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Preface:
In 1945, after the unconditional surrender of German fascism, the leaders of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union held the Potsdam Conference in Germany, and in the early stage of the meeting, the British Prime Minister was still Churchill, but he was suddenly replaced by Attlee halfway. Why was Churchill, who led the LinkedIn country to victory in the war, asked to step down at this time? Let's take a look together.
Wisdom after coming to power
In 1939, Germany blitzed Poland, which frightened British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain at the time, and now the situation on the battlefield can be said to be changing rapidly, at this time they must also declare war on Germany, but he also needs a helper, so he thought of Churchill, at the invitation of Chamberlain, Churchill also joined the wartime cabinet and became Secretary of the Navy.
I thought that Churchill, who had experienced the First World War, would win the war surprisingly after coming to power, but what everyone did not expect was that Churchill was defeated. In the face of the defeat of the war, everyone only thought that the problem was Chamberlain, and issued a motion of no confidence, to be honest, Chamberlain was indeed a little wronged, because the whole strategy was formulated by Churchill and had little to do with him.
But as the country's prime minister, Chamberlain resolutely took the cauldron, and took advantage of this to submit his resignation and elect Churchill to power. Chamberlain's choice to sacrifice himself at such a critical moment is unimaginable to many, and it can be said that Chamberlain played a major role in helping Churchill become prime minister.
Churchill's coming to power can be said to be on the verge of being ordered, and the situation on the battlefield is changing too quickly, it can be said that it is not optimistic at all, but at this time, Churchill can only shoulder his responsibilities and constantly strive for the vitality of the country. I have to say that Germany fought too fiercely, the British and French coalition forces that fought were defeated all the way, seeing that France was no longer afraid, Italy also had the intention of taking advantage of the fire and robbery, seeing that victory was hopeless, France could only announce surrender in the end.
When Churchill saw the current war situation, his head was going to be bigger, the former allies surrendered, and the strategic buffer zone no longer existed, not to mention that now there are no allies. If you have allies, you can shout to help yourself relieve a little military pressure, and now this situation is completely isolated. Then you can't carry it yourself! Churchill decided to go to U.S. President Roosevelt again, and Roosevelt, despite his good words, eventually decided to help Britain.
But the premise is to make the United States an arsenal, not to mention the time it takes to transform the arsenal, bare shipping will take many months, and when the United States has everything ready, then Britain is estimated to be beaten with nothing. It is already hopeless to expect others, because it is simply unreliable, and it is unrealistic to fight with the army yourself, because it is completely foolish to want to defeat the menacing German army on your own, so what should I do?
Is it to continue the war? Or choose to summ? German President Hitler seemed pro-British, but was that really the case? Germany is everywhere to recognize relatives, just after recognizing India, then come to recognize Britain, now looks peaceful, but then he may not turn his face and not recognize people, Churchill in the face of Hitler's expressed attitude, had to weigh well, if Hitler has a true affection for Britain, then Britain and Germany can still get along.
But what should Britain do with itself after Hitler is gone? Churchill could not help but ponder, this is a matter of national fate and future, must not be made lightly, at this time Saint Fox Halifax expressed his opinion, he believes that Britain should better use Hitler's pro-British mentality, seek peace with Germany, buy themselves time, in order to win a turnaround for themselves. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with Halifax thinking this way, the key is that there are Italy, Japan and other countries around it.
Therefore, Churchill planned to lead the disaster to the east after thinking about it again and again, first showing weakness to other countries, so that other countries must have the intention of dividing Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union fought first, and sure enough, as Churchill thought, a new international change appeared, the relationship between Germany and the Soviet Union was broken, and Britain also had a chance to breathe.
Controversy after World War II
It is no exaggeration to say that Churchill saved the whole of Britain in its darkest hour. After the surrender of France in 1940, Churchill single-handedly led Britain against Nazi Germany, and finally won the war, and was a worthy hero of Britain. However, no war could be won without blood and sacrifice, so this victory also caused Britain to suffer heavy losses, and the overall national strength was much reduced.
Britain not only lost a lot of talent because of the war, but also severely damaged its industrial and transportation infrastructure. After the war, Britain's economy fell into depression for a long time, and the living standards of the people fell much lower than before the war, and because of these circumstances, many people believed that Churchill was the driving force behind Britain's decline. As a wartime leader, Churchill was inevitably partly responsible for these consequences.
Although Churchill had not insisted that Britain fight alone, but had chosen to negotiate peace with Germany, the losses would have been much smaller, but then the entire British Empire might have ceased to exist. It was Churchill's persistence that saved the country, but at the same time it hurt the country's vitality, but this is already a relatively good result. But it was precisely this contradiction that Churchill was controversial after World War II.
In addition, during Churchill's post-World War II administration, many people believed that the long-term slump of the British economy was largely due to Churchill's conservative policies and ideas. After the end of World War II, Churchill still insisted on the continuation of the wartime system, while ignoring British social reform and development, which made it difficult for Britain to adapt to the new world order after the war, and further accelerated the pace of British decline.
If Britain wants to resume normal development as soon as possible, it must seize the time to carry out construction. Although Britain had a lot of wealth before the war, relying on the primitive accumulation of colonial capitalism, after the war, it is not only not rich, but also owes a huge debt. So whether it was Churchill's Conservative Party or Attlee's Labour Party, they clearly realized that if Britain wanted to resume construction, it must have enough money to support it, otherwise it was basically impossible.
In the general election, Churchill said that Britain should continue to strengthen its control over the colonies. But at that time, the world situation had changed a lot, almost all the world's colonies were fighting for independence, so it would not be as smooth as Churchill imagined, before, Britain's colonies were like blood banks, you can continue to transfuse blood to the British government, as long as they are there, then there is no need to worry about development.
But now once they are lost, Britain's resources and wealth will be far worse than before, and all aspects of development will be greatly affected. In order to maintain the colonial rule of the past, Churchill adopted a very tough policy on the colonial issue, and today, unlike in the past, Churchill did not achieve the desired effect, but led to the upsurge of national movements in various places, further accelerating the pace of colonial independence.
If Churchill had changed his policy and chosen a more conciliatory approach, it would undoubtedly give Britain more time to recover its development, so Churchill made a big mistake this time. In the eyes of British monopoly capital, what Churchill did was completely unqualified, and they believed that it was Churchill's insistence that led to the loss of Britain's colonies, so it was inevitable that they would abandon Churchill for their own interests.
Churchill stepped down
In addition, Churchill did not put forward any substantive electoral platform for the general election after the war. In Churchill's view, he saved Britain, was a worthy hero of Britain, and he had full confidence that the British would elect him as prime minister, but this time it was not what Churchill thought. Because at this time, the British people are no longer trapped in the heat of war, and naturally no longer care about things related to World War II.
Due to the surrender of Germany and the convening of the Stanz Conference, Japan's imminent surrender was also a foregone conclusion, and victory in World War II could be said to be in sight. Therefore, the British people are more concerned about their own vital interests, and obviously Churchill's conservatism can no longer meet the vital interests of the British people. Churchill did not introduce any substantive measures in terms of economic reform, which undoubtedly disappointed others, at a time when Churchill could not make money for the capitalists and could not satisfy the interests of the capitalists.
Let's take a look at the Labour Party led by Attlee, although it has always been relatively low-key, but in the restoration of national production and other aspects, it is still relatively reliable, they implement welfare policies, it is clear that this is effective, the life of the British masses has been greatly improved.
But at this time, Churchill still adhered to the conservative policy of wartime and opposed the continuation of welfare policies, and his move brought a series of serious consequences, the living standards of the British people plummeted, and the social contradictions were sharper than ever, which made the British masses more dissatisfied with Churchill.
In addition, in diplomacy, most of the British people hope that Britain can continue to maintain friendly relations with the Soviet Union and other countries, so that Britain can achieve peaceful exchanges with other countries. After all, the last war caused too much damage to the people, no one does not desire peace, and peace with other countries is extremely important. But Churchill was ideologically extremely opposed to the Soviet Union.
In 1946, Churchill, who had already stepped down, delivered the "Iron Curtain" speech, marking the full formation of the Cold War. On the domestic front, Churchill seemed to keep the British economy on track, unwilling to allow the economy to make greater reforms. In this way, Churchill drifted away from the voice of the British people. Therefore, in the general election after World War II, Churchill was not re-elected as he wished, but Attlee became the new British Prime Minister.
Winston Churchill is known as the greatest prime minister in British history, and some call him the culprit who ruined Britain's 400-year achievements. In that turbulent era, he stood firmly at the crossroads of history and shouldered the burden of saving the country. We cannot erase Churchill's life's contribution, but the damage it caused to Britain's development must not be ignored.
After Attlee became the prime minister of the United Kingdom, the United States also launched the Marshall Plan, and continuously invested a lot of money to support the recovery and reconstruction of Western European countries, after all, the economic recovery of other countries also has a great effect on the development of the United States, although the United States does this Sima Zhao's heart is well known, but Britain now has no other way, there is no choice at all, can only accept the assistance of the United States, but fortunately, the situation of the country has improved greatly.
Resources:
Tencent.com: Defeated Churchill: I made a mistake? It is you who are too stupid, and he is the one who reversed World War II.2022.2.15
Tencent.com: Britain once claimed to be an empire where the sun never sets, why did it lag behind the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II? When did it start.2022.8.5
Sohu.com: The two countries with the largest transformation in the Potsdam Conference, the United States sought the Soviet Union in the early stage, and the Soviet Union sought the United States in the later stage.2023.6.21
Sohu.com: What is the historical role of the Potsdam Conference? Who are the participants? What is the content of the meeting? 2023.7.9