![]() ![]() Churchill and Dr. Chaim Weizmann : Scientist, Zionist and Israeli Statesman. Finest Hour 1. 70, Fall 2. Page 1. 1By Fred Glueckstein. Dr. Chaim Weizmann. ![]() On 9 December 1. 90. Winston Churchill was given his first government post by Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell- Bannerman as the new Under- Secretary for the Colonies. As then required by law, an MP taking a government position had to contest his parliamentary seat in a by- election. The next day, 1. 0 December 1. Churchill was electioneering as the key speaker at a Manchester North West public protest meeting on the ill treatment of Jews in Russia. As a third of the Manchester North West electorate was Jewish, a gathering of Jewish residents was present to hear Churchill speak. On the meeting’s podium when Churchill spoke was a Jewish chemist and Zionist named Dr. Chaim Weizmann. 1. With the general election of January 1. Churchill later approached Weizmann through his representative to help swing the Jewish vote in his favour in Manchester. Weizmann, although he recognized Churchill’s authority, was disinclined to intervene so overtly in British politics, and he just referred the matter to David Wolffsohn, President of the Zionist Organization. Shortly afterwards, Weizmann met with Churchill “for a brief, introductory and uneventful talk.”2. Weizmann’s Early Life. Chaim Azriel Weizmann was born in Motol, Russia on 2. November 1. 87. 4. Three days later, on 3. November 1. 87. 4, Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in England. Knowing that the pursuit of his love of chemistry in Russia was not possible due to the barriers placed before Jews aspiring to higher education, Weizmann left Russia in 1. Germany. He attended Technische Hochschule of Darmstadt and Charlottenburg Technical University at Berlin. When a favorite professor joined the staff of the University of Freiburg in Switzerland, Weizmann went there to study and earn a doctorate in Biochemistry. While in Switzerland, Weizmann took a position as a lecturer in organic chemistry at the University of Geneva, where he taught and continued his research. In Geneva, Weizmann became active in Zionism, a nationalist and political movement of Jews and Jewish culture that supported the re- establishment of a Jewish homeland in the territory defined as the historic land of Israel. In 1. 90. 5, Weizmann went to England and resided in Manchester, where he lectured in the chemistry department at the University of Manchester. In 1. 91. 0, Weizmann became a naturalized British subject.“Can You Make It?”During the First World War, Winston Churchill and Chaim Weizmann again crossed paths in Manchester. As the war intensified, Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, faced an increased shortage of acetone, the solvent used in making cordite, which was the essential naval explosive. ![]() ![]() The head of the Admiralty’s powder department, a Jewish chemical engineer named Sir Frederick Nathan, suggested that Churchill approach Weizmann at Manchester University. Churchill agreed and Nathan set up a meeting. In his memoirs, Weizmann remembered their meeting. Churchill, then a much younger man, was brisk, fascinating, charming and energetic. Almost his first words were: . Weizmann, we need thirty thousand tons of acetone. The Germans relied on an aggressive battle plan, utilizing modern communications such as radio to direct troops in the field. The Allies, for their part, assumed. Financial analysis of Their Finest (2017) including budget, domestic and international box office gross, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, total earnings and profitability. Winston Churchill Speech - Their Finest Hour The Winston Churchill Speech - Their Finest Hour - featured is in the form of extracts, passages or lines from this. Designed for those who want the Niagara Wine Experience from start to finish. This package includes a guided 5 hour luxury wine tour to some of the regions best. With Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston. A former secretary, newly appointed as a scriptwriter for propaganda films, joins the cast and crew of a. Directed by Burt Metcalfe. With Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, Loretta Swit. An hour-long series retrospective. A reporter, Clete Roberts, interviews the staff. Review The charm — and bite — of 'Their Finest,' a seamless blend of comedy and drama. Plot Summary: With London emptied of its men now fighting at the Front, Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) is hired by the British Ministry of Information as a "slop. Their Finest Hour Book![]() Can you make it?’ I was so terrified by this lordly request that I almost turned tail,” wrote Weizmann. But he did answer. Weizmann told Churchill: “So far I have succeeded in making a few hundred cubic centimeters of acetone at a time by the fermentation process. I do my work in a laboratory. I am not a technician. I am only a research chemist,” said Weizmann. Weizmann continued: “But, if I were somehow able to produce a ton of acetone, I would be able to multiply that by any factor you choose. Once the bacteriology of the process is established, it is only a question of brewing. I must get hold of a brewing engineer from one of the big distilleries, and we will set about the preliminary task.” Finally, Weizmann told Churchill: “I shall naturally need the support of the Government to obtain the people, the equipment, the emplacements and the rest of it. I myself can’t even determine what will be required.”4. In May 1. 91. 5, after Weizmann had demonstrated to Churchill and the Admiralty that he could convert 1. Factories were built to utilize the new process at Holton Heath in Dorset and King’s Lynn in Norfolk. The factories together produced more than 9. From 1. 91. 4 to 1. Churchill’s Royal Navy and the British Army fired 2. The Balfour Declaration. It is believed Weizmann was rewarded for his vital contribution to Britain’s war effort when the Cabinet, prompted by Prime Minister Lloyd George, approved the signing of the Balfour Declaration on 2 November 1. Taking the form of a letter from Arthur Balfour, the foreign secretary, to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland, the Balfour Declaration asserted: His Majesty’s Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non- Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country. The Balfour Declaration was universally recognized as a personal triumph of Weizmann. In his memoirs, Lloyd George wrote that Weizmann’s name “will rank with that of Nehemiah . Churchill’s son Randolph remembered Weizmann visiting the Churchill home at Chartwell at the time of the 1. White Paper discussions. Randolph told Martin Gilbert that his father had been fascinated by Weizmann’s talk and appearance: “Just like an Old Testament prophet,” Churchill told his son when Weizmann had left. In 1. 93. 9, Weizmann travelled from Palestine to England to convince the Government not to publish the proposed White Paper limiting the Balfour Declaration to Palestine west of Jordan, creating an independent Palestine to be governed by Palestinian Arabs and Jews in proportion to their numbers in the population, establishing a limit of 7. Jewish immigrants for the five- year period 1. After 1. 94. 4, the further immigration of Jews to Palestine would depend on permission of the Arab majority. Restrictions were also placed on the rights of Jews to buy land from Arabs. With the debate on the White Paper approaching in the House of Commons, Weizmann wrote: “Shortly after my return from my brief visit to Palestine, I met Winston Churchill and he told me he would take part in the debate, speaking of course against the proposed White Paper. He suggested that I have lunch with him on the day of the debate. As everyone now knows, Mr. Churchill delivered against the White Paper, one of the great speeches of his career.”9 The Government won a victory on 2. May 1. 93. 9 by 2. The Second World War. During the War, Benjy, the oldest son of Chaim and Vera Weizmann, joined an artillery battalion and was stationed in the South of England. Their younger son Michael enlisted in the RAF. Through Weizmann’s efforts, Churchill approved the establishment of the British Army’s Jewish Brigade Group. It was formed in late 1. Germans in Italy. The brigade was composed of Jews from the Yishuv (Jewish residents in Palestine) and was commanded by Jewish officers who served in Europe. In early 1. 94. 2, Weizmann received a call from John Gilbert Winant, the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Subsequently, the men met, and Winant told Weizmann that President Roosevelt had expressed an interest to have him come to the United States to work on the problem of synthetic rubber. The Weizmanns arranged to fly to New York on 1. February. On the 1. Bristol for the night. Early the next morning before leaving for the airport, Weizmann was informed that his son Michael had been posted as missing on the night of the eleventh. While serving as a pilot in No. Squadron, Michael Weizmann was killed at the age of twenty- five when his plane was shot down over the Bay of Biscay on 1. February 1. 94. 2. Chaim Weizmann never fully accepted his son’s death, thinking perhaps he had been captured, and he made a provision in his will in case he returned. Meanwhile, Churchill and Weizmann developed a close friendship. In a letter from Churchill to Weizmann dated 3. October 1. 94. 2, he made reference to the forthcoming twenty- fifth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration and the anguish of the Jews wrought by the Nazis. Churchill wrote: “My thoughts are with you on this anniversary. Better days will surely come for your suffering people and for the great cause for which you have fought so bravely. All good wishes.”1. Churchill’s high opinion of Weizmann was in evidence in July 1. When Weizmann learned early of the horrific gassing of Jews at Auschwitz, he went to the Foreign Office on 6 July with Moshe Shertok, the Jewish Agency official in charge of diplomatic contacts and initiatives, to see Anthony Eden. Eden immediately passed on their news and pressing requests to Churchill. With deportations still taking place in Hungary, Weizmann and Shertok asked the allies to bomb the railway lines leading from Budapest to Auschwitz. Churchill immediately wrote Eden: “Get anything out of the Air Force you can, and invoke me if necessary.”1. The President and the Prime Minister. Before travelling to Palestine in 1. Weizmann visited Churchill at 1. Downing Street. According to one of Weizmann’s friends, as they shook hands, Churchill said, “You’re looking very young.” Weizmann replied: “I’ll be 7. Churchill replied: “So will I, but I don’t look it.” But before Weizmann could put forward a suitable response, Churchill exclaimed: “And why, pray, don’t you return the compliment?”1. On 1. 7 February 1. Jewish state in 2,0. Chaim Weizmann was inaugurated as the first President of Israel. Winston Churchill Speech - Their Finest Hour. When we consider the heroic resistance made by the French Army against heavy odds in this battle, the enormous losses inflicted upon the enemy and the evident exhaustion of the enemy, it may well be the thought that these 2. However, General Weygand had to fight without them. Only three British divisions or their equivalent were able to stand in the line with their French comrades. They have suffered severely, but they have fought well. We sent every man we could to France as fast as we could re- equip and transport their formations. I am not reciting these facts for the purpose of recrimination. That I judge to be utterly futile and even harmful. We cannot afford it. I recite them in order to explain why it was we did not have, as we could have had, between twelve and fourteen British divisions fighting in the line in this great battle instead of only three. Now I put all this aside. I put it on the shelf, from which the historians, when they have time, will select their documents to tell their stories. We have to think of the future and not of the past. This also applies in a small way to our own affairs at home. There are many who would hold an inquest in the House of Commons on the conduct of the Governments- and of Parliaments, for they are in it, too- during the years which led up to this catastrophe. They seek to indict those who were responsible for the guidance of our affairs. This also would be a foolish and pernicious process. There are too many in it. Let each man search his conscience and search his speeches. I frequently search mine. Of this I am quite sure, that if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future. Therefore, I cannot accept the drawing of any distinctions between Members of the present Government. It was formed at a moment of crisis in order to unite all the Parties and all sections of opinion. It has received the almost unanimous support of both Houses of Parliament. Its Members are going to stand together, and, subject to the authority of the House of Commons, we are going to govern the country and fight the war. It is absolutely necessary at a time like this that every Minister who tries each day to do his duty shall be respected; and their subordinates must know that their chiefs are not threatened men, men who are here today and gone tomorrow, but that their directions must be punctually and faithfully obeyed. Without this concentrated power we cannot face what lies before us. I should not think it would be very advantageous for the House to prolong this Debate this afternoon under conditions of public stress. Many facts are not clear that will be clear in a short time. We are to have a secret Session on Thursday, and I should think that would be a better opportunity for the many earnest expressions of opinion which Members will desire to make and for the House to discuss vital matters without having everything read the next morning by our dangerous foes. The disastrous military events which have happened during the past fortnight have not come to me with any sense of surprise. Indeed, I indicated a fortnight ago as clearly as I could to the House that the worst possibilities were open; and I made it perfectly clear then that whatever happened in France would make no difference to the resolve of Britain and the British Empire to fight on, 'if necessary for years, if necessary alone. Others are still fighting with the French, and fighting with considerable success in their local encounters against the enemy. We have also brought back a great mass of stores, rifles and munitions of all kinds which had been accumulated in France during the last nine months. We have, therefore, in this Island today a very large and powerful military force. This force comprises all our best- trained and our finest troops, including scores of thousands of those who have already measured their quality against the Germans and found themselves at no disadvantage. We have under arms at the present time in this Island over a million and a quarter men. Behind these we have the Local Defense Volunteers, numbering half a million, only a portion of whom, however, are yet armed with rifles or other firearms. We have incorporated into our Defense Forces every man for whom we have a weapon. We expect very large additions to our weapons in the near future, and in preparation for this we intend forthwith to call up, drill and train further large numbers. Those who are not called up, or else are employed during the vast business of munitions production in all its branches- and their ramifications are innumerable- will serve their country best by remaining at their ordinary work until they receive their summons. We have also over here Dominions armies. The Canadians had actually landed in France, but have now been safely withdrawn, much disappointed, but in perfect order, with all their artillery and equipment. And these very high- class forces from the Dominions will now take part in the defense of the Mother Country. Lest the account which I have given of these large forces should raise the question: Why did they not take part in the great battle in France? I must make it clear that, apart from the divisions training and organizing at home, only 1. And this was fully up to the number which the French had been led to expect would be available in France at the ninth month of the war. The rest of our forces at home have a fighting value for home defense which will, of course, steadily increase every week that passes. Thus, the invasion of Great Britain would at this time require the transportation across the sea of hostile armies on a very large scale, and after they had been so transported they would have to be continually maintained with all the masses of munitions and supplies which are required for continuous battle- as continuous battle it will surely be. Here is where we come to the Navy- and after all, we have a Navy. Some people seem to forget that we have a Navy. We must remind them. For the last thirty years I have been concerned in discussions about the possibilities of oversea invasion, and I took the responsibility on behalf of the Admiralty, at the beginning of the last war, of allowing all regular troops to be sent out of the country. That was a very serious step to take, because our Territorials had only just been called up and were quite untrained. Therefore, this Island was for several months particularly denuded of fighting troops. The Admiralty had confidence at that time in their ability to prevent a mass invasion even though at that time the Germans had a magnificent battle fleet in the proportion of 1. Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau. We are also told that the Italian Navy is to come out and gain sea superiority in these waters. If they seriously intend it, I shall only say that we shall be delighted to offer Signor Mussolini a free and safeguarded passage through the Strait of Gibraltar in order that he may play the part to which he aspires. There is a general curiosity in the British Fleet to find out whether the Italians are up to the level they were at in the last war or whether they have fallen off at all. Therefore, it seems to me that as far as sea- borne invasion on a great scale is concerned, we are far more capable of meeting it today than we were at many periods in the last war and during the early months of this war, before our other troops were trained, and while the B. E. F. Now, the Navy have never pretended to be able to prevent raids by bodies of 5,0. The efficacy of sea power, especially under modern conditions, depends upon the invading force being of large size; It has to be of large size, in view of our military strength, to be of any use. If it is of large size, then the Navy have something they can find and meet and, as it were, bite on. Now, we must remember that even five divisions, however lightly equipped, would require 2. We also have a great system of minefields, recently strongly reinforced, through which we alone know the channels. If the enemy tries to sweep passages through these minefields, it will be the task of the Navy to destroy the mine- sweepers and any other forces employed to protect them. There should be no difficulty in this, owing to our great superiority at sea. Those are the regular, well- tested, well- proved arguments on which we have relied during many years in peace and war. But the question is whether there are any new methods by which those solid assurances can be circumvented. Odd as it may seem, some attention has been given to this by the Admiralty, whose prime duty and responsibility is to destroy any large sea- borne expedition before it reaches, or at the moment when it reaches, these shores. It would not be a good thing for me to go into details of this. It might suggest ideas to other people which they have not thought of, and they would not be likely to give us any of their ideas in exchange. All I will say is that untiring vigilance and mind- searching must be devoted to the subject, because the enemy is crafty and cunning and full of novel treacheries and stratagems. The House may be assured that the utmost ingenuity is being displayed and imagination is being evoked from large numbers of competent officers, well- trained in tactics and thoroughly up to date, to measure and counterwork novel possibilities. Untiring vigilance and untiring searching of the mind is being, and must be, devoted to the subject, because, remember, the enemy is crafty and there is no dirty trick he will not do. Some people will ask why, then, was it that the British Navy was not able to prevent the movement of a large army from Germany into Norway across the Skagerrak? But the conditions in the Channel and in the North Sea are in no way like those which prevail in the Skagerrak.
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