‘When a winner becomes a loser’: Why did Churchill lose the election of 1945?

I found myself recently doing some late-night reading, and I came across a part of history I just plain don’t understand. I still remain a little puzzled by the circumstances.

Klaus W. Larres wrote an article in summer 2020 titled “When a winner becomes a loser: Churchill was kicked out of office in the British election of 1945.”

During the 1940s, World War II had occupied the globe, and many world governments were in a dog fight of survival against those evil empires of Germany and Japan.

The earth seemed to be involved in that great flux of humanity’s proclivity toward violence, while people were slaughtered or put in concentration camps, and their way of life turned upside down by tyrants.

I often think of the conflict underway in Ukraine today with that raging bear of Russia and the innocent victims of war.

England itself was under the deluge of German bombs and military assault during World War II.

One man and a country stood in the way of Hitler’s plans for control of all of Europe.

In May 1940, Winston Churchill became prime minister of England and served as a major foe to Hitler’s desired conquest of his neighbors.

Churchill rallied his country’s march of freedom and survival under a vicious military assault by the German dictator. I can hardly imagine England today without Churchill's leadership yesterday.

Perhaps you have read of Churchill’s tenacity as he led his island nation against the aggressive prowess of Germany’s military might.

With Churchill’s bulldog leadership and his alliance with the United States and its allies, Hitler had an appointment with the devil. Soon the dictator would be dead with a cyanide pill in his mouth and a bullet through his head.

And England would be saved by Churchill’s leadership and determination.

As a result of that victory and all his "blood, toils, tears and sweat" sacrificed for his nation during the war, Churchill received much adulation for England’s victory. But in 1945, the strangest thing happened.

Churchill was defeated in an election for prime minister. I could never really quite understand the logic applied by the English voter.

But democratic voters are often never satisfied by yesterday. They look forward instead to a leader of tomorrow and the solving of those current problems.

The reason given for the defeat was that England at that time had a different perspective on its economic future, and those problems laying ahead in a peace time Europe. Churchill’s Conservative party was shown the door.

While somewhat bothered when I think of Churchill’s defeat, I have come to better understand the odd behavior, if not the logic, of democratic voters at times.

Even though he was defeated in the election, Churchill remained a man of much advice and knowledge.

I’ve always enjoyed some of Churchill’s attributed one-liners and applied some to my own life’s challenges. Let us consider a few:

“Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.”

I always remembered that one in my days as an old prison warden.

“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”

I often imagine Churchill’s displayed courage throughout those days of war.

“A nation that forgets its past has no future.”

This line seems like wise advice, too, for our own country today.

“If you’re not a liberal at 20 you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative at 40 you have no brain."

That one is still being debated in the United States.

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

This one-liner served me well as I addressed some of those many prison problems in the aftermath of the 1991 riot at the Maryland Correctional Institution.

Churchill was a man of many thoughts, and his one-liners speak volumes about the individual. He left behind many stories and offered advice for the world.

Some more examples:

“One man with convictions will overwhelm a hundred who have only opinions."

It appears in our world of many opinions today, we search for an individual with convictions.

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”

Coincidentally, Churchill was once again elected prime minister of England in 1951.

Pete Waters is a Sharpsburg resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Winston Churchill's loss in 1945 leaves one pondering