Winston Churchill assumed the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 10 May 1940, just one day after Adolf Hitler marched his German forces into Denmark.1 What followed was a month of brutal bloodshed and agonizing uncertainty throughout the European continent. During this time, Churchill would find his nation on the brink of destruction, Hitler would see victory within his grasp, and a little known historical figure named Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax would beseech his new Prime Minister to seek peace with the Nazi regime.2
Before Churchill took the job, Britain’s Prime Minister was a man named Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain’s answer to the growing Nazi threat was the path of appeasement. He was not willing to throw his country into conflict so soon after World War I, and so he placated Hitler rather than openly opposing him. One of the most famous examples of this appeasement was the Munich Agreement. This pact, signed by France, Germany, Italy, and Great Britain in an effort to preserve peace on the European continent, effectively forgave Hitler for invading Czechoslovakia. Signed on 29 September 1938, the Munich Agreement stipulated that Hitler would not invade anymore countries; a promise he broke six months later. Blamed for the failure that was the appeasement strategy, Chamberlain was forced to step down from his position as Prime Minister. His successor was widely expected to be none other than his Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax. Halifax declined the position. Though no one is exactly sure why, it is likely that Halifax felt that he was not suited to lead the country in time of war. 3 Therefore, the nation chose instead to turn to the man who had been the most vocal critic of appeasement: Winston Churchill. 4
Churchill had a daunting task before him as he took the office. Denmark had fallen, and all signs pointed to France following closely behind. One of his first acts as Prime Minister was to appoint a War Cabinet to advise him moving forward. As part of the Cabinet, Churchill appointed Neville Chamberlain as Lord President of the Council and asked Lord Halifax to keep his position as Foreign Secretary. 5 Churchill then sent the British Expeditionary Forces into France to help repel the Nazi invaders. Unfortunately, this move grossly underestimated German military capabilities, and British forces were in full retreat within a matter of weeks.
Since we know how the war ended, it is hard for us to fathom now just how dire Britain’s prospects were at the time. The Expeditionary Force was pinned on the Dunkirk Beach in France with seemingly no way of crossing the channel to get back to England. If the Germans managed to wipe out this force, which seemed imminent, Britain would have lost over 400,000 men and with them any hopes of ever stopping the Nazi conquest. In the face of utter annihilation, Churchill chose to stand firm. He ordered the commandeering of civilian boats to cross the channel and retrieve his soldiers, betting his country’s future on the long odds that these vessels could arrive before it was too late.6 Members of The War Cabinet did not share Churchill’s staunch optimism, most notable among them Lord Halifax.7 Halifax proposed a different tactic: a peace treaty with the Nazis. Halifax, being the skilled diplomat that he was, made contact Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy. Mussolini was willing to act as mediator so that Germany and the U.K. could sit down and negotiate terms for a peace agreement.8 From Halifax’s perspective this was the only way to ensure the survival of the troops trapped at Dunkirk, and the only way to save his beloved country. Though it seemed foolhardy at the time, Churchill refused to even consider peace negotiations.9 Luckily for him, and for our world, the civilian rescue mission succeeded, managing to bring most of the British troops home. Despite terrible odds, the United Kingdom lived to fight another day.
Assuming things had gone differently, and Churchill gave Halifax the go-ahead to broker a peace agreement, what might the treaty have looked like? The first thing to remember is, by all accounts, Britain was at the time posed to fall to German invasion. This meant that Halifax would have essentially been going to the negotiating table on his knees, making it unlikely that he could produce any favorable terms. Undoubtedly, Hitler would have used his advantageous bargaining position to get everything he wanted out of the deal. In exchange for safely getting the men out of Dunkirk, Nazis would have demanded that they be allowed to keep their conquered claims throughout Denmark, France, and other countries. Hitler also could have insisted that Britain not get further involved in the European conflict, allowing him to march towards Russia without worrying about the possibility of an active western front. Though it is impossible to measure whether 400,000 souls are worth such demands, it is important to keep in mind what precedent this would have set had the U.K. signed a peace treaty with Germany in Munich. Hitler took advantage of the Munich Agreement and disregarded it the moment he saw a tactical opportunity. Surely, no treaty Halifax could draft would have quelled the lust for power harbored by Hitler who stopped at nothing to establish a German world order. 10
All this we know thanks to well preserved historic records and the many biographies written since the war. We know that Churchill’s plan to resist at all costs did indeed pay off in the long run. But, looking at the events of the month of May 1940 through the eyes of the 1st Earl of Halifax, couldn’t one have concluded that the only hope for the United Kingdom was a final attempt at appeasement?
- Winston Churchill, The Gathering Storm (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948). ↵
- Chris Hasting, “Lord Halifax tried to negotiate peace with the Nazis.” The Telegraph (August 30, 2008). ↵
- Andrew Roberts, The holy fox: a life of Lord Halifax (London: Papermac, 1992). ↵
- Ian Kershaw, Fateful choices: ten decisions that changed the world, 1940-1941 (London: Penguin Books, 2008). ↵
- Churchill, Winston. The Gathering Storm. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948), and Andrew Roberts, The holy fox: a life of Lord Halifax (London: Papermac, 1992). ↵
- Winston Churchill, The Gathering Storm (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948). ↵
- Andrew Roberts, The holy fox: a life of Lord Halifax (London: Papermac, 1992). ↵
- Andrew Roberts, The holy fox: a life of Lord Halifax (London: Papermac, 1992). ↵
- Ian Kershaw, Fateful choices: ten decisions that changed the world, 1940-1941, (London: Penguin Books, 2008). ↵
- Arnold A Offner, “Appeasement Revisited: The United States, Great Britain, and Germany, 1933-1940.” The Journal of American History 64, no. 2 (1977): 373-93. ↵
90 comments
Adam Portillo
Prior to reading this article I had very little knowledge on the Munich agreement. I believe the Munich agreement was a mess to begin with because of the fact that Germany would end up invading more countries. Winston Churchill made the right move to go at the Nazi regime rather than to just keep on appeasing them. If not for this then maybe the war could have been different. Awesome article.
Valeria Perez
I can’t imagine having this type of responsibility and pressure on my shoulders. Putting myself in the shoes of someone of the time this would have been a very hard decision, but I would have agreed with Churchill. If Hitler and the Nazi regime had already broken a treaty what would stop them a second time? Besides reading, I also enjoyed the Dr. Seuss political cartoon. I didn’t know of his work outside of children’s books!
Didier Cadena
This was a very interesting article. I was only aware of the Munich Agreement, so it was interesting to read about the treaty that never was. Even though we know how the war ended, it would be interesting to see how the world would have been changed if another agreement was made with Hitler. The article does a great job of putting the information together and keep the reader engaged.
Nathan Alba
I thought the article was written well, quite informative. I personally had never heard of the story, but it is interesting to see how divided Britain was. In the sense that Winston Churchill seemed to have faith in his country, Halifax did not. And to think that Halifax worked under Churchill makes it even worse. As prime minister you would think your cabinet members would support you. It was a good thing the soldiers were rescued at Dunkirk, really seemed to give Britain a lot of hope to withstand the war.
Aneesa Zubair
I had never heard the story of this treaty before, but you did a great job introducing me to it! It was really interesting to read about Halifax’s idea that Mussolini could act as mediator and help the countries reach an agreement. I can see why so many people would agree with him at the time, since it would seem safer than Churchill’s idea. I’m glad the treaty did not happen, though, as that would have had huge consequences for Europe and potentially the rest of the world.
Gabrien Gregory
This is a very well written and succinct article regarding a piece of the United Kingdom’s involvement in World War Two. I appreciate Matt for begging the question as to what would have happened if Secretary Halifax’s peace treaty were to have become reality. My personal opinion is that a peace treaty would have been terribly devastating to the entire European region. It is important to mention that while Churchill did the right thing by not giving in to Hitler’s efforts, even though the people of the U.K. were so close to being eliminated, it was the United States’s effort thereafter which contributed to the necessary end of the Nazi regime.
Ximena Mondragon
I enjoyed reading this article because I learned something new about World War II. The article is short but it gives the reader the right amount of information and it gets to the point. It is interesting to read about how history could of changed if such a treaty would of become a reality. Would this treaty give an advantage to the Nazis, therefore lead to the war being longer?
Daniel Reyes
This article is splendid. I enjoyed reading a summary of the events leading up to the events of Dunkirk; I believe this article did it more justice than the actual movie. I particularly like that the author explores and deals with the unknown question to build up to the scenario of possible alternative history. I think the success of this article is reliant on this rhetorical strategy and furthermore, it creates a sense of wonder, a feeling I don’t usually get from history. The narrator’s commentary voice added for the added intended effect that I believe the author was going which I think is immersion in possible history. The only criticism I have of this article is to dive into Lord Halifax’s story and to continue to talk about his stake in this process.
Daniel Reyes
This article is splendid. I enjoyed reading a summary of the events leading up to the events of Dunkirk; I believe this article did it more justice than the actual movie. I particularly like that the author explores and deals with the unknown question to build up to the scenario of possible alternative history. I think the success of this article is reliant on this rhetorical strategy and furthermore, it creates a sense of wonder, a feeling I don’t usually get from history. The narrator’s commentary voice added for the added intended effect that I believe the author was going which I think is immersion in possible history. The only criticism I have of this article is to dive into Lord Halifax’s story and to continue to talk about his stake in this process.
Christopher Hohman
Right move on Churchill’s part. Hitler would have been placated for a time by any peace deal offered to him, but it would not have taken long for Hitler to consolidate his gains on the continent. After that he would have had an untold number of resources available to him to conquer Britain. Instead he got bogged down fighting a war on two fronts between Russia and Britain. It is amazing to me how much the British gave up to win the war. They essentially gave up their entire empire by bankrupting themselves in order to try to win the war.
Alexandra Lopez
This article was intriguing and brought up well thought out questions that could have change the course of human history. The powerful words from Winston Churchill, “We shall never surrender,” are as powerful as they were in the past. The author brought up a a great point on the attempt of Britain speaking with Italy’s prime minister about a peace treaty even though Hitler had already broken a treaty before that. If Britain were to have agreed to a peace treaty with Hitler who know what would have happened.