List of documents and questions for Part A

Use the documents below to complete the tasks below:

• Document A: Churchill warns of German rearmament
• Document B: Churchill’s illicit acquiring of evidence
• Document C: Churchill’s reply to Hankey
• Document D: The reality of the military situation
• Document E: Churchill’s reply to Acland
• Document F: A warning to Churchill
• Document G: Lindemann clashes with the Air Defence Research Committee
• Document H: Government and Civil Service reaction to Churchill’s interventions on rearmament
• Document I: Churchill takes his message to the country
• Document J: Churchill’s frustration with the Air Defence Research Committee
• Document K: Some on the left distrust Churchill’s motives for his stand against appeasement
• Document L: Churchill looks back at the death of Ralph Wigram

Tasks

1. Having looked at the documents in this unit, which ones can be used to support any of the following statements?

Can any of them be conclusively demonstrated or disproved by the evidence in the unit?
You should refer to specific documents to support your answer.

• Churchill’s information on German rearmament was accurate and comprehensive
• Churchill was regarded as an expert on matters relating to rearmament
• Churchill hindered the process of rearmament in Britain
• Churchill’s understanding of the issue of rearmament was less sound than that of the government

2. Looking at the evidence in this unit:

• List the factors that counted against acceptance of Churchill’s warnings about German rearmament
• How convincing an alternative did Churchill offer to appeasement?
• What were the disadvantages of Churchill’s use of leaked material?
• How convincing is Churchill’s account of his own role in Document L?

3. Reflect and discuss:

• Why do you think Churchill’s image of himself as a lone voice in the wilderness has appealed to film makers and to the public at large?
• How significant was public opinion to Baldwin, Chamberlain and Churchill in the debates on appeasement and rearmament?
• How much did Churchill matter in the 1930s?