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Summary Did churchill make poor political judgements?
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Answering the question Did churchill make poor political judgements? in an essay.
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The abdication crisis regarding Edward VIII also portrayed Churchill as being politically behind.Although not a major issue, it really showed that he took the opposite view to most politicians at the
time. Walis Simpson had just gone through her second divorce and now Edward intended to marry
her. This type of behaviour, given that it was in the 1930’s, was not accepted, especially as Edward
was head of the church of England; it contradicted what it stood for. Churchill, out of loyalty towards
the monarchy, supported the abdication, despite the majority of the public feeling that this was out
of place and wrong for someone who was supposed to be a monarch. This is clearly supported by
him being shouted down at the house of commons after making a speak in favour of the king: it
showed that he had a poor political judgement, not even being able to read the mood of the room
that he was in. It reenforced the idea that his values and opinions are out of touch, reducing his
political influence.
With appeasement, his views at the time also went against a majority. He felt that this was a
dangerous approach and allowed Hitler to gain an increasing amount of influence without being
prevented. At the moment, Britain could not afford to go to war and many also did not want to
repeat what had previously happened during the Great War. They faced financial problems and did
not have the international support to go into a war. America had adopted a policy of independence,
France was reluctant to fight, and a negotiation with Starlin would have been unlikely, especially
after the Spanish civil war which increased resentment towards each other. They had heavily relied
on American support in the first world war and without this it would have been difficult to
successfully fight. Such significant issues could not be ignored, and it appeared that Churchill failed
to see this, suggesting that he had a poor political judgement. For much of the country it was clear
that war must be prolonged as much as possible to ensure that when the inevitable war eventually
came, they would have the correct military status and allies. Additionally, many felt that the treaty
of Versailles was unjust and so it was reasonable for Hitler to take German-speaking lands to ensure
future protection from other countries. Again, Churchill did not support appeasement as it allowed
Hitler to gain more influence. While the government and population were more interested in
preventing the outbreak of war, Churchill was more concerned about the stability and relevance of
Britain. In any circumstance, the fact that they lacked military equipment, money, and allies, which
were crucial factors which contributed to fighting a war, supported the idea that appeasement was
necessary. In some ways, Churchill should have been able to see this having been in the armed
forces previously, which further shows poor judgement.
In his defence, appeasement did suggest to Hitler that they would not intervene despite his risky
behaviour and encouraged further aggression because it implied that they were too weak to act.
Churchill saw the importance of resisting the Nazis as their influence was getting bigger, but the
possibility of action from Britain or France was getting smaller. This is a reasonable judgment
because Churchill realised the threat that this expansion posed on Europe. Hitler did need to be
stopped before he took his violence across to Poland and other areas of Europe. The Nazi regime
was harsh and imposed much chaos within Germany, especially regarding any opposition. Hitler also
had a determined personality and so if he felt that he was getting away with risky decisions, like the
remilitarisation of the Rhineland, he would take advantage of this and keep on expanding. In
hindsight it is easy to say that people should have listened to Churchill’s warnings against Hitler
because we can see what he did during the 1940’s, but for those at the time, dismissing his views
might have been seen as wise given his stances on India and the abdication crisis. In this case,
Churchill did not have a bad political judgement because he understood the danger that Hitler
imposed and his threat, suggesting that he knew what would eventually happen.
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