Brexit has become a mess. Yet some Britons, mostly supporters of the conservative party, remain adamant about leaving the EU. In social media, they often object to the prospect of the UK having to constrain some of its domestic policies according to the will of other European nations and especially Germany, which they feel they defeated in WWII. In light of this attitude, it is important to note that the first European politician to speak about a United States of Europe was British, and not just any Brit. It was the man who led not only the conservative party from 1940 to 1955 but also the UK in its resilient fight against Nazi Germany. If you guessed that his name was Winston Churchill, you would be correct.
Below is a short clip from Churchill's speech delivered on September 19, 1946 at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. In it, Churchill urges Europeans to pursue the creation of a federal political entity even if this means leaving behind countries that may not be ready to follow. It is ironic that decades later, one of the few European countries that would turn down membership to a United Europe and the party that would opt against it would both be his own. But maybe it is not ironic after all. Churchill witnessed the horrors of two world wars. He led his country during one of them, and spent a good chunk of it fighting Nazism nearly single-handedly. He could never be a nationalist isolationist. Unfortunately, the current generations may remember the victory, but it seems that they have forgotten the hardship, sacrifices, and alliances that forged it.
Below is a short clip from Churchill's speech delivered on September 19, 1946 at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. In it, Churchill urges Europeans to pursue the creation of a federal political entity even if this means leaving behind countries that may not be ready to follow. It is ironic that decades later, one of the few European countries that would turn down membership to a United Europe and the party that would opt against it would both be his own. But maybe it is not ironic after all. Churchill witnessed the horrors of two world wars. He led his country during one of them, and spent a good chunk of it fighting Nazism nearly single-handedly. He could never be a nationalist isolationist. Unfortunately, the current generations may remember the victory, but it seems that they have forgotten the hardship, sacrifices, and alliances that forged it.
