--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was thus that in 1940 [Hitler]…" description: "\"“It was thus that in 1940 [Hitler] represented a wave of the future. His greatest reactionary opponent, Churchill, was like King Canute, attempting to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/john-lukacs-34182_churchill_it-was-thus-that-in-1940-hitler-represen_1691887.jpg" --- # It was thus that in 1940 \[Hitler\] represented a wave of… ![“It was thus that in 1940 [Hitler] represented a wave of the future. His greatest reactionary opponent, Churchill, was like King Canute, attempting to withstand and sweep back that wave. And––yes, mirabile dictu—this King Canute succeeded: because of his resolution and—allow me to say this—because…” quote by John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/john-lukacs-34182_churchill_it-was-thus-that-in-1940-hitler-represen_1691887.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/john-lukacs-34182_churchill_it-was-thus-that-in-1940-hitler-represen_1691887.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/john-lukacs-34182_churchill_it-was-thus-that-in-1940-hitler-represen_1691887.jpg) > ““It was thus that in 1940 \[Hitler\] represented a wave of the future. His greatest reactionary opponent, Churchill, was like King Canute, attempting to withstand and sweep back that wave. And––yes, mirabile dictu—this King Canute succeeded: because of his resolution and—allow me to say this—because of God’s will, of which, like every human being, he was but an instrument. He was surely no saint, he was not a religious man, and he had many faults. Yet so it happened.”” [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lukacs argues that Churchill, though flawed, acted as a decisive force against Hitler’s destructive momentum, guided by divine providence. **In simple terms:** Churchill helped stop Hitler, seen as a divine instrument. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of resolute leadership. Themes leadership history faith politics Mood reflective serious Type historical analytical When to use this quote - war strategy - political decision making - ethical leadership Key Concepts determinism agency moral complexity Questions to Reflect On - Can flawed leaders be truly effective? - What role does faith play in historical outcomes? A Different Perspective His moral flaws complicate the saintly narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Because Of God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because-of-god/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Providence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/providence/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Winston Churchill was like Winston Churchill because of his experiences in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-soames/winston-churchill-was-like-winston-churchill-because-of-his/) [Nicholas Soames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-soames/) > [On December 18, 1940, Hitler signed Directive Number 21, better known as Operation Barbarossa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-trepper/on-december-18-1940-hitler-signed-directive-number-21-better-known-as/) Leopold Trepper > [“Now it turns out that a few broadsheet film critics in Britain do indeed belong to a category of people who would have resisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/now-it-turns-out-that-a-few-broadsheet-film-critics-in-britain-do/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [“I am writing this because on that night of the tenth of May in the 1,940th year of Our Lord, Churchill stood for more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/i-am-writing-this-because-on-that-night-of-the-tenth-of-may-in-the-1/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [Because of God I am: found, saved, hopeful, inspired, forgiven, blessed, stronger, optimistic, and loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-of-god/because-of-god-i-am-found-saved-hopeful-inspired-forgiven-blessed/) Angel\_of\_God > [I will love you like God, because of God, mighted by the power of God. I will stop expecting your love, demanding your love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-will-love-you-like-god-because-of-god-mighted-by-the-power-of-god-i/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [I am what I am not "Inspite" but because of Gods Grace and what he's allowed and the strength he's given me to endure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-what-i-am-not-inspite-but-because-of-gods-grace-and-what-he-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because of God's grace and mercy your future can be greater than your past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-of-god-s-grace-and-mercy-your-future-can-be-greater-than-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can't be saved on our own because our efforts are not enough to count us as righteous. We are saved because of God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/we-can-t-be-saved-on-our-own-because-our-efforts-are-not-enough-to/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [You can’t live for God until you learn how to live because of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/you-can-t-live-for-god-until-you-learn-how-to-live-because-of-god/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [“ I will give you this, my love, and I will not bargain or barter any longer. I will love you, as sure as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-will-give-you-this-my-love-and-i-will-not-bargain-or-barter-any/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [No matter how much tarnish you think is on the tabernacle of your heart, you still shine because of God's love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-woodward/no-matter-how-much-tarnish-you-think-is-on-the-tabernacle-of-your/) [Mark R. Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-woodward/) > [Because of God I am inspired, forgiven, strong, blessed, and loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-of-god-i-am-inspired-forgiven-strong-blessed-and-loved/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For him it does not go far enough to say, as it is often put, that Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-b-jr-gaffin/for-him-it-does-not-go-far-enough-to-say-as-it-is-often-put-that/) [Richard B. Jr. Gaffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-b-jr-gaffin/) > [You can't live for God until you learn how to live because of God. And you can't go and make good choices for God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/you-can-t-live-for-god-until-you-learn-how-to-live-because-of-god-and/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) ## More by John Lukacs > [All the nationalists are wasms - except one, the most powerful of this century, indeed, of the entire democratic age, which is nationalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/all-the-nationalists-are-wasms-except-one-the-most-powerful-of-this/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [“It does not require much historical knowledge (though it may require a certain historical perspective) to see that many, if not all, of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/it-does-not-require-much-historical-knowledge-though-it-may-require-a/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [Our everyday language has become encumbered, Germanic, artificial, bureaucratic, inorganic. It may not be exaggerated to say that by now American writers face but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/our-everyday-language-has-become-encumbered-germanic-artificial/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [“About these developments George Orwell , in Nineteen Eighty-Four , was quite wrong. He described a new kind of state and police tyranny, under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/about-these-developments-george-orwell-in-nineteen-eighty-four-was/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [But then history does not only consist of documents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/but-then-history-does-not-only-consist-of-documents/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [Generalizations, like brooms, ought not to stand in a corner forever; they ought to sweep as a matter of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/generalizations-like-brooms-ought-not-to-stand-in-a-corner-forever/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [“When civilization is strong and widespread enough, "culture" will appear and take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/when-civilization-is-strong-and-widespread-enough-culture-will-appear/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [“...in our dreams we do not think differently, we remember differently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/in-our-dreams-we-do-not-think-differently-we-remember-differently/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [There are innumerable instances suggesting that modern intellectuals do not believe themselves, that they don't really believe what they say, that they say certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/there-are-innumerable-instances-suggesting-that-modern-intellectuals/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [“...science is the kind of sacred cow which theology was five hundred years ago…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/science-is-the-kind-of-sacred-cow-which-theology-was-five-hundred/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [Populism is folkish, patriotism is not. One can be a patriot and a cosmopolitan. But a populist is inevitably a nationalist of sorts. Patriotism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/populism-is-folkish-patriotism-is-not-one-can-be-a-patriot-and-a/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [Even one billion Chinese do not a superpower make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/even-one-billion-chinese-do-not-a-superpower-make/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [“I am writing this because on that night of the tenth of May in the 1,940th year of Our Lord, Churchill stood for more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/i-am-writing-this-because-on-that-night-of-the-tenth-of-may-in-the-1/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) [Explore all 14 John Lukacs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) ## More Churchill quotes > [One of the great things about Churchill is that he had the guts to say the unpalatable, to level with the people, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/one-of-the-great-things-about-churchill-is-that-he-had-the-guts-to/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [“The price of greatness...is responsibility - Winston Churchill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-price-of-greatness-is-responsibility-winston-churchill/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Winston Churchill said that people “occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bungay-stanier/winston-churchill-said-that-people-occasionally-stumble-over-the/) [Michael Bungay Stanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bungay-stanier/) > [“We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us. —WINSTON CHURCHILL The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/we-shape-our-dwellings-and-afterwards-our-dwellings-shape-us-winston/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [Winston Churchill never said that people had let him down when he lost the elections after the World War II.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-thackeray/winston-churchill-never-said-that-people-had-let-him-down-when-he/) [Raj Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-thackeray/) > [“his other hand. Sensitive to his guest’s affliction, Churchill realized that “every step” was”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/his-other-hand-sensitive-to-his-guest-s-affliction-churchill-realized/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Churchill may have made some horrendous mistakes - Gallipoli, for one - but he had a sense of the profundity and integrity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/churchill-may-have-made-some-horrendous-mistakes-gallipoli-for-one/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Winston Churchill is always expecting rabbits to come out of an empty hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/winston-churchill-is-always-expecting-rabbits-to-come-out-of-an-empty/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Sure I am that this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/sure-i-am-that-this-day-we-are-masters-of-our-fate-that-the-task/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [The Atlantic conference in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland is a dramatic moment in World War II history because for the first time, Roosevelt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/the-atlantic-conference-in-the-north-atlantic-off-newfoundland-is-a/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill rode to glory on the back of the strong declarative sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/abraham-lincoln-and-winston-churchill-rode-to-glory-on-the-back-of/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [“First law of poultry farming: keep your livestock busy with trivial problems, so they stay ever oblivious to systemic criminal activities. That's why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/first-law-of-poultry-farming-keep-your-livestock-busy-with-trivial/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Foyles War made me realise that Churchill actually had questionable morals; his decisions meant that good people died. It must have weighed heavily on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honeysuckle-weeks/foyles-war-made-me-realise-that-churchill-actually-had-questionable/) [Honeysuckle Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honeysuckle-weeks/) > [Churchill was fundamentally what the English call unstable - by which they mean anybody who has that touch of genius which is inconvenient in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-macmillan/churchill-was-fundamentally-what-the-english-call-unstable-by-which/) [Harold MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-macmillan/) > [Adlai Stevenson, himself a notable speaker, often reminisced about his last meeting with Churchill. I asked him on whom or what he had based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bourke-cockran/adlai-stevenson-himself-a-notable-speaker-often-reminisced-about-his/) [William Bourke Cockran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bourke-cockran/) Browse all 213 Churchill quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was thus that in 1940 [Hitler] represented a wave of the future. His greatest reactionary opponent, Churchill, was like King Canute, attempting to withstand and sweep back that wave. And––yes, mirabile dictu—this King Canute succeeded: because of his resolution and—allow me to say this—because of God’s will, of which, like every human being, he was but an instrument. He was surely no saint, he was not a religious man, and he had many faults. 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