On June 18, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a famous speech in Parliament, best known today for the phrase “This was their finest hour.” It is necessary to look at the context in which that speech originated. Namely, the German army entered Paris a few days earlier, and the new French government led by Marshal Petaine was preparing to sign the capitulation. On the same day that Churchill delivered the speech, General Charles de Gaulle addressed the French by radio in an effort to encourage them to continue the fight.
Winston Churchill used many powerful oratorical figures in his speech “This was their finest hour”. The speech lasted as long as 36 minutes and was written on 23 pages, which means that it was significantly longer than Churchill’s other famous speeches (eg “Blood, toil, tears, and sweat” and “We shall fight on the beaches”) .
The concluding part of Churchill’s speech to this day read: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, I will still say, ‘This was their finest hour ‘. ” “Let us therefore accept our duties and hold that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last a thousand years, people will still say, ‘It was their brightest moment.'”
