Churchill’s legacy faces Imperial War Museum review
Black Lives Matter protests prompted a fresh look at the wartime leader’s views, internal documents show
WINSTON CHURCHILL’S legacy is being reviewed by the Imperial War Museum in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. Internal documents, seen by this newspaper, reveal discussions are taking place at the institution, which manages the Churchill War Rooms, where Britain’s wartime leader directed the fight against Nazi Germany.
Senior staff called for a fresh look at “Churchill’s views” in relation to “sensitive topics” after his reputation came under scrutiny this summer when marches in Parliament Square resulted in his statue being defaced with graffiti claiming he was “a racist”.
Last night, the institution said that while it was always considering “complex subject matter”, it had no current plans to reinterpret his legacy. Work is ongoing, it is understood.
Curators began discussions in the days after the statue was defaced.
“We must continue to have conversations around sensitive and difficult issues,” staff were told in an email. “We must have conversations in which we reflect upon and examine our own biases and preconceptions.”
Other emails, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, showed staff explicitly discussed Churchill. One said:
“We should chat further about how we can look at Churchill’s views re: tackling sensitive topics, too. This is one I’m very keen to get ahead of.”
Campaigners have criticised Churchill on topics including racism, colonialism and his handling of the Bengal famine, which left millions dead.
The debate over the former prime minister’s views comes amid widespread reappraisal of Britain’s historical figures after the statue of Edward Colston was toppled in Bristol.
It follows this newspaper’s report that the National Railway Museum feared activists could target the train that carried Churchill’s body to its final resting place, and his Chartwell home being added to a list of problematic properties by the National Trust.
Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny, said: “The IWM ought to remember that black lives mattered to Winston Churchill, which is why he fought to defend the empire on the north-west frontier of India and to destroy slavery in the Sudan.”
A statement from the institution said:
“Like any world-leading museum, IWM is always considering how its complex subject matter is presented to audiences across all of its branches and is always prepared to answer any questions which may occur as a result of political or social protest.
“At Churchill War Rooms, the Churchill Museum tells the detailed story of arguably one of our country’s greatest leaders. We have no plans in place to reinterpret how we present him at any of our branches, including Churchill War Rooms.”