Friends of mine took me to the pictures last night.
They wanted to see the Churchill film, which was being screened in the German version.
I would, of course, have preferred to see this film in
its original English. And yet, hearing the gifted orator successfully turn
parliament from doubt and resistance to produce frenzied support of his “war to
the end” policy, in the German language, with German idioms and figures of
speech, and not in English, was illuminating.
Doubtlessly, evil Hitler with his evil plans and evil
methods, cannot be compared with Churchill, acting to save Britain. Moreover, Churchill
was part of a democracy, and had to democratically overcome opposition to his
policies. This was a burden which Hitler – who had those disagreeing with him killed
– did not have to bother with.
But whereas the causes cannot be compared, one can
compare the manipulation techniques. It is useful to be aware of the ease with
which gifted speakers can emotionally manipulate, to achieve their own ends. Nationalist fervour in humans knows no
national boundaries.
Yes, a great speaker he was (though he does sound a bit odd in German, I must say).
ReplyDeleteBut the British public was won over not so much by his speeches, but by the seemingly miraculous events around Dunkirk. These have engraved themselves upon the British collective soul more than anything else.
Fate was perceived to be on the side of the British and that was what turned public opinion.
Nor was it any speech of Churchill's that caused the US to enter the war: That was the consequence of Hitler's declaration of war against the US.