From Monte Rosa to the triumphal procession through Zurich:
On 19 September 1946, Winston Churchill gave his famous speech "Let Europe Arise" at the University of Zurich. In it, the wartime prime minister developed the idea of a united and pacified Europe. Werner Vogt's book "Winston Churchill and Switzerland" sheds light on why Sir Winston chose Zurich as the stage for his political vision and what his relationship with Switzerland was, also using rare photographs.
Winston Churchill got to know, appreciate and love Switzerland as a young man. Barely an adult, he climbed Monte Rosa, marvelled at the beauty of the Bernese and Valais Alps and almost drowned in Lake Geneva. As a minister in eight different portfolios, but also as prime minister (1940-1945, 1951-1955), Switzerland was one topic among many for him. And yet he had a profound understanding of its situation as a neutral state in the midst of National Socialism and Fascism and the respect that went with it. He appreciated his Swiss painting teacher Charles Montag, the Swiss paint supplier Willy Sax and his Swiss cooks and maids. Churchill's perseverance and vision saved England, Europe and Switzerland in 1940. This is precisely why his visit to Zurich in 1946 was a triumphal procession. Werner Vogt combines historical expertise and craftsmanship with journalistic instinct and is able to draw on new Swiss contemporary witnesses.
Winston Churchill Zurich speech:
As leader of the opposition, Winston Churchill gave two speeches in 1946 that went down in history. In Fulton, Missouri, the British wartime prime minister issued an urgent warning against Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe and coined the term "Iron Curtain", which had fallen over the Eastern European states. In Zurich, Churchill was concerned with the future of Europe, this battered and war-ravaged continent. To ensure that such a drama would never happen again, Churchill argued in favour of "a kind of united states of Europe". He saw reconciliation between Germany and France as the centrepiece of this. At the time he gave the famous Let Europe Arise speech in Zurich, on 19 September 1946, France was not yet ready for this idea. The wartime atrocities committed by the Nazis were still too present. All the more reason to honour Churchill as a visionary political thinker. Interestingly, Churchill said at the time that Great Britain would not be part of these united states of Europe but would help the project as a godfather. In light of the recent Brexit decision by the British people, Winston Churchill's speech in Zurich takes on a new relevance.
Winston Churchill Fascinated:
Winston Churchill saved Europe from destruction with his unyielding resistance against Hitler's Germany in the summer of 1940. Britain's victory in the Battle of Britain was of decisive importance for the subsequent reconquest of Western Europe by the Allies. He was therefore a statesman whose life shaped history. Great Britain, Europe and Switzerland in particular owe a great deal to Churchill. It is therefore clear why Switzerland, and in particular the people of the city and canton of Zurich, gave Churchill a triumphant welcome in September 1946.
Even 60 years after his death, Churchill is still very much present in the press, in research and also in the consciousness of numerous interested contemporaries. Interviewees often say that they would like to have dinner with the British wartime prime minister if this were possible. The man with the omnipresent Havana cigar and his V for Victory trademark seems to have become timeless.
Winston Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) is, as they say in English, "larger than life". He was a member of the House of Commons for 60 years, served as a minister in eight different ministries for 25 years and was twice Prime Minister (1940-45 and 1951-55). He also wrote more books than William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens put together. Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his historical life's work. He also painted more than 600 oil paintings as a pastime.
The study of the incredibly quick-witted and somewhat quirky Briton is not only exciting, but also entertaining: In hundreds of anecdotes, his razor-sharp sense of humour, with which he poked fun at friend and foe, lives on to this day.
Winston Churchill commemoration:
Why do we honour the memory of Churchill? - There are several reasons for this. People who have achieved great things deserve to be remembered and not forgotten. Winston Churchill played a central role in both world wars as a minister and prime minister, helping to shape them and making a significant contribution to the Allied victory. Twice the flowering of Europe's youth was sacrificed on the battlefields. That is why Churchill did everything in his power to ensure that a functioning post-war order could be found for Europe after the Second World War.
In the debate on European policy, it is often forgotten that the West of our continent has never before in history enjoyed such a long period free of war as it does today. It has now been 71 years. The disintegration of Yugoslavia and the subsequent civil war over 20 years ago, as well as today's conflict in eastern Ukraine and the Russian annexation of Crimea, have dramatically proven that peace cannot be taken for granted.
What is our motivation for the non-commercial organisation of this series of events "Churchill in Zurich"? - Without Churchill's decisive fight against Hitler from 1940 onwards, an invasion of Switzerland by Hitler's Germany would have been much more likely. We are convinced that our parents would not have survived in this case. In this respect, as historians who were allowed to grow up in peace and freedom, we are grateful that Winston Churchill also fought for the freedom of our country. That is why we want to honour him.
But it is not just about remembering the past. The question at the centre of the "Churchill in Zurich" series of events is: What has become of Winston Churchill's vision? Where has Europe gone - and where should it go from here?
To discuss these questions, which we believe are central to all of us, we want to offer discussion platforms for experienced leaders from politics, business and academia on the one hand and create platforms for the leaders of tomorrow on the other: young women and men from all over Europe, whom we are inviting to Zurich as part of the first "European Future Leaders Conference". Because when we talk about the Europe of the future, this is first and foremost their Europe.
Zürcherrede Deutsch
