:51,089
and that meant a lot.

1500
01:16:57,647 --> 01:16:59,028
KINGSLEY: Another
important component

1501
01:16:59,097 --> 01:17:00,892
in helping to keep up
the sprits of the British

1502
01:17:00,961 --> 01:17:03,653
people during
the worst of the Blitz

1503
01:17:03,722 --> 01:17:06,760
was popular culture.

1504
01:17:06,829 --> 01:17:09,970
LYNN: When war was
declared, everybody

1505
01:17:10,039 --> 01:17:13,974
assumed that everything
was going to close up,

1506
01:17:14,043 --> 01:17:16,701
particularly places
of entertainment.

1507
01:17:16,770 --> 01:17:20,705
But of course,
that didn't prove so.

1508
01:17:20,774 --> 01:17:24,053
People were very glad
of the entertainment,

1509
01:17:24,122 --> 01:17:27,712
and they all still hoped
that everything would be

1510
01:17:27,781 --> 01:17:30,197
OK while they were there,
but the manager used to

1511
01:17:30,266 --> 01:17:33,959
come on stage and say that
there'd been the siren

1512
01:17:34,028 --> 01:17:36,755
and if anybody wished to
leave, they could and go

1513
01:17:36,824 --> 01:17:40,690
to the nearest shelter.
And those who wanted to

1514
01:17:40,759 --> 01:17:44,038
stay could just say,
and of course, they stayed.

1515
01:17:44,107 --> 01:17:47,835
Only recently I had
a letter from someone

1516
01:17:47,904 --> 01:17:52,357
saying that they were on
their way home one night

1517
01:17:52,426 --> 01:17:55,947
from work and they passed
a theater in London

1518
01:17:56,016 --> 01:17:58,846
and saw my name up,
and they thought, "Ooh,

1519
01:17:58,915 --> 01:18:02,816
right. I'll just pop in
and see her," because he

1520
01:18:02,885 --> 01:18:07,683
was a fan, and he did,
and he enjoyed the show.

1521
01:18:07,752 --> 01:18:11,687
but when he got home,
his house had gone.

1522
01:18:11,756 --> 01:18:16,174
It had just been bombed
and blown away.

1523
01:18:16,243 --> 01:18:20,178
So he said he was very
grateful to me for probably

1524
01:18:20,247 --> 01:18:22,559
saving his life.

1525
01:18:22,628 --> 01:18:24,216
You know, I remember singing

1526
01:18:24,285 --> 01:18:27,012
"A Nightingale Sang
in Berkeley Square"

1527
01:18:27,081 --> 01:18:30,567
one night,
and the sirens went off,

1528
01:18:30,636 --> 01:18:32,949
and of course,
it was no nightingale

1529
01:18:33,018 --> 01:18:36,228
we could hear but
the start of some bombing,

1530
01:18:36,297 --> 01:18:37,471
but nobody moved.

1531
01:18:37,540 --> 01:18:40,060
They still sat there,
and I still stood on stage

1532
01:18:40,129 --> 01:18:42,787
and carried on with my
nightingale that was

1533
01:18:42,856 --> 01:18:45,582
singing in
Berkeley Square.

1534
01:18:45,651 --> 01:18:47,999
LYNN: ♪ The streets of town ♪

1535
01:18:48,068 --> 01:18:51,657
♪ Were paved
with stars ♪

1536
01:18:51,727 --> 01:18:56,490
♪ It was such
a romantic affair ♪

1537
01:18:56,559 --> 01:19:04,774
♪ And as we kissed
and said good night ♪

1538
01:19:04,843 --> 01:19:16,303
♪ A nightingale sang
in Berkeley Square ♪

1539
01:19:16,372 --> 01:19:23,551
♪ I know 'cause
I was there ♪

1540
01:19:23,620 --> 01:19:25,933
♪ That night ♪

1541
01:19:26,002 --> 01:19:37,220
♪ In Berkeley Square ♪

1542
01:19:45,263 --> 01:19:46,989
KINGSLEY: Ironically,
some of the best

1543
01:19:47,058 --> 01:19:48,611
entertainment
took place

1544
01:19:48,680 --> 01:19:50,993
in some of the underground
shelters.

1545
01:19:51,062 --> 01:19:53,754
They had the ballroom
at the Dorchester Hotel,

1546
01:19:53,823 --> 01:19:55,411
where there was
an orchestra and people

1547
01:19:55,480 --> 01:19:57,585
danced as the bombs fell.

1548
01:20:01,210 --> 01:20:04,178
GASKIN: Somebody sort of
looked around this very

1549
01:20:04,247 --> 01:20:07,319
high-class room and said,
"If a bomb hit now, it

1550
01:20:07,388 --> 01:20:09,874
"would be like the Titanic
going down all over again,"

1551
01:20:09,943 --> 01:20:11,876
and then someone
else pointed out that

1552
01:20:11,945 --> 01:20:14,844
a lot of these really
well-dressed girls were

1553
01:20:14,913 --> 01:20:17,813
actually during
the day or on other nights

1554
01:20:17,882 --> 01:20:21,333
driving ambulances or
fire trucks, or they

1555
01:20:21,402 --> 01:20:23,059
might be nurses.

1556
01:20:27,926 --> 01:20:29,548
KINGSLEY: November
1940, was a difficult

1557
01:20:29,617 --> 01:20:31,999
month for Great Britain.

1558
01:20:32,068 --> 01:20:34,277
The Luftwaffe carried out
one of its most powerful

1559
01:20:34,346 --> 01:20:38,143
bombing raids
on the town of Coventry.

1560
01:20:38,212 --> 01:20:40,249
Over 500 German
bombers destroyed

1561
01:20:40,318 --> 01:20:43,493
4,000 homes, killing
600 and wounding more

1562
01:20:43,562 --> 01:20:45,461
than a thousand.

1563
01:20:45,530 --> 01:20:47,946
There was not a building
in the city center that

1564
01:20:48,015 --> 01:20:50,846
did not suffer
some damage.

1565
01:20:53,503 --> 01:20:55,920
Giving the British public
some hope was the fact

1566
01:20:55,989 --> 01:20:59,233
that Franklin Roosevelt
had won an unprecedented

1567
01:20:59,302 --> 01:21:02,858
third term as President
of the United States.

1568
01:21:02,927 --> 01:21:05,930
FDR had campaigned on
a platform that said,

1569
01:21:05,999 --> 01:21:09,761
"All aid to Britain
short of war."

1570
01:21:09,830 --> 01:21:11,211
The President was
quite concerned that

1571
01:21:11,280 --> 01:21:13,938
with Britain under attack,
the United States would

1572
01:21:14,007 --> 01:21:16,009
not be far behind.

1573
01:21:16,078 --> 01:21:18,943
One afternoon, FDR,
who was paralyzed from

1574
01:21:19,012 --> 01:21:22,360
the waist down with polio,
demonstrated to an aide

1575
01:21:22,429 --> 01:21:24,500
how he would make for
the nearest exit in the event

1576
01:21:24,569 --> 01:21:26,951
of a German air raid.

1577
01:21:27,020 --> 01:21:28,573
He got out of his
wheelchair, got down

1578
01:21:28,642 --> 01:21:32,439
on the floor, and began
to move on his elbows.

1579
01:21:32,508 --> 01:21:34,820
The First Lady happened
to walk into the Oval Office

1580
01:21:34,890 --> 01:21:36,753
at this moment
and fled in tears when she

1581
01:21:36,822 --> 01:21:40,447
realized what her
husband was doing.

1582
01:21:40,516 --> 01:21:43,726
With the election behind
him, President Roosevelt

1583
01:21:43,795 --> 01:21:46,073
began to focus on getting
Churchill the destroyers

1584
01:21:46,142 --> 01:21:47,833
and other military
aid he'd been asking

1585
01:21:47,903 --> 01:21:52,735
for since he became
Prime Minister in May.

1586
01:21:52,804 --> 01:21:56,152
His job was made somewhat
easier when the Luftwaffe

1587
01:21:56,221 --> 01:21:58,983
pounded London on
December 29, igniting

1588
01:21:59,052 --> 01:22:00,743
even greater support
in America

1589
01:22:00,812 --> 01:22:02,434
for the British people.

1590
01:22:02,503 --> 01:22:04,885
That evening,
the President addressed

1591
01:22:04,954 --> 01:22:06,335
the nation about
the situation

1592
01:22:06,404 --> 01:22:10,926
in Great Britain in one of
his famous fireside chats.

1593
01:22:10,995 --> 01:22:16,034
We must be the great
arsenal of democracy.

1594
01:22:16,103 --> 01:22:20,314
For us, this is
an emergency as serious as

1595
01:22:20,383 --> 01:22:22,282
war itself.

1596
01:22:22,351 --> 01:22:25,457
There will be no
bottleneck in our

1597
01:22:25,526 --> 01:22:30,462
determination
to aid Great Britain.

1598
01:22:30,531 --> 01:22:33,465
CHOIR: ♪ Ding dong
merrily on high ♪

1599
01:22:33,534 --> 01:22:37,193
♪ In Heaven,
the bells are ringing ♪

1600
01:22:37,262 --> 01:22:38,815
♪ Ding dong verily... ♪

1601
01:22:38,884 --> 01:22:40,541
KINGSLEY: The weekend between
Christmas and New Year's,

1602
01:22:40,610 --> 01:22:43,027
"Christmas Under Fire,"
a short film

1603
01:22:43,096 --> 01:22:45,339
written and narrated
by the American journalist

1604
01:22:45,408 --> 01:22:48,894
Quentin Reynolds,
was rushed into 16,000

1605
01:22:48,964 --> 01:22:51,725
movie theaters in
the United States.

1606
01:22:51,794 --> 01:22:54,314
It had a big impact on
public opinion just prior

1607
01:22:54,383 --> 01:22:58,490
to President Roosevelt's
State of the Union Address.

1608
01:22:58,559 --> 01:23:01,355
FDR laid out a plan
that would lend American

1609
01:23:01,424 --> 01:23:03,564
destroyers and other
military equipment to

1610
01:23:03,633 --> 01:23:06,429
Great Britain in exchange
for leases on British

1611
01:23:06,498 --> 01:23:08,190
naval bases.

1612
01:23:08,259 --> 01:23:10,916
FDR dispatched a close
aide and confidant,

1613
01:23:10,986 --> 01:23:14,886
the former commerce secretary
Harry Hopkins, to England

1614
01:23:14,955 --> 01:23:16,508
to meet with Churchill
to help coordinate

1615
01:23:16,577 --> 01:23:18,752
the working
relationship between

1616
01:23:18,821 --> 01:23:22,169
the two countries.

1617
01:23:22,238 --> 01:23:24,378
Hopkins was tremendously
moved by what he saw

1618
01:23:24,447 --> 01:23:27,416
in England and created
a close bond with Churchill

1619
01:23:27,485 --> 01:23:29,797
that would last
the rest of the war.

1620
01:23:32,904 --> 01:23:35,320
In early March 1941,
after two months

1621
01:23:35,389 --> 01:23:39,083
of politicking, the U.S.
Lend-Lease Act passed

1622
01:23:39,152 --> 01:23:41,154
in the Congress.

1623
01:23:41,223 --> 01:23:43,225
The long-awaited American
destroyers and other

1624
01:23:43,294 --> 01:23:46,642
material were on their
way to Great Britain.

1625
01:23:46,711 --> 01:23:48,920
Within a few weeks,
Germany began to scale

1626
01:23:48,989 --> 01:23:51,785
back on their
nightly bombing raids.

1627
01:23:51,854 --> 01:23:53,925
The British people had
refused to give up during

1628
01:23:53,994 --> 01:23:55,582
the Blitz.

1629
01:23:55,651 --> 01:23:58,757
The Luftwaffe's arsenals
were becoming depleted.

1630
01:23:58,826 --> 01:24:01,312
RAF retaliatory raids on
Berlin and other German

1631
01:24:01,381 --> 01:24:06,558
cities were also
shaking up the Nazis.

1632
01:24:06,627 --> 01:24:09,768
One British attack came as
Russian Foreign Minister Molotov

1633
01:24:09,837 --> 01:24:12,116
was completing meetings
with Hermann Goering

1634
01:24:12,185 --> 01:24:15,429
and German Foreign Minister
von Ribbentrop.

1635
01:24:15,498 --> 01:24:18,812
Throughout the meetings, Goering
and von Ribbentrop kept bragging

1636
01:24:18,881 --> 01:24:21,125
that Great Britain
was finished.

1637
01:24:21,194 --> 01:24:24,128
As RAF bombs started
raining down on Berlin,

1638
01:24:24,197 --> 01:24:27,200
Molotov looked at his
hosts and asked,

1639
01:24:27,269 --> 01:24:29,788
"If Britain is finished,
then why are we in this

1640
01:24:29,857 --> 01:24:35,242
shelter, and whose bombs
are falling on us?"

1641
01:24:35,311 --> 01:24:36,657
In the North London
neighborhood where

1642
01:24:36,726 --> 01:24:40,144
David Ben-Gurion was living,
he often found himself

1643
01:24:40,213 --> 01:24:42,422
in the shelter
in the Underground station

1644
01:24:42,491 --> 01:24:47,151
around the corner
from his flat during air raids.

1645
01:24:47,220 --> 01:24:49,429
Back in his apartment
after the all clear,

1646
01:24:49,498 --> 01:24:51,465
the future Prime Minister
of Israel reflected

1647
01:24:51,534 --> 01:24:54,192
on Winston Churchill's
leadership, writing,

1648
01:24:54,261 --> 01:24:57,161
"He lifted an entire nation
out of the depths

1649
01:24:57,230 --> 01:25:00,095
"of humiliation and defeat,
instilled in them

1650
01:25:00,164 --> 01:25:03,753
"the spiritual strength
to hold fast
against heavy odds.

1651
01:25:03,822 --> 01:25:08,620
If not for Churchill,
England would have gone down."

1652
01:25:08,689 --> 01:25:11,520
8 years later, as Israel
was about to declare its

1653
01:25:11,589 --> 01:25:16,283
independence, Ben-Gurion
thought back on his time
in London.

1654
01:25:16,352 --> 01:25:18,320
"I recall the men
and women of London during

1655
01:25:18,389 --> 01:25:20,115
the Blitz," he wrote.

1656
01:25:20,184 --> 01:25:21,633
"I have seen what
a people are capable

1657
01:25:21,702 --> 01:25:24,360
of achieving
in the hour of supreme trial.

1658
01:25:24,429 --> 01:25:27,329
"I have seen their spirit
touched by nobility.

1659
01:25:27,398 --> 01:25:30,332
This is what
the Jewish people can do."

1660
01:25:34,819 --> 01:25:36,683
There was another reason
why the Nazis began to

1661
01:25:36,752 --> 01:25:40,514
decrease their raids on
England in the spring of 1941.

1662
01:25:40,583 --> 01:25:42,447
Hitler had made
the decision to launch

1663
01:25:42,516 --> 01:25:44,898
Operation Barbarossa,
the invasion

1664
01:25:44,967 --> 01:25:48,453
of the Soviet Union.

1665
01:25:48,522 --> 01:25:52,216
3 days before the invasion began
on June 21, 1941,

1666
01:25:52,285 --> 01:25:54,735
Nazi Propaganda Minister
Joseph Goebbels

1667
01:25:54,804 --> 01:25:58,325
expressed his frustration
about Winston Churchill.

1668
01:25:58,394 --> 01:26:01,397
"Were it not for him,"
wrote Goebbels in his diary,

1669
01:26:01,466 --> 01:26:04,469
"this war would
have ended long ago."

1670
01:26:05,919 --> 01:26:08,197
Despite the fact that
Russia and Germany had

1671
01:26:08,266 --> 01:26:10,579
signed a non-aggression
pact, relations between

1672
01:26:10,648 --> 01:26:14,238
the two had deteriorated
and become hostile.

1673
01:26:14,307 --> 01:26:16,101
Hitler was convinced that
invading in June would

1674
01:26:16,171 --> 01:26:19,967
ensure a quick victory
before the bitter Russian
winter set in.

1675
01:26:31,289 --> 01:26:33,395
Within a month
of the Nazi invasion,

1676
01:26:33,464 --> 01:26:36,846
special units of the SS
called the Einsatzgruppen

1677
01:26:36,915 --> 01:26:40,609
were sent into the Ukraine
and eastern Poland.

1678
01:26:40,678 --> 01:26:44,854
Their mission was to
eliminate the Jewish
population from those areas.

1679
01:26:44,923 --> 01:26:49,238
Over the next 18 months,
more than 1.5 million Jews

1680
01:26:49,307 --> 01:26:51,723
were murdered at killing
centers called Belzec,

1681
01:26:51,792 --> 01:26:56,659
Majdanek, Treblinka,
and Sobibor.

1682
01:26:56,728 --> 01:27:00,284
Back in the summer
of 1941 at Bletchley Park,

1683
01:27:00,353 --> 01:27:01,699
Enigma intercepts
were providing

1684
01:27:01,768 --> 01:27:03,459
Prime Minister Churchill
with information

1685
01:27:03,528 --> 01:27:07,291
about the Einsatzgruppen
murder squads.

1686
01:27:07,360 --> 01:27:08,947
Churchill decided
to raise the issue

1687
01:27:09,016 --> 01:27:12,606
with President Roosevelt
at their first face-to-face

1688
01:27:12,675 --> 01:27:18,543
meeting off the coast
of Canada in late August 1941.

1689
01:27:18,612 --> 01:27:19,993
GILBERT: Churchill
had spoken on what was

1690
01:27:20,062 --> 01:27:23,479
happening to the Jews of Russia,
and he was very

1691
01:27:23,548 --> 01:27:25,447
concerned with it,
but at this meeting, he was

1692
01:27:25,516 --> 01:27:28,553
concerned, could
Britain survive?

1693
01:27:28,622 --> 01:27:30,279
KINGSLEY: While Churchill
was intent on getting

1694
01:27:30,348 --> 01:27:32,695
a deeper commitment by
the President to joining

1695
01:27:32,764 --> 01:27:36,216
the war effort, FDR
seemed to be focused

1696
01:27:36,285 --> 01:27:39,012
on the world
after the war.

1697
01:27:39,081 --> 01:27:41,808
Toward the end of their
meeting, President Roosevelt

1698
01:27:41,877 --> 01:27:43,499
presented Churchill
with a document

1699
01:27:43,568 --> 01:27:46,019
called the Atlantic Charter.

1700
01:27:46,088 --> 01:27:48,642
It was FDR's vision of
a post-war world in which

1701
01:27:48,711 --> 01:27:50,782
Great Britain
and the United States would

1702
01:27:50,851 --> 01:27:53,406
pledge themselves to
respect the right of all

1703
01:27:53,475 --> 01:27:55,546
peoples to choose
a form of government

1704
01:27:55,615 --> 01:27:57,858
under which they live.

1705
01:27:57,927 --> 01:28:00,033
Churchill supported
the idea of the charter,

1706
01:28:00,102 --> 01:28:02,242
but he raised an issue
with FDR that would prove

1707
01:28:02,311 --> 01:28:04,244
to be a sticking point
in their relationship

1708
01:28:04,313 --> 01:28:07,385
throughout the rest
of the war years.

1709
01:28:07,454 --> 01:28:08,973
The Prime Minister
explained his fears that

1710
01:28:09,042 --> 01:28:12,321
under the charter,
the Arabs of Palestine might

1711
01:28:12,390 --> 01:28:14,496
claim the right to expel
the Jews or to forbid

1712
01:28:14,565 --> 01:28:16,981
future Jewish
immigration there.

1713
01:28:17,050 --> 01:28:20,053
"I am strongly wedded
to the Zionist policy,"

1714
01:28:20,122 --> 01:28:23,263
Churchill told
the President.

1715
01:28:23,332 --> 01:28:25,092
Meeting later with
his war cabinet,

1716
01:28:25,161 --> 01:28:27,923
the Prime Minister declared that
if Britain and the U.S.

1717
01:28:27,992 --> 01:28:30,615
emerged from the war
victorious, the creation

1718
01:28:30,684 --> 01:28:34,688
of a "great Jewish state"
in Palestine would be one

1719
01:28:34,757 --> 01:28:39,486
of the matters discussed
at the peace conference.

1720
01:28:39,555 --> 01:28:43,283
Returning to London
on August 24, the Prime Minister

1721
01:28:43,352 --> 01:28:44,422
discussed his meetings

1722
01:28:44,491 --> 01:28:47,494
with the President
in a BBC broadcast.

1723
01:28:47,563 --> 01:28:50,290
He also raised the issue
of German atrocities

1724
01:28:50,359 --> 01:28:53,293
in the Soviet Union.

1725
01:28:53,362 --> 01:28:55,675
CHURCHILL: There has
never been methodical,

1726
01:28:55,744 --> 01:28:59,437
merciless butchery
on such a scale

1727
01:28:59,506 --> 01:29:01,750
or approaching such a scale,

1728
01:29:01,819 --> 01:29:06,548
and this is
but the beginning.

1729
01:29:06,617 --> 01:29:11,415
We are in the presence
of a crime without a name.

1730
01:29:17,904 --> 01:29:21,114
KINGSLEY: On the evening
of December 7, 1941,

1731
01:29:21,183 --> 01:29:23,530
Winston Churchill was
at Chequers, the official

1732
01:29:23,599 --> 01:29:25,946
country estate
of the British Prime Minister,

1733
01:29:26,015 --> 01:29:28,017
dining with the newly
appointed U.S. ambassador

1734
01:29:28,086 --> 01:29:31,366
Gilbert Winant
and FDR's special envoy

1735
01:29:31,435 --> 01:29:33,437
Averell Harriman.

1736
01:29:33,506 --> 01:29:36,301
Churchill turned on
the radio so the group could

1737
01:29:36,371 --> 01:29:39,201
listen to the 9 P.M.
BCC news.

1738
01:29:39,270 --> 01:29:40,720
NEWS READER:
Here is the news.

1739
01:29:40,789 --> 01:29:43,170
Japan's long-threatened
aggression in the Far East began

1740
01:29:43,239 --> 01:29:46,795
tonight with air attacks
on United States naval bases

1741
01:29:46,864 --> 01:29:47,968
in the Pacific.

1742
01:29:48,037 --> 01:29:49,625
KINGSLEY: As Churchill
switched on the radio,

1743
01:29:49,694 --> 01:29:51,489
there was a bulletin
about the Japanese attack

1744
01:29:51,558 --> 01:29:53,836
on Pearl Harbor,
which had just occurred.

1745
01:29:53,905 --> 01:29:56,356
The Prime Minister jumped
to his feet and said,

1746
01:29:56,425 --> 01:30:00,464
"Great Britain shall
declare war on Japan."

1747
01:30:00,533 --> 01:30:02,500
A moment later,
Ambassador Winant got

1748
01:30:02,569 --> 01:30:04,260
President Roosevelt
on the telephone

1749
01:30:04,329 --> 01:30:06,366
and confirmed the attack.

1750
01:30:06,435 --> 01:30:08,782
He then put
the Prime Minister on the phone.

1751
01:30:08,851 --> 01:30:11,613
Roosevelt's first
words were, "We are all

1752
01:30:11,682 --> 01:30:13,822
in the same boat now."

1753
01:30:13,891 --> 01:30:15,686
It was something that
Churchill had been

1754
01:30:15,755 --> 01:30:19,344
waiting to hear since
May of 1940.

1755
01:30:19,414 --> 01:30:21,588
That night, Churchill
would later report

1756
01:30:21,657 --> 01:30:25,074
he slept the sleep
of the saved and thankful.

1757
01:30:27,767 --> 01:30:30,494
Two weeks later,
Prime Minister Churchill

1758
01:30:30,563 --> 01:30:32,185
arrived in
Washington, D.C., to meet

1759
01:30:32,254 --> 01:30:35,291
with President Roosevelt
and strategize the now

1760
01:30:35,360 --> 01:30:37,777
joint war effort
between Great Britain

1761
01:30:37,846 --> 01:30:39,744
and the U.S.

1762
01:30:39,813 --> 01:30:41,608
Churchill stayed on
as FDR's guest

1763
01:30:41,677 --> 01:30:44,646
in the White House.

1764
01:30:44,715 --> 01:30:47,062
GOODWIN: Churchill arrives,
and they put him up

1765
01:30:47,131 --> 01:30:48,857
in the room which is
now known of course as

1766
01:30:48,926 --> 01:30:50,721
the Churchill room,
and he said,

1767
01:30:50,790 --> 01:30:52,032
"Now I have a few rules.

1768
01:30:52,101 --> 01:30:53,620
"There's not to be
any talking

1769
01:30:53,689 --> 01:30:54,690
"in the hallways around me.

1770
01:30:54,759 --> 01:30:56,002
"I don't like
to hear that.

1771
01:30:56,071 --> 01:30:57,797
"I hate to hear whistling,
and I need to have

1772
01:30:57,866 --> 01:30:59,661
"have a bottle
of sherry every morning

1773
01:30:59,730 --> 01:31:00,972
"before breakfast.

1774
01:31:01,041 --> 01:31:03,458
"I need to have Scotch
and soda before lunch,

1775
01:31:03,527 --> 01:31:06,978
"and I need to have wine
and liquor and brandy

1776
01:31:07,047 --> 01:31:08,463
after dinner."

1777
01:31:08,532 --> 01:31:10,810
He would then stay up
with Roosevelt

1778
01:31:10,879 --> 01:31:11,983
until 2 A.M.

1779
01:31:12,052 --> 01:31:14,434
The two of them would
smoke and drink until

1780
01:31:14,503 --> 01:31:16,401
finally Eleanor would
come in and say,

1781
01:31:16,471 --> 01:31:19,197
"Isn't it time for you
two little boys to go to bed?"

1782
01:31:19,266 --> 01:31:21,993
KINGSLEY: One morning
during Churchill's visit,

1783
01:31:22,062 --> 01:31:24,548
FDR had an idea and asked
his aide to wheel him

1784
01:31:24,617 --> 01:31:26,826
into the Prime Minister's
room immediately.

1785
01:31:26,895 --> 01:31:28,137
GOODWIN: It so happened
Churchill was just coming

1786
01:31:28,206 --> 01:31:30,105
out of the bathtub
and had absolutely nothing

1787
01:31:30,174 --> 01:31:32,176
on, so Roosevelt
said, "I'm so sorry.

1788
01:31:32,245 --> 01:31:33,798
I'll come back in a few
moments," but Churchill,

1789
01:31:33,867 --> 01:31:35,731
ever able to speak
spontaneously, in a very

1790
01:31:35,800 --> 01:31:38,803
formal voice said,
"Oh, no. Please stay.

1791
01:31:38,872 --> 01:31:41,392
"The Prime Minister
of Great Britain has nothing

1792
01:31:41,461 --> 01:31:42,669
"to hide
from the President

1793
01:31:42,738 --> 01:31:45,534
of the United States."

1794
01:31:48,399 --> 01:31:49,814
KINGSLEY: The day
after Christmas,

1795
01:31:49,883 --> 01:31:52,127
Winston Churchill was given
an honor accorded to

1796
01:31:52,196 --> 01:31:53,818
a very few.

1797
01:31:53,887 --> 01:31:57,339
He addressed the joint houses
of the United States Congress.

1798
01:31:57,408 --> 01:32:00,894
The Prime Minister, whose
mother was an American,

1799
01:32:00,963 --> 01:32:02,931
immediately won over
the Congressional

1800
01:32:03,000 --> 01:32:06,590
representatives
and senators assembled.

1801
01:32:06,659 --> 01:32:10,628
I cannot help
but reflecting that if my

1802
01:32:10,697 --> 01:32:16,013
father had been American
and my mother British

1803
01:32:16,082 --> 01:32:19,464
instead of the other way
around, I might have got

1804
01:32:19,534 --> 01:32:20,845
here on my own.

1805
01:32:20,914 --> 01:32:23,054
[Laughter and applause]

1806
01:32:30,061 --> 01:32:35,550
Here we are, together,
facing a group of mighty

1807
01:32:35,619 --> 01:32:39,174
foes, who seek our ruin.

1808
01:32:39,243 --> 01:32:43,696
Here we are, together,
defending all that

1809
01:32:43,765 --> 01:32:46,561
to free men is dear.

1810
01:32:46,630 --> 01:32:49,633
Twice in a single
generation,

1811
01:32:49,702 --> 01:32:55,086
the catastrophe of world war
has fallen upon us.

1812
01:32:55,155 --> 01:32:59,574
Twice in our lifetime
has the long arm of fate

1813
01:32:59,643 --> 01:33:01,714
reached out across
the ocean to bring

1814
01:33:01,783 --> 01:33:06,373
the United States into
the forefront of the battle.

1815
01:33:06,442 --> 01:33:12,690
Here I avow my hope
and faith sure and inviolate

1816
01:33:12,759 --> 01:33:16,245
that in the days to come
the British and American

1817
01:33:16,314 --> 01:33:20,595
people will for their own
safety and for the good

1818
01:33:20,664 --> 01:33:26,221
of all walk together
in majesty, in justice,

1819
01:33:26,290 --> 01:33:27,981
and in peace.

1820
01:33:29,224 --> 01:33:31,260
KINGSLEY: The U.S.
Congress, which a year

1821
01:33:31,329 --> 01:33:33,677
earlier has balked at
helping Great Britain,

1822
01:33:33,746 --> 01:33:35,299
was now giving
its Prime Minister

1823
01:33:35,368 --> 01:33:37,232
a standing ovation.

1824
01:33:37,301 --> 01:33:40,338
Around the United States,
there was no more

1825
01:33:40,407 --> 01:33:42,306
popular a figure.

1826
01:33:45,102 --> 01:33:47,311
The strain of the last
few weeks and months,

1827
01:33:47,380 --> 01:33:49,106
as well as the 10-day
journey from England to

1828
01:33:49,175 --> 01:33:52,868
the U.S., had taken
its toll on Churchill.

1829
01:33:52,937 --> 01:33:55,388
The morning after his
triumphant speech, as he

1830
01:33:55,457 --> 01:33:58,425
was opening the window
to his room at the White House,

1831
01:33:58,494 --> 01:34:01,946
he felt a sharp pain
in his chest.

1832
01:34:02,015 --> 01:34:04,708
His personal
physician Lord Maron was

1833
01:34:04,777 --> 01:34:06,192
immediately summoned,
and after examining

1834
01:34:06,261 --> 01:34:09,126
the Prime Minister, he found
that Churchill had suffered

1835
01:34:09,195 --> 01:34:11,715
a mild heart attack.

1836
01:34:11,784 --> 01:34:14,062
Rather than alarming
Churchill or his American

1837
01:34:14,131 --> 01:34:16,961
hosts, the doctor kept
the news to himself,

1838
01:34:17,030 --> 01:34:19,723
telling his patient that
he had strained a muscle

1839
01:34:19,792 --> 01:34:21,966
and needed some rest.

1840
01:34:22,035 --> 01:34:24,175
He insisted that
Churchill relax for a few

1841
01:34:24,244 --> 01:34:26,591
days in Florida before
his upcoming trip to

1842
01:34:26,661 --> 01:34:28,766
Canada, where he was
scheduled to speak to

1843
01:34:28,835 --> 01:34:31,735
the Canadian parliament.

1844
01:34:31,804 --> 01:34:34,358
Lord Maron's secret
would be kept for almost

1845
01:34:34,427 --> 01:34:37,085
a quarter of a century.

1846
01:34:37,154 --> 01:34:39,225
There was little evidence
of the heart attack as

1847
01:34:39,294 --> 01:34:41,710
Churchill resumed a full
schedule of meetings

1848
01:34:41,779 --> 01:34:44,230
in the U.S. after
his trip to Canada.

1849
01:34:44,299 --> 01:34:46,404
At the end of January,
it was time for him to

1850
01:34:46,473 --> 01:34:48,959
return to Great Britain.

1851
01:34:49,028 --> 01:34:52,238
President Roosevelt saw
him off at the airfield.

1852
01:34:52,307 --> 01:34:55,206
When Churchill and FDR
had last said good-bye

1853
01:34:55,275 --> 01:34:57,174
during their
Atlantic Charter conference,

1854
01:34:57,243 --> 01:34:59,210
the President had taken
his bodyguard

1855
01:34:59,279 --> 01:35:01,765
Inspector Thompson aside
and said to him,

1856
01:35:01,834 --> 01:35:03,007
"Take care of him.

1857
01:35:03,076 --> 01:35:06,079
"He is about the greatest
man in the world.

1858
01:35:06,148 --> 01:35:11,153
In fact, he may very
likely be the greatest."

1859
01:35:11,222 --> 01:35:15,502
Now Roosevelt's final
words to Churchill

1860
01:35:15,571 --> 01:35:17,504
as he boarded
his plane were,

1861
01:35:17,573 --> 01:35:19,990
"Trust me to
the bitter end."

1862
01:35:20,059 --> 01:35:22,371
At the start of his
journey across

1863
01:35:22,440 --> 01:35:25,340
the Atlantic, the plane's
captain invited

1864
01:35:25,409 --> 01:35:29,171
the Prime Minister
to the control deck.

1865
01:35:29,240 --> 01:35:32,105
Churchill then asked if
he could pilot the plane.

1866
01:35:32,174 --> 01:35:33,624
The Prime Minister's
questions

1867
01:35:33,693 --> 01:35:35,177
about the plane's
operations assured

1868
01:35:35,246 --> 01:35:39,009
the captain that he could
handle it himself.

1869
01:35:39,078 --> 01:35:41,770
The captain turned off
the automatic pilot

1870
01:35:41,839 --> 01:35:43,772
and turned over
the control of the plane

1871
01:35:43,841 --> 01:35:45,153
to Churchill.

1872
01:35:45,222 --> 01:35:47,224
The Prime Minister then
asked if he could make

1873
01:35:47,293 --> 01:35:49,088
a couple of banked turns,
which he did,

1874
01:35:49,157 --> 01:35:52,022
with considerable success.

1875
01:35:52,091 --> 01:35:54,024
The captain then asked
the Prime Minister

1876
01:35:54,093 --> 01:35:56,820
when he'd last
piloted a plane.

1877
01:35:56,889 --> 01:36:00,996
Churchill replied, "1913."

1878
01:36:01,065 --> 01:36:02,929
As the Prime Minister's
plane crossed

1879
01:36:02,998 --> 01:36:05,898
the Atlantic, a navigational
error sent it within

1880
01:36:05,967 --> 01:36:09,108
5-6 minutes
of Nazi-occupied France.

1881
01:36:09,177 --> 01:36:11,351
When the mistake was
discovered, the captain

1882
01:36:11,420 --> 01:36:13,077
turned north at once.

1883
01:36:13,146 --> 01:36:15,114
Now entering
British airspace

1884
01:36:15,183 --> 01:36:17,841
from the direction of France,
it was detected by British

1885
01:36:17,910 --> 01:36:20,844
radar as
a hostile bomber.

1886
01:36:20,913 --> 01:36:23,087
6 Hurricane fighters
were dispatched to shoot

1887
01:36:23,156 --> 01:36:24,986
it down before
the captain was able to

1888
01:36:25,055 --> 01:36:27,851
identify who they were.

1889
01:36:27,920 --> 01:36:30,854
"Fortunately," Churchill
would later comment,

1890
01:36:30,923 --> 01:36:34,961
"they failed in
their mission."

1891
01:36:35,030 --> 01:36:37,999
Winston Churchill, who'd
been in the political

1892
01:36:38,068 --> 01:36:40,553
wilderness just a few
years before, who some

1893
01:36:40,622 --> 01:36:43,867
had believed would never
last as Prime Minister,

1894
01:36:43,936 --> 01:36:48,285
now returned to
England in triumph.

1895
01:36:48,354 --> 01:36:51,598
He had forged an alliance
with the United States,

1896
01:36:51,667 --> 01:36:53,738
one that few would have
predicted when he became

1897
01:36:53,808 --> 01:36:55,879
Prime Minister in 1940.

1898
01:36:55,948 --> 01:36:59,572
But it was a goal
he insisted
was obtainable

1899
01:36:59,641 --> 01:37:03,093
and which
he made a reality.

1900
01:37:03,162 --> 01:37:06,372
Against all odds, he'd
led his nation as it

1901
01:37:06,441 --> 01:37:10,894
won the Battle of Britain
and survived the Blitz.

1902
01:37:10,963 --> 01:37:13,897
As he arrived back in
London and reflected

1903
01:37:13,966 --> 01:37:15,968
on what he'd
accomplished, the words

1904
01:37:16,037 --> 01:37:18,211
of his good friend,
the Presidential envoy

1905
01:37:18,280 --> 01:37:21,490
Harry Hopkins,
were ringing true.

1906
01:37:21,559 --> 01:37:24,390
At a dinner the year
before, Hopkins toasted

1907
01:37:24,459 --> 01:37:26,116
the British Prime Minister
and discussed

1908
01:37:26,185 --> 01:37:29,153
the future
of British-American relations.

1909
01:37:29,222 --> 01:37:31,017
He paraphrased
the Book of Ruth,

1910
01:37:31,086 --> 01:37:34,262
bringing Winston
Churchill to tears:

1911
01:37:34,331 --> 01:37:37,092
"Whither thou goest,
I will go,

1912
01:37:37,161 --> 01:37:40,199
"and where thou lodgest,
I will lodge.

1913
01:37:40,268 --> 01:37:42,857
"Thy people
shall be my people

1914
01:37:42,926 --> 01:37:48,448
and thy God my God
even to the end."

1915
01:37:48,517 --> 01:37:51,244
A few weeks later,
Winston Churchill

1916
01:37:51,313 --> 01:37:55,110
addressed
the British people.

1917
01:37:55,179 --> 01:37:58,873
He told the nation,
"We must remember that we are

1918
01:37:58,942 --> 01:38:01,427
"no longer alone.

1919
01:38:01,496 --> 01:38:05,051
"We are in the midst
of a great company.

1920
01:38:05,120 --> 01:38:08,054
"The whole future
of mankind may depend upon

1921
01:38:08,123 --> 01:38:12,196
"our action
and upon our conduct.

1922
01:38:12,265 --> 01:38:15,061
"So far,
we have not failed.

1923
01:38:15,130 --> 01:38:17,512
"We shall not fail now.

1924
01:38:17,581 --> 01:38:20,515
"Let us move forward
steadfastly together

1925
01:38:20,584 --> 01:38:23,380
into the storm."