TLS, signed Winston Churchill, one page, 8 x 10, Morpeth Mansions letterhead, March 18, 1938. A letter to Arthur J. Cummings, it bears the salutation in Churchill’s hand: “Private, My dear Mr. Cummings.” In full: “Lord Beaverbrook allowed me to see your letter to him about me. I value very much the spontaneous agreement of so many Liberals on the views I have been expressing on foreign policy, and especially yours. I believe it should still be possible by pursuing the kind of policy I have outlined in the Evening Standard of today, to arrest the onward march of the Dictators and prevent a war.” Accompanied by a telegram from Churchill in another hand thanking Cummings for his letter.
The Evening Standard article to which Churchill refers, “The Austrian Eye-Opener,” was published just six days following Hitler’s annexation of Austria, his first major step in an effort to create a German empire. In the article, Churchill implored Great Britain and other nations, which had adopted a policy of appeasement, to uphold the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain, which forbid the union of Austria and Germany. He also pointed to the impending crisis in Czechoslovakia, a warning that was ignored when Britain and France conceded Hitler’s seizure of a portion of the country, the Sudetenland, against its wishes. It wasn’t until Hitler seized the entirety of Czechoslovakia that Britain and France became alarmed at the situation.
It is shocking, in hindsight, that Churchill was one of only a handful of statesmen who opposed Germany’s rearmament and stressed the necessity of building military strength to regain the balance of power. As this letter states, Churchill retained the hope that, in the face of Germany’s growing power, the “onward march of the Dictators” could be stopped and war avoided. An incredible piece of history from the nascency of World War II and one of the 20th century's greatest minds! In fine condition, with intersecting folds (one lightly affecting the first stroke of the signature and a slight separation at the end of one fold), scattered light creasing and soiling, and bends to upper corners. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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