Churchill’s Big Picture

In his welcome address at the start of the colloquium, UZH president Michael Hengartner thanked the UK partner organizations, and described Churchill’s speech as the intellectual foundation not only of the Marshall Plan, the program initiated by the US to rebuild the European economy in the wake of World War II, but of the whole idea of a united, collaborative Europe. Hengartner went on to stress the key role cooperation still plays in Europe, particularly in research.

Triumph and defeat

After introductory remarks from Allen Packwood, director of the Churchill Archives Centre at the University of Cambridge, and a presentation by a UZH alumnus, author Werner Vogt, on Churchill’s relationship with Switzerland, Lord Watson of Richmond put Churchill’s speech in its historical context. The former radio host and author (Churchill’s Legacy: Two Speeches to Save the World) explained that for the British statesman, 1945 was a year of both triumph and defeat. On the one hand he was seen as the conqueror of the Nazi regime; on the other he was ousted as prime minister.

In a moment of dejection he received the invitation to make a speech in spring 1946 in Fulton, Missouri. In the address, which became famous as the “Iron Curtain” speech, Churchill set out to the Americans the danger emanating from Stalin’s Russia. According to Lord Watson it led, among other things, to the Truman Doctrine. In his Zurich speech six months later, Churchill suggested something that was at the time unthinkable: the reconciliation of France and Germany, which he saw as the basis of a united Europe. According to Lord Watson, with these two legendary 1946 speeches in Fulton and Zurich, Churchill jumped-started processes that would be decisive in the development of Europe following World War II, among other things paving the way for the creation of NATO.

Commemorative events are always also an opportunity to look at the present. Seventy years ago this Monday, on 19 September 1946, Winston Churchill, UK prime minister during World War II and at the time leader of the opposition, gave a speech at the main UZH lecture hall that would resonate throughout the world. In his address to young Zurich academics, the famous statesman sketched out his vision of a united Europe that would restore peace, security, and freedom to a battle-torn Europe. His closed his plea for a “United States of Europe” with the following memorable words, now literally etched in stone on a commemorative plaque in the main lecture hall: “Let Europe arise!”

A foundation for Europe

On Monday, 70 years later to the day, academics, publicists and politicians, primarily from the UK, met in the very same hall at the University of Zurich to discuss the context and historical significance of Churchill’s speech. They debated their relevance today at a time when the EU faces major challenges, not least the departure of Britain from the Union. The event took place at the invitation of the Europa Institut at the University of Zurich, and was supported by the Churchill Archives Centre and the University of Cambridge.

Phrasemaker and fount of ideas

For University of Cambridge historian David Reynolds, Winston Churchill was not only the great phrasemaker of the twentieth century, but a politician capable of launching great ideas, including the notion of reconciliation between arch enemies France and Germany. Reynolds explained that because Churchill was no longer prime minister at the time of the Zurich speech, he had the freedom to be creative and express ideas without being pinned down to details. The historian ranked the speech as a milestone on Europe’s long and serpentine journey.

Before this, the question of whether Churchill could have conceived that one day Britain would be part of his proposed “United States of Europe” had led to a minor historians’ dispute: In his statement Felix Klos, an author from the Netherlands (Winston Churchill – Father of Europe), claimed that the British statesman could certainly have imagined the UK as part of the loose association of European states he had in his mind’s eye – a position vehemently opposed by historian and author Andrew Roberts, who said that it had always been clear to Churchill that his country saw itself as a friend and ally, but not as part, of a European union. Instead, said Roberts, Churchill’s priority was the Commonwealth of Nations.

Ambivalent Britons

The subsequent discussion among exclusively British participants, hosted by BBC journalist Bridget Kendall, gave insights into the UK’s ambivalent relationship with Europe, past and present. They debated the relevance of Churchill’s Zurich speech in 2016. Lord Powell, who served as private secretary and advisor under prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, spoke of the way British governments’ oscillating attitudes to Europe have dominated the country’s more recent history – while Margaret Thatcher tended towards disillusion, Tony Blair was subsequently enthusiastic about Europe. In reference to the relevance of the Zurich speech, Lord Watson said that Churchill was thinking in strategic terms, and saw the big picture. Lord Watson said that we should still be doing so when thinking about the future of Britain and Europe.

Living Churchill’s vision

Laura Sandys, chair of the pro-European European Movement UK and daughter of Lord Duncan-Sandys (who helped Churchill write his Zurich speech), saw the address as a profession of faith in Europe. Sandys was convinced the Churchill would not have voted for the Brexit. She also spoke of her belief that we should still be continuing to live by the vision and optimism nurtured by the statesman. Brexit proponent Andrew Roberts saw Churchill’s attitude to Europe in a very different light, claiming that Churchill would have seen Europe as a specific form of civilization that would have had nothing to do with the EU. As for the implications of Brexit, Roberts said that the decision had in no way isolated Britain, and that the country remained well connected, for example as a member of the G20, the Commonwealth of Nations, and NATO. On this stimulating late afternoon at UZH, many differences became clear, and many questions about Churchill’s position, and about Britain’s relationship with the EU, remained unanswered.

It was Churchill’s great-grandson, Randolph Churchill, who had the final word at the colloquium. He mentioned that his great-grandfather’s achievements in his younger years had included climbing Monte Rosa. Winston Churchill reached the peak of his career many years later. The colloquium held on Monday in the main lecture hall at UZH clearly showed the extent and longevity of his political influence – which stemmed, among other things, from his speech in Zurich.