Transcript
Scott Bertram (0:04)
Every week, Hillsdale College President Larry Arne joins Hugh Hewitt to discuss great books, great men and great ideas. This is Hillsdale Dialogues, part of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network. More episodes at podcast hillsdale. Edu or wherever you find your audio.
Hugh Hewitt (0:28)
Morning Gloria and Evening Grace America music means. It's time for the Hillsdale Dialogue this week with Dr. Larry Arn as we continue on in our series on this book, the gathering storm. Book two. We've finally gotten to book two. It's taken us 17 weeks to get to book two because we've been covering a decade. So it took 17 weeks to cover a decade. Book two opens with chapter 22, titled simply War Germany attacks Poland on September 1, 1939. And Dr. Arne, I'm going to repeat it again so that new listeners, new audience newcomers realize Churchill is not in the government in 1939. He hadn't been in the government since what, 1931?
Dr. Larry Arne (1:10)
32, 1929.
Hugh Hewitt (1:13)
Okay, so 10 years he's not been in the government. He's on the front. He's in the Conservative Party. He's in Parliament. But they tried to throw him out of Parliament a couple of times, didn't they?
Dr. Larry Arne (1:22)
They invaded, you know, they sent political operatives, the Conservative Central Office, it's called, which is the administration of the Conservative Party and is more or less at the behest of the prime minister, if the Prime Minister is Conservative, understanding Baldwin. They sent Conservative Central Office officials into Churchill's constituency, which is called Epping and later Woodford, but they about the same place both times, North London. And they tried to get the local committees to deselect Churchill. And that means that he wouldn't be able to represent the constituency. And then it would be up to Churchill to find another constituency that was a very good constituency. He was given it by Stanley Baldwin when he made him Chancellor of the Exchequer. And he represented for the rest of his life until he retired finally from politics in 1961. And they tried to get him out of that would have effectively got him out of the parliament because if he was deselected by his constituency, other local constituencies would have to adopt him. And they too would be under the influence of the Conservative Central Office. And Churchill managed to stave that off.
Hugh Hewitt (2:35)
So he survived 10 years in the wilderness years. And there war has begun. Germany has invaded Poland. Neville Chamberlain had guaranteed the integrity of Poland's borders. He's going to honor that. And on the day that happens, Neville Chamberlain invites Winston Churchill to 10 Downing street and they meet and they talk about the war Cabinet and General ways. That's on September 1st, but it doesn't get specific until September 3rd. Why do you think it took two days for Chamberlain to make the specific offer to Churchill?
