Bengal Famine 1943: How Churchill Starved 3 Million Indians. Really!

Very recommendable!

However, it was neither orchestrated by the British empire nor Churchill's fault!

It was World War II going on and Japan invaded Burma.

Caution some imagery might be disturbing to some viewers.

(391) Bengal Famine 1943: How Churchill Starved 3 Million Indians | Independence Day 2026 | Vantage | 4K - YouTube

Winston Churchill: The Lion’s Roar

Recommendable!

Man of his time - Winston Churchill

Recommendable!

Churchill: The Man Who Saved the Free World

Recommendable!

Winston Churchill: In the Darkest Hour

Recommendable! Concise! Well done!

Winston Churchill on The Worst Form of Government

This very famous quote by Winston Churchill has lately resurfaced in my mind, but I almost forgot the key phrase!

"‘Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’

Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947"

The Worst Form of Government - International Churchill Society

Why Was Churchill So Concerned About The Africa Campaign?

Recommendable! A documentary with David Reynolds.

Why Was Stalin Never Indicted As A War Criminal And For Crimes Against Humanity!

Posted: 9/17/2017

Trigger

Today, I saw a Facebook posting by Lawrence Reed, President of the Foundation for Economic Education wherein he mentioned that the Soviet Union invaded Poland on this day in 1939, i.e. 9/17/1939. Nazi Germany had only invaded Poland 16 days earlier, the official beginning of World War II.

I knew, the Soviet Union invaded Poland as well not long after Germany and that the Soviet Union also committed horrible atrocities in Poland during their occupation. I totally forgot or I never realized how soon the Soviet Union invaded as well.

The Infamous Ribbentrop Molotov Pact To Divide Poland

This pact is also known as the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939. The treaty included a secret protocol that divided territories of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Romania, into German and Soviet "spheres of influence".

In November of 1939, based on this pact, Stalin invaded parts of Finland. This was followed by Soviet annexations of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and parts of Romania.

This infamous pact and the infamous secret protocol were known to the West even before World War II ended.

Stalin’s Numerous Crimes Against Humanity

Here is a very short list of crimes against humanity by Stalin:

1. Show trials against opponents
2. Holodomor (Ukrainian famine)
3. Horrible labor camps for opponents and dissidents
4. Forced resettlement of various peoples

The Cold War Could Have Been Much Shorter

I would squarely blame Truman and Churchill for failing to indict Stalin for his many crimes. Instead these two leaders of the Western world preferred to be in a coalition with Stalin way beyond the defeat of Nazi Germany and to let Stalin get away with murder. Charles de Gaulle should be mentioned here too.

Not to indict Stalin was a major blunder of the Western leaders even at a time when the U.S. had absolute military superiority thanks to the atom bomb. The Soviet Union never thanked the West for that.

President F. D. Roosevelt Kowtowed To Stalin

Posted: 6/21/2017

Anyone following my blog post quickly realizes that my opinion of President F. D. Roosevelt can be summarized as follows: He was a reckless, awful, and most socialist president of the United States.

Just watched this great YouTube video on the life of Churchill: CHURCHILL: 3 of 4 ~ The Beginning Of The End

Clearly, Churchill was aware of Stalin’s intentions to conquer and dominate eastern Europe.

At the infamous conference of Yalta, the reckless, irresponsible, and terminally ill President F. D. Roosevelt gave Poland to the USSR. He declared to Stalin that the U.S. would withdraw most U.S. troops immediately after the defeat of Hitler. What a fool!

Winston Churchill On Socialism

Posted: 4/24/2015

I am aware of following two great quotes from brilliant Winston Churchill on socialism (source, see e.g. here):

1. “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
   (Speech in the House of Commons, October 22, 1945)
2. “Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy.”
   (Speech, May 28, 1948 at the Scottish Unionist Conference, Perth, Scotland)

Will the next Winston Churchill stand up and help to stop the still ongoing march towards socialism dominant and prevalent in most Western countries!

Churchill Ordered French Navy Vessels To Surrender Or Be Destroyed

Posted:

Trigger

Just saw this great history documentary on PBS Churchill's Deadly Decision (Unfortunately, it expires on 12/31/2014). Again my question, why does PBS expire such great videos. Do not taxpayers and viewers make those videos possible? Why are these videos not posted on YouTube?

This documentary portrays Winston Churchill in his first few months as the new prime minister in 1940 having to make a tragic and consequential decision. The video contains great footage and shows how the pressure build up quickly within weeks to make such a decision and under what circumstances.

This documentary also shows how reluctant U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress was to come to the military aid of United Kingdom in the face of the Nazi threat.

Piqued My Interest

I am not a history buff in general and certainly not about World War II. However, I believe, I am fairly knowledgeable about key events, persons etc. of WW II.

But that Winston Churchill in 1940 had ordered the surrender or destruction of all critical French Navy vessels was either really unknown to me or I had already forgotten this event. Perhaps, because Churchill is such a towering figure, this controversial decision by him is perhaps not much talked about.

Brief Paraphrased Story

The German war machine quickly overran Belgium and France. France, the ally of the UK, quickly caved in and the French government collaborated with the Nazis. The second most powerful fleet of navy vessels in Europe besides UK and Germany, i.e. the French Navy, were about to be taken over by the Nazis.

In a speech to Parliament, Churchill repeated that the French armistice with Germany was a betrayal of the Allied agreement that forbade each country from surrendering to the Germans without notifying its allies.

To make a long story short, Churchill issued an ultimatum to French navy officers; British navy ships attacked French navy ships in Algeria (see Attack on Mers-el-Kébir), where almost 1,300 French sailors died.

Documentary Implied Churchill’s Culpability

For some reason, the documentary suggested that Churchill went too far and had significant numbers of Allied soldiers killed. Point in case according to the documentary, then chief French Admiral Darlan had promised to Churchill that no French navy vessels would fall into the hands of Nazis. Further, the documentary shows that Darlan’s promise was executed when the Nazis invaded southern France. French officers and sailors sabotaged French navy ships mooring in ports of southern France before German soldiers arrived.

The documentary also suggested that U.S. President Roosevelt was informed about the British operation and that he approved of it including the destruction of French navy vessels.

The documentary omitted to inform the viewer that it was not just Admiral Darlan, but a member of the Vichy government and a close confidant of General Petain, i.e. French Navy Minister Admiral Darlan. Thus, it was probably difficult to ascertain what role the French minister would play and whether he would carry out his promise. Churchill or anyone else in his position could not have relied on the word of one allied general, who could have been killed or replaced at any time.