History of Europe

King of England during World War II! King George VI

In the world of racehorses, there is a race called "King George VI &Queen Elizabeth S", which is the highest race in the world along with the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France.

With an eternal longing for all horsemen, Japanese horses have never won the race, in which famous horses from all over the world participate in the race for its glory.

The name of such a big race was derived from King George VI, King George VI of England, but he was born with stuttering and was not the eldest son but the second son, so he was originally the king. There wasn't.

This time, let's take a look at the king who represents the history of England, which was the source of the "Speech of the King of England".

To the coronation

George VI was born in 1895 as the second son of George V, and his successor was determined to be his brother Edward VIII.

The time when he was born was a difficult time. At about 20 years of age, World War I broke out, and George joined as an officer in the Navy and Air Force. After the war, he married and had two girls, Elizabeth and Margaret.

Elizabeth, who was born at this time, is your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as of 2019.

In January 1936, his father, George V, died, and his brother reigned as Edward VIII, king of the British Empire.

However, in December of the same year, Edward VIII announced his abdication to the public on the radio.

The cause was to get married.

And King George VI was born.

King of England in the most difficult times

The time when George VI was crowned was extremely confused.

Nazi Germany took power in opposition to the Versailles regime that has continued since 1920, and the Great Depression in the United States in 1929 pushed the world to the bottom. As the economies of many countries decline as a result, the Communist-controlled Soviet Union under Stalin's control will greatly increase industrial production.

The British Empire, which still has the largest territory in the world but suffers from World War I debt, has lost its centripetal force.

The country was broken by the growing policy towards Nazi Germany.

Nazi German hardliners such as Churchill and German reconciliations such as Chamberlain.

The aversion to war no longer dominated Britain, and Chamberlain's reconciliation sect came into power and tolerated the Nazis' actions. It may have been great that the Nazis sent a love call to Britain as the same Germanic people.

Meanwhile, Germany expanded its armaments, restored the territories lost in World War I, annexed Austria and the Czech Republic, and finally began invading Poland with the Soviet Union.

The outbreak of World War II.

This is the worst development for Britain. Soviet communism was seen as a threat more than Hitler in Britain, and the country was confused because those threats joined forces to create a war that they wanted to avoid.

Hitler quickly captured France, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc., and Britain was also bombed.

Chamberlain resigned here, and Churchill, who was a representative of the hardliners against Germany, became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Churchill was initially thought to have a bad deal with George VI.

Churchill was almost the only comprehension of King Edward VIII, and George VI hated him.

However, George VI was not the king who had personal feelings in the crisis of the nation. The two decided to cooperate with each other and oppose Nazi Germany.

As a result, the royal families and leaders of each country that had fallen by the Nazis came to exile in England. Charles de Gaulle of France is a representative of this.

Europe was once occupied by the Nazis and their friendly nations.

Italy and Spain are dominated by fascism, France, the three Benerx countries, and most of Northern Europe are defeated by the Nazis, and as a result of partnering with the Soviet Union, Britain has to fight the war with Germany, which has virtually all of Europe. rice field.

It is the "Battle of Britain" that is said to the world.

It was the decipherment of the radar and the Enigma that saved Britain in a pinch.

The Allied forces were defeated without any means to prevent the Nazi airstrikes, but Britain was able to stop the airstrikes by developing a radar. Even so, he was hit by bombs such as submarines, but thanks to the success of Alan Turing, he succeeded in breaking the Nazi code Enigma and was able to stop the damage to some extent.

Fortunately for Britain, the United States would have entered the war and Germany and the Soviet Union would have been hostile.

Germany had to deal with this strongest nation as Japan, an island nation in the Far East, which was in an alliance with Germany, declared war on the United States.

The German army surrendered through the Battle of Midway, the Battle of Stalingrad, and the Normandy landings, and the last remaining Japan was bombed with a new bomb, the Atomic Bomb, and the samurai country Japan finally surrendered.

This is the end of World War II.

Britain should have won.

The decline of Britain

From a modern point of view, the victorious Britain may have suffered the most damage than the defeated Germany and Japan.

Britain had a significant amount of loans to continue the war, which were paid off only in the 21st century. There was a war-torn mood in the country, and Churchill was no longer the prime minister before the end of the war.

Britain undertook postwar reconstruction under the Atley administration.

However, Britain no longer had the power to maintain the British Empire, and in 1947 India and Pakistan became independent, and George VI lost his position as Emperor of India.

Over the next two years, Burma, Palestine, and Ireland became independent one after another, and each colony became independent thereafter.

Perhaps due to such hard work, George VI tended to get sick, and his daughter Elizabeth often performed public affairs.

In 1952, George VI fell asleep forever.

Evaluation of King George VI

Initially, he was often anxious about George VI's coronation. George VI was not good at making speeches, partly because he stuttered, and the abdicated Edward VIII was considered to be the better king.

However, Churchill (who was once the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom again) heard the death of George VI and said he was weeping when he heard the death, saying, "It's worst news, not bad news."

George VI has a fairly human rights side, and when he went to South Africa, he was frightened by apartheid, where whites discriminate against blacks, and expressed anger, saying, "I want to shoot all white government leaders!" It is said that it was done.

George VI's shock at this time seemed to be so great that he had lost 7 kg when he returned home.

How hard was the king to regain his trust in the royal family that Edward VIII lost and to fight the worst war of mankind with the people?

Many movies are still made modeled on George VI, and you can see how much King George VI is loved by the British people.

"All beliefs are equal, regardless of gender or size of country."

George VI said so at the First Session of the United Nations in London.

It can be said that it is the speech that best describes his personality.