A spin off of this thread and Jim’s Son comment brought to mind something I’ve been wondering about for a while. Namely, can we state with any confidence what Roosevelt and Churchill truly thought about each other and at which points of the war their relationship was particularly strained or the times when they were genuinely close?
They seemed to disagreed as much as they agreed, particularly on big issues like how to deal with the Soviets and Poland and the role of Empire (Churchill of course being a stalwart imperialist, while Roosevelt was certainly not) and famously Churchill did not attend Roosevelt’s funeral in 1945, he writes of the decision not to go in the following wise; “Much pressure was however put on me not to leave the country at this most critical and difficult moment, and I yielded to the wishes of my friends.”
Sounds pretty flimsy to me. What did they really think of each other? In an attempt to answer my own question, I think there was a shade of resentment and jealous on the part of Churchill towards Roosevelt for the US’s vast wealth, influence and resources in contrast to Britain’s dwindling supply of all three as Roosevelt got his money’s worth for lend-lease. Churchill no doubt thought Roosevelt hopelessly naive when dealing with Stalin.
On Roosevelt’s part, I imagine frustration at Churchill flinging every idea he could to the wall to see what would stick, no matter how ludicrous and a very sharp split on the notion that the war was being fought to preserve the British Empire. On Stalin, exasperation that Churchill the old anti-bolshevik would only rile up their indispensable allies while Roosevelt was convinced he could charm the Soviet dictator.
I’ll look forward to other, more educated opinions on this, but given that both men were intelligent, capable, had massive egos and thought their way was correct, it would have been incredible if they had not clashed now and them.
On the other hand, there is also good evidence that they liked and respected each other, and Churchill was always fond of the USA and never forgot the support Roosevelt offered (Lend-Lease, the 50-destroyer deal, patrolling far beyond the 12-mile limit) before the USA entered the War.
I contrast them to an old married couple, together for 50 years, putting up with the other’s crochets and foolishness out of fondness and mutual respect.
Roosevelt thought that Churchill’s thinking was years out of date -he once remarked (of Churchill) :“he’s a mid-Victorian”. Churchill did not want to dismember the Empire-yet he knew that Idia would be the first to go.Churchill knew that the UK would emerge from WWII greatly impoverished, but he had no plans to help the economy recover.
They certainly clashed over war strategy, particularly the notion of invading through Italy, but I’m pretty sure they had a strong affection for each other and respect for each other’s political acumen.
Regarding the Soviets, Churchill was under no illusions. Roosevelt, maybe. At some conference near the end of the war (Yalta?) they discussed the subject of dealing with a defeated Germany. Stalin proposed they simply round up and execute the top 50,000 Germans. Roosevelt did not realize Stalin was dead(!) serious, and replied “why not just 49,000?” Churchill knew Stalin was serious.
They respected each other but I don’t think they necessarily liked each other. In general, the United Kingdom and the United States had common interests and Churchill and Roosevelt worked together to achieve those interests. But the two countries also had some different interests and each man put the interests of his own country ahead of the other’s.
From what I read they tolerated each other, and at times showed affection toward each other, but each had their own world view and they differed quite a bit. Had there been no war I doubt they would have had much dealings with each other at all.
While there were obvious clashes, I sensed some affection from the (clearly cherry-picked) letters included in Churchill’s history of WW II. They shared one common bond - they both had served as civilian heads of the Navy, and Churchill signed his letters “former Naval person.”
Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. Allied forces were closing in on Berlin, and fighting continued around the world. If the situation were different, there is no reason to believe that Churchill would not have attended FDR’s funeral.
Winston Churchill said he felt as though he had been “struck a physical blow,” and broke down when he relayed the news in a speech to the House of Commons.
Selected House of Commons Speeches
by Churchill, Winston S.
***22 22 - Upon the death of Franklin D Roosevelt, 1945 - 10:26 ***
Thanks for all the replies so far, just to pick up again on the funeral point…
Roosevelt’s aides were keeping just how ill he was a close secret, so I’ve no doubt that Churchill was genuinely shocked when the news came, but I still have trouble buying that for a supposed close friend he couldn’t have made the time and left Europe in Eisenhower’s capable hands. It’s not like he’d be completely incommunicado the whole time, Churchill had visited the US during the war before. Did contemporaries question the decision not to attend or see it as a necessity that he didn’t?
I would imagine that the logistics would have been a nightmare. U-boats were still a threat in the Atlantic. Could another King George V-class battleship be reassigned as the PM’s personal ferry? The other option would have been transport by air. Maybe a stripped Lancaster, Halifax or Wellington? I’m not sure the range of these bombers.
Mr. Churchill’s Visit to America: On Board (battleship) H.M.S. “Duke of York,” 1941
Communications between the U.S. and England were difficult and time consuming. The war in Europe was (hopefully) coming to a close. The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was recent history. Hitler may still have a few surprises up his sleeve.
As an advisor, at that point in the war, I would not recommend that the leader of Britain take the chance of traveling across the Atlantic.
One community-college U. S. History book I saw showed a picture of them, with a caption that described them as “distant cousins”, without any further detail or cites. Does anyone here know if Roosevelt and Churchill were actually genealogically related, however distantly?
A fast ship was in little danger from the U-boat threat in the North Atlantic, whether it was a battleship or a liner. Here’s a list of senior people meetings in WWII
I think this is mentioned in William Manchester’s biography of Douglas MacArthur “American Caesar”. Found it MacArthur 8th cousin of Churchill and 6th cousin once removed to FDR.
One thing the two disagreed on was France and the post war world. FDR had no use for DeGaulle or the way France ruled its colonies. Churchill wasn’t crazy about DeGaulle but felt France had to play an important role in post war Europe and DeGaulle was obviously going to be a power in French politics. FDR for awhile supported the Morgenthau Plan that would have de-industrialized Germany, Churchill opposed it.
One thing to remember. Both men were strong leaders of their nations and nations have interests, not friends
Eleanor was less favorable to Churchill. She admired his eloquence and opposition to Hitler but she was more liberal than Churchill and Churchill believed strongly in the British Empire.
FDR was very guarded in revealing his thoughts. He could agree with two people expressing opposite viewpoints and laugh about it. Kept his options open. As the war went on, America became the more dominant force and FDR looked more to working with Stalin and less with Churchill.
On the whole I think there was a fair amount of respect and amiability between the two but it gets over exaggerated in things like the "War and Remembrance" miniseries and Doris Kearns Godwin's book.
The question is not how they got there, but for what purpose were these trips necessary. These weren’t personal trips, or vacations. They were all war related. War planning preparations, participant agreements, aid agreements, and establishing priorities among the Allies. Today, these conferences could be held via secure telecommunications. During the early 40’s, face-to-face conversations were SOP for security, and clarity concerns.
Spies have always been a problem. Inadvertent leaks from staff, and security personal must be considered. Misunderstandings between participants took longer to settle via diplomatic dispatch. Communications could be intercepted. Plus, there may be time constraints prior to an invasion.
If a war related trip was required for the war effort, the time, money, and effort was made.
Churchill did visit FDR’s gravesite at the earliest, safest, most convenient time in 1946.
So far, it doesn’t appear that Parliament discussed sending Churchill to represent Britain at FDR’s funeral. There may be some related internal memos? Churchill did pay his respects in 1946, something that would not have been a politically necessity at that the time (Churchill left the office of PM (the 1st time) in July '45).
Churchill Visits Roosevelt’s Grave 1946
Note - date found in the old file - 10/05/1946.
Churchill On Vacation, 1946/01/21
(1) Churchill in Miami Beach for 6-week vacation, appears at press conference
Not related to the Roosevelt and Churchill’s real relationship thread, but an interesting insight into Churchill the man.
*We must all turn our backs upon the horrors of the past. We must look to the future. We cannot afford to drag forward across the years that are to come the hatreds and revenges which have sprung from the injuries of the past.
-Winston Churchill *
I recall that on a documentary called The Roosevelts (???), it was mentioned that Mrs. Roosevelt did not care for Churchill’s strange working hours and certainly did not approve of him having a drink any time of the day and night.
I found this article, Churchill at the White House, written by Eleanor in The Atlantic magazine. I haven’t read the entire article yet, but what I have read is very interesting.
Eleanor’s view of Roosevelt and Churchill’s relationship:
