Churchill’s Mythmaking Years: An Analysis of the Public Opinion of Winston Churchill from 1940 to 1941

Abstract

Winston Churchill became an idealized figure to the British public in his first two years as Prime Minister. The Battle of Britain and German blitzkrieg enabled Churchill to exercise his oratory skills through speeches that encouraged the suffering masses. Through an analysis of contemporary diary entries and public opinion polls, this essay reveals that British citizens connected with Churchill’s inclusive language and admired his recurring public visits to the streets of Britain. Churchill contributed to his mythmaking as he manipulated the media to prohibit criticisms of his wartime policies. He also utilized emerging technologies, mainly the radio, to speak to the masses and cement his reputation as a humble servant of the people. Despite a few detractors, most British people revered Churchill for his preservation of morale in the beginning of WWII, owing largely to the Prime Minister’s careful control over the creation of his own myth.