Literature

In 1932, there were 2 million members in the Nazi Party. Of these, 400,000 men belonged to Adolf Hitler’s semi-military “storm troopers.” Three of the Nazis’ most strident demands were: 1) an end to the Versailles Treaty (which made the Germans pay for the damage they caused by starting World War i!); 2) rearmament (which had been forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles); 3) the removal of German Jews from all walks of German life.

This last demand should have alerted the world to where Germany’s rearmament would lead! Actually, there was really only one prominent leader alarmed by what was happening in Germany. He spoke out publicly against it. That man was Winston Churchill. He wanted to see Britain strengthen its weak military. Yet Britain’s foreign secretary, Sir John Simon, was working feverishly to get the British government to rapidly and comprehensively disarm! His appeal gained strong and enthusiastic support. Other members of Parliament were also working to achieve that goal.

Winston Churchill was a voice crying in the wilderness.

How could so many of our leaders in the United States and Britain—almost all of them—have been so weak in dealing with Hitler? Why was the British Parliament thinking of disarming as Germany rapidly rearmed? Across the Atlantic, America was assuming a similarly passive posture. We might have remained that way throughout World War ii if Japan hadn’t directly provoked us at Pearl Harbor. As Edward R. Murrow said, “America didn’t enter into the war. They were bombed into it.”