June 18, 1940 was remarkable for two speeches in London. No sound recordings exist of the originals and only a few hundred or thousands heard them live. Yet they were to help define the national characters of Britain and France and shape modern Europe.
Winston Churchill in the afternoon and Charles de Gaulle later in the day stared defeat in the face and defied it. The forces of freedom had been driven from continental Europe and London had quite literally become the capital of conquered nations.
For American readers, it is necessary to put the date in context.
The Nazi "lightening war" tactics had swept accross France and meant that it was impossible for the British Expeditionary Force to fall back to a defensive line on the Somme, the site of the WW1 trench warfare. Along with the French First Army they had been forced to an area around the French port of Dunkerque Between May 27 and June 4, some 338,000 soldiers - 198,000 British and 140,000 French (rounded figures) were evacuated. Most were lifted from the beaches by a fleet of "little ships" and mostly transfered to larger ships for the journey to England.
The dilema for the French was to either continue the fight, probably by moving the Government to French North Africa or to capitulate. Jean Monnet had been sent to London in September 1939 to help co-ordinate Anglo-French. By mid June it was obvious the French army would collapse and Monnet persuaded Churchill to offer this declaration of Union on 16 June (abstracted from Hansard):
At this most fateful moment in the history of the modern world the Governments of the United Kingdom and the French Republic make this declaration of indissoluble union and unyielding resolution in their common defence of justice and freedom, against subjection to a system which reduces mankind to a life of robots and slaves.
The two Governments declare that France and Great Britain shall no longer be two nations but one Franco-British Union. The constitution of the Union will provide for joint organs of defence, foreign, financial, and economic policies. Every citizen of France will enjoy immediately citizenship of Great Britain, every British subject will become a citizen of France.
Both countries will share responsibility for the repair the devastation of war, wherever it occurs in their territories, and the resources of both shall be equally, and as one, applied to that purpose.
During the war there shall be a single war Cabinet, and all the forces of Britain and France, whether on land, sea, or in the air, will be placed under its direction. It will govern from wherever it best can. The two Parliaments will be formally associated.
The nations of the British Empire are already forming new armies. France will keep her available forces in the field, on the sea, and in the air.
The Union appeals to the United States to fortify the economic resources of the Allies and to bring her powerful material aid to the common cause.
The Union will concentrate its whole energy against the power of the enemy no matter where the battle may be. And thus we shall conquer.
Before a French response could be received, the French Prime Minister resigned, having been outvoted by those who wanted to sue for peace. On June 16, the President appointed as Prime Minister Marshall Pétain, a hero and last remaining army leader from WW1 to arrange an armistice and after what became known as the Vichy Goverment. The following day a junior Defence Minister, Charles de Gaulle, flew from France to London and contacted the UK government.
By 18 June it was clear to everyone that Britain was the last European power left to oppose the Nazis. The USA was not in the war but, despite objections by some in Congress, continued to supply arms and materiel. So it was that in the afternoon of June 18 Churchill went to the Commons to deliver a speech on the war situation. Although he was later to record it, at that time there was no sound or TV from the Commons so Hansard is the only official record. The end of the speech summed up the situation.
What(French) General Weygand called the "Battle of France" is over. I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. Upon it depends our own British life and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him all Europe may be free, and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands; but if we fail then the whole world, including the United States, and all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister, and perhaps more prolonged, by the lights of a perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts for a thousand years men will still say, "This was their finest hour."
The British forces were already supplemented by the "Free forces" from the countries already conquered, very notably the Poles. The Dutch Queen and her government had already escaped and were to form a government in exile. De Gaulle persuaded Churchill to let him broadcast to France for five minutes using the BBC's French language service. Actually very few listened to him giving it and the BBC's engineers either did not have the equipment or thought him to insignificant to record. These are the last few paragraphs of his speech.
But has the final word been spoken? Must hope disappear? Is defeat final? No! Believe me, I speak to you with full knowledge of the facts, and tell you that nothing is lost for France. The same means that have defeated us may one day bring us victory. Because France is not alone! She is not alone! She is not alone! She has a vast Empire behind her. She can join forces with the British Empire, which controls the sea and continues to fight. Like England, France too has unlimited access to the immense industry of the United States.
This war is not limited to the sad confines of our country. This war will not be decided by the battle taking place in France. This war is a world war. None of the mistakes, none of the delays, none of the suffering shall deny that in this world we can find all the means necessary to crush our enemies one day. Though we may be struck down by mechanical power today, we shall win by a superior mechanical power in the future. Therein lies the world's destiny.
I, General De Gaulle, now in London, call upon the French officers and soldiers who are or who may find themselves on British soil, with or without their weapons; I call upon the engineers and the skilled workers in the armaments industry, who are or who may find themselves on British soil, to contact me.
Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not and shall not die.
De Gaulle speech was reproduced in print and he was to become the rallying point and de facto leader of the Free French and the Resistance - now with a capital R. The Free French were given two five minute slots daily by the BBC to broadcast their own programming. Churchill's "battle of Britain" did not materialise as he envisaged it but the "Battle of Britain" involving the air forces prevented the invasion of the British mainland (the Channel Islands, a British possession off the coast of Brittany were occupied.)
The idea of a Union was (according to the released British documents) revisited in 1956. At that time the French and British governments conspired with Israel to prevent the Egyptian nationalisation of the Suez Canal. Israel invaded on another pretext with the plan being for them to reach the Canal and the French and British would "intervene" between the two armies. (The plan fell through when the Israelis failed to reach the Canal within the agreed timetable) From Wiki:
In September 1956, during the Suez Crisis due to a common foe an Anglo-French Task Force was created. French Prime Minister Guy Mollet proposed a union between the United Kingdom and the French Union with Elizabeth II as head of state and a common citizenship. As an alternative, Mollet proposed that France join the British Commonwealth of Nations. British Prime Minister Anthony Eden rejected both proposals and France went on to join the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community and strengthened the Franco-German cooperation.
This rejection was to have ramifications later when de Gaulle's "Grand Non" refused the UK attempt to enter the EEC in May 1967. It is however two of the others involved in the events of June 1940 who are seen as among the "Founding Fathers" of the European Union.
Jean Monnet formulated the Monnet Plan (abstraced from Wiki):
In 1945 Monnet proposed the Monnet plan, also known as the theory of l’engrenage, to take control of the remaining coal-producing German areas and redirect the production away from German industry and into French industry instead, permanently weakening Germany and raising the French economy considerably above its pre-war levels. The plan was adopted by Charles de Gaulle in early 1946.
In 1947 France, with U.S. support, removed the Saar from Germany and turned it into the Saar protectorate, nominally politically independent and under complete French economic control. The area returned to German political administration in 1957, but France retained the right to mine from its coal mines until 1981.
The Ruhr Agreement was imposed on the Germans as a condition for permitting them to establish the Federal Republic of Germany
De Gaulle was essentially a nationalist who believed in separate national traditions so the appeal of strengthening French industry was obvious. Monnet however was to take his thinking further and saw how the internationalisation of essential war materials could promote peace. He would go on to more or less author the Schuman Plan to set up the European Coal and Steel Community, the forerunner of the European Economic Community and the European Union. Today the French and British can live in each other's countries (and another 25) almost as if they are citizens of their host (some voting restrictions apply)
Churchill was to coin many of the iconic terms of the late 20th century including the "Iron Curtain" but his speech of September 1946 in Zurichforeshadowed two institutions and coined references much in use in the EU today.
Our constant aim must be to build and fortify the strength of the United Nations Organization. Under and within that world concept we must re-create the European Family in a regional structure called, it may be, the United States of Europe. And the first practical step would be to form a Council of Europe. If at first all the States of Europe are not willing or able to join the Union, we must nevertheless proceed to assemble and combine those who will and those who can.
June 18 has become a day of celebration in France. Today President Sarkosy was a guest in London as two members of the European Family held joint commemorations of de Gaulle's speech.