What kind of a People do they think we are? - Winston Churchill

"enediNumber 112* Autumn 2001ISSN 0882-3715www.winstonchurchill.orgBarbara F. Langworth, Publisher(b_langworth@conknet.com)Richard M. Langworth, Editor(malakand@conknet.com)PO Box 385, Contoocook,NH 03229 USATel. (603) 746-4433Fax. (603) 746-4260• Address changes. USA: send tothe business office of The ChurchillCenter. UK, Canada & Australia:send to ICS business offices.All offices are listed on page 2.Senior Editors:Ron Cynewulf RobbinsJohn G. PlumptonAssociate Editor:Paul H. CourtenayNews Editor: John FrostFeatures Editor: Douglas J. Hallits*ContributorsGeorge Richard, Australia;Randy Barber, Chris Bell,Barry Gough, Canada;Inder Dan Ratnu, India;Paul Addison, David Boler,Winston S. Churchill,Sir Martin Gilbert, Allen Packwood,Phil Reed, United Kingdom;Chris Hanger, Chris Harmon,Warren F. Kimball, Cyril Mazansky,Michael McMenamin,James W. Muller, Mark Weber,Manfred Weidhorn, Curt Zoller,United StatesFinest Hour is made possible in part throughthe generous support of members of TheChurchill Center and Societies, and with theassistance of an endowment cfeated by TheChurchill Center Associates (listed on page 2).Finest Hour is published quarterly by TheChurchill Center and International ChurchillSocieties, which offer various levels of supportin their respective currencies. Membershipapplications should be sent to the approptiateoffices on page 2. Permission to mail at nonprofitrates in USA granted by the UnitedStates Postal Service, Concord, NH, permitno. 1524. Copyright 2001. All rights reserved.Designed and edited by DragonwyckPublishing Inc. Production by New EnglandFoil Stamping Inc. Printed by ReprographicsInc. Made in U.S.A.ABOARD DDG81Greetings from aboard USS Winston S.Churchill, in the Western Approaches of theEnglish Channel. We have calm seas, the sun isshining and we are engaged in a training exercisewith the Royal Navy. We are 48 hours out ofPortsmouth, where the ship had a rapturouswelcome—the lines of people waiting to comeaboard were three hours long! She was the star ofthe Festival of the Sea. We are about to arrive inPlymouth, the home port of Sir Francis Drake.She is a great ship, with a fine Commander,Mike Franken, and a magnificent crew. As youcan imagine, I am loving every minute and, dareI say it, bursting with pride that such a fine shipshould bear my Grandfather's name.WINSTON S. CHURCHILL, 27AUG01ATROCITIES IN 1919In FH 110:4, F. Y. Gabriel asks whyChurchill didn't protest against the mass slaughterof Jews by the White Russians in 1919. Theshort answer to that question may be found intwo paragraphs in my article, "Churchill and theJews," published in the May/June 1999 issue ofMidstream, bimonthly of the Theodor HerzlFoundation. More details are in Martin Gilbert'sWinston S. Churchill, Vol. IV, pages 338-44.DR. M. DONALD COLEMAN, MAMARONECK, NYFROM DR. COLEMAN'S ARTICLESpearheading Britain's near state of waragainst the Bolshevik revolution in Russia,Churchill saw the Reds as largely led by bloodthirstyJews, who, in their revenge for past antisemitism,aimed to destroy all civil society. Bolshevikbrutality was undeniable, and while theBolsheviks certainly were not all Jews, a disproportionatenumber were. Among White Russians,virulent antisemitism needed little realcause to descend to brutal pogroms. In southernRussia, it is believed that over 100,000 Jews perishedfollowing the White Russian advance.Some of Churchill's utterances crossed overinto an antisemitic vein: "The Bolsheviks arenot fools. Whoever said they were? These Semiticconspirators are among the highest politicalintelligence in the world and implacably devotedto its destruction." He also referred to theSoviet government as "the tyrannic Governmentof these Jew Commissars."But despite Churchill's intense feelings inwhich "Bolshevik" and "Jew" became almost interchangeable,he warned White Russian generalDeniken to prevent pogroms against "innocentJews" or else he would lose British backing.Churchill's Bolshevik-Jew conflation during thisperiod fell away when his responsibilities as ministerfor war ended in 1921. He did not followthe path of many others who permitted observationsabout Jews and their over-representation inthe Communist movement to feed into preexistingpersonal prejudices. For Churchill, the basicfoundation for this prejudice did not exist.DESPATCH BOXEXCERPTS FROMWINSTONS. CHURCHILL,VOL. IVWSC to Gen. Harington, Deputy Chief, ImperialGeneral Staff, 2 June 1919:"Any force wh we support even indirectlymust proceed according to the laws & customsof war & be guided by humane considerations....Wholesaleexecutions are unpardonableon political as well as on moral grounds." (293)WSC to Gen. Gough, Commander, British militarymission to the Baltic, 6June 1919:"Excesses by anti-Bolsheviks if they are victoriouswill alienate sympathies British nationand render continuance of support most difficult....Youshould press for fair public trial of allculprits and stringent orders against terrorismand indiscriminate shooting." (293)WSC to Gen. Holman, Commander, military missionto South Russia, 18 September 1919:"[Urge Gen. Deniken] to do everything inhis power to prevent a massacre of the Jews inthe liberated districts [and to issue] a proclamationagainst antisemitism." (330)WSC to Lloyd George, 20 October 1919:"There is very bitter feeling throughoutRussia against the Jews, who are regarded asbeing the main instigators of the ruin of the[Russian] Empire, and who, certainly, haveplayed a leading part in Bolshevikatrocities....This feeling is shared by the VolunteerArmy and the Army of the Don under GeneralDeniken....I have repeatedly urged him tomake my task easier by proving his capacity torestrain his troops and have received from himsolemn assurances....By continuing to supplyGeneral Deniken we shall be constantly in a positionto exercise a modifying influence uponwhat are, after all, some of the most terrible hatredswhich have ever afflicted mankind. By cuttingourselves adrift we should lose all power toinfluence events either in the direction of mercyor democracy." {Companion Part 2: 912)WSC to Gen. Deniken, 20 October 1919:"Your Excellency, I know, will realise thevital importance at this time, when such brilliantresults are being secured, of preventing byevery possible means the ill-treatment of the innocentJewish population." (343)WSC to the Cabinet, 21 October 1919:(Memo to British military mission commander)"Everything will be done by Gen. Hakingto prevent indiscriminate or wholesale executions.Even the worst criminals are entitled to atrial. Above all, anything in the nature of a Jewishpogrom would do immense harm to theRussian cause. All the influence of the Britishrepresentative will be used in securing the safetyof innocent Jews...." {Companion Part 2: 934) k>FINEST HOUR 112/4