Their Finest Hour

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1949

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Patriotism in Dark Times

Prompted by the imminent fall of France to Nazi Germany, “Their Finest Hour” addressed Britain at a time when its own invasion seemed likely. However, without downplaying the seriousness of the threat, Churchill recasts the situation as an opportunity for Britain to prove its national character. Rather than despair, he advocates courage and perseverance, culminating in the line that would give the speech its title: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’” (Paragraph 21).

Much of the speech concerns tangible reasons for the British to have pride and confidence in their country’s ability to withstand Nazi Germany. Churchill considers each branch of the British military in turn, laying out their strengths and praising their effectiveness. He compares Britain’s air force to Germany’s, saying that even amid severe disadvantages during the Battle of France, the fighter pilots in the “no-man’s-land of Dunkirk” outperformed the German pilots (Paragraph 11). He likewise compares BEF soldiers to their German counterparts: “[T]hey have suffered severely, but they have fought well” (Paragraph 1). Churchill further reminds listeners that they “shouldn’t forget that we have Navy” (Paragraph 7). This understated reference to the source of much of Britain’s historical power suggests that Britain has not even drawn on all of its resources yet, implying that it has strength to spare in meeting a potential invasion. Overall, Churchill’s portrait of the British military highlights its competence and bravery, seeking to tap into a vein of national pride.

Churchill also attributes strength and courage to the British public. He warns the nation of the challenges that lie ahead, promising that soon “every man and every woman will have the chance to show the finest qualities of their race, and render the highest service to their cause” (Paragraph 14). By framing the threats facing the country as a “chance,” Churchill expresses confidence that British civilians will welcome the opportunity to prove themselves. More than that, he suggests, the British will welcome the opportunity to serve an important “cause.”

Besides painting a favorable picture of the British national character as dutiful and honorable, Churchill’s word choice hints at an idea that emerges fully in the final lines of the speech: that Britain is now the last line of defense against Nazi domination and as such has an important—almost sacred—role to play in unfolding history. Churchill ultimately depicts Britain as the (potential) deliverer of all of Europe, if not the world: “If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world […] will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age” (Paragraph 21). Even “the survival of the Christian civilization” rests on British shoulders (Paragraph 21), Churchill argues. The speech thus closes not simply by assuring listeners that Britain is capable of meeting the challenge but by asserting that its capability comes from something like a divine mandate, further bolstering national pride.

Good Versus Evil

In positioning Britain as the last line of defense against Nazi Germany, Churchill touches on another significant theme: World War II as a battle between good and evil.

Although Churchill alludes to Nazi Germany’s genocidal and eugenicist ideologies in his reference to “perverted science,” his primary target is the authoritarian nature of Hitler’s rule. He talks, for instance, about the danger of Hitler “bring[ing] under his despotic control the industries of the countries he has conquered” (Paragraph 17), and he says he shares the sentiments of those who feel it is “better [to] die than [to] submit to tyranny—and such a tyranny” (Paragraph 15). Conversely, Britain promises “freedom […] restored to all” in the event of its victory (Paragraph 20). As listeners would have been familiar with the general shape of government in Nazi Germany, Churchill does not belabor the point. However, the implication is that the war between Britain, a constitutional monarchy, and Germany is a proxy for the war between democracy and autocracy.

While this alone might persuade listeners of the ethical imperative of defeating Germany, Churchill goes further, painting the conflict in more abstractly moral terms. For example, in discussing the need to continue developing new tactical approaches, Churchill remarks, “[U]ntiring vigilance and mind-searching must be devoted to the subject, because the enemy is crafty and cunning and full of novel treacheries and stratagems. […] [T]here is no dirty trick he will not do” (Paragraph 9). Churchill here implies that the problem is not merely a pernicious ideology but a pernicious character; at least in its current form, Churchill argues, Germany is underhanded and deceitful. Churchill’s use of light and dark imagery has a similar effect. For example, Churchill hails the Nazi occupation of France as the “darkest hour in French history” (Paragraph 20); similarly, he warns that losing this war will sink Europe into a “new Dark Age” (Paragraph 21). Conversely, he compares victory against Nazi Germany to movement into “broad, sunlit uplands” (Paragraph 21). The dichotomy this imagery creates underscores Churchill’s contention that the struggle pits good versus evil.

This black-and-white framing of WWII, though common both at the time and since, has sparked criticism from those who argue that it erases the moral failures of the Allies; Britain, for example, was an imperial power itself at the time, and both it and other Allied powers engaged in military practices that were later judged to be outside the acceptable bounds of warfare. However, Churchill’s framing serves an obvious rhetorical purpose. Casting the conflict in terms of good and evil heightens its stakes and therefore aims to motivate listeners to resist more fiercely.

Unity in the Face of an External Threat

Churchill had to fight a rebellion within his party when he was appointed prime minister and when he was forming his cabinet. Moreover, King George VI resisted Churchill’s appointment as prime minister at first, and it took years for the relationship to soften. Faced with this challenging political situation at home, Churchill therefore calls on his colleagues in Parliament to put aside all differences and disagreements and unite in the face of Nazi threat.

Most immediately, Churchill insists that now is not the time to dwell on Allied failures in the Battle of France: “We have to think of the future and not of the past. This also applies in a small way to our own affairs at home” (Paragraph 2). He insists that opening an inquest into those failures (or into governmental failures in the years leading up to WWII) would be a waste of valuable time. Not only would it distract from the fight against Nazi Germany, but it would also erode trust in the government’s reliability and stability at a time when these must be taken as a given: “It is absolutely necessary […] that every Minister who tries each day to do his duty shall be respected; and their subordinates must know that their chiefs are not threatened men, men who are here today and gone tomorrow” (Paragraph 3). Churchill further hints that the failures were so systemic that virtually no one would come out of an investigation unscathed. While this might seem disheartening, Churchill turns it into another opportunity for solidarity. Everyone has made mistakes, he argues, and everyone must shoulder that responsibility going forward: “Let each man search his conscience and search his speeches. I frequently search mine” (Paragraph 2).

More broadly, Churchill speaks of unity between Britain and various other nations. Although France had as good as fallen by the time Churchill delivered his speech, he nevertheless repeatedly states that Britain will stand with the people of France in opposition to German occupation. This entails explaining why Britain did not commit its full military force to the Battle of France. Churchill contends that doing so would have exhausted British resources without changing the outcome, thus suggesting that Britain’s decision to hold some of its forces in reserve was in the long run a way of supporting France; Britain is now better positioned not merely to defend itself but ultimately to free all of Europe. Churchill also references the support he expects to receive from Britain’s various colonies and dominions, arguing that the populations of these countries are entirely committed to the war effort:

I have received from all these eminent men [the leaders of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa], who all have Governments behind them elected on wide franchises, who are all there because they represent the will of their people, messages […] in which they endorse our decision to fight on, and declare themselves ready to share our fortunes and to persevere to the end (Paragraph 15).

Whether all these leaders truly had a popular mandate is questionable. South Africa, for example, had severely curtailed the voting rights of Black South Africans even before the advent of apartheid. Once again, however, the purpose is rhetorical: While Britain’s current position in Nazi-dominated Europe might seem isolated, Churchill argues that the country has many friends abroad who will come to its aid.