Winston Churchill and World War II

REMEMBERING "THEIR FINEST HOUR"

JUNE 24 - JULY 6, 2013

The Second World War was history's most terrible war, and its outcome hinged on the efforts of individuals from many nations who sacrificed willingly so that a great and murderous tyranny could be vanquished from the earth. This trip proposes to visit some of the sites where the valor of innumerable “citizen soldiers” and the leadership of great men played their respective parts in deciding the fate of millions, and inspiring future generations to emulate their commitment to noble ideals.

It is impossible to visit Paris, the Normandy beaches and “Churchill's London” without sensing the magnitude of the struggle waged there. History can sometimes seem a remote enterprise, but not when one is standing upon ground on which thousands died in the climactic battle of history's greatest war, or walking corridors and traveling streets frequented by the architects of victory, or visiting museums which capture the high drama of what actually happened. You are invited, then, to join us for two weeks of study, reflection and exploration on the trail of momentous events, and to grow in your own understanding of what made this “their finest hour.”

Earn three college credits in England and France with members of the Hillsdale College faculty. Learn about the greatest seaborne invasion of all time, Operation Overlord, the allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Study the life of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, one of the greatest statesmen of all time, and learn how he inspired the world as few did before.

Lectures will be presented by:

• Dr. Thomas Conner, William P. Harris Professor of Military History and Professor of History; Ph.D., University of North Carolina. Dr. Conner has been visiting the city of Paris and European battle sites for 20 years, including numerous tours with current Hillsdale students. He shares the belief, once expressed to him by a Verdun-battlefield tour guide, that anyone who comes to these places is a “pilgrim.” These battlefields may bring to mind immense sadness, but they also bear witness to the valor, sense of duty, and the willingness to sacrifice their lives for a high purpose that have ennobled men in all times.
• Dr. Mark Kalthoff, History Department Chairman and Henry Salvatori Professor of History and Traditional Values; Ph.D., Indiana University.  Dr. Kalthoff teaches courses in both European and American history, specializing in the history of ideas. His many trips to England have deepened his appreciation for ways the heritage of Western Civilization—a heritage originating in the great cultures of Jerusalem, Athens and Rome—found an early culmination in the English political, intellectual and cultural experience.