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Welcome to Historic Voices: Global History and Culture. Learn from the past through voices that made history. The podcast brings voices from the past that make history alive through personal accounts, public speeches, and entertainment programs.  Their voices are political leaders, ordinary citizens who lived during extraordinary times, and entertainers who helped Americans through difficult times. 

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May 8, 2017

This is a PDF of the backstory concerning a radio speech by Sir Winston Churchill on May 13, 1940. The dramatic timing of the speech was that it was Churchill’s first speech to the British people since being named Prime Minister during early World War II. 

Germany had been rampaging throughout Europe during early World War Two, conquering one nation another another. The United States would not enter the war for another 18 months and were not providing sufficient support for the British due to their isolationist feelings and wanting to avoid entanglement in European wars. The British morale was at a low-point at this moment as they felt it was their tiny nation was the only one that had not fallen to German occupation and that invasion from the Nazis was ready to begin.

Prime Minister Churchill delivers a short speech of the grim reality and positive hope. He promises the British people through an honest assessment that the near future will be “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat” as they fight against the Germans alone. Yet, he ends this short speech will hope for the British people to not give up, but fight.