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Address given by Winston Churchill (Zurich, 19 September 1946)
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Address given by Winston Churchill (Zurich, 19 September 1946)

On 19 September 1946, Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister, gives an address at the University of Zurich in which he invites European countries to form a United States of Europe.

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Title Address given by Winston Churchill (Zurich, 19 September 1946)
Document type Sound clip
Source Discours à l'Université de Zurich / Winston Churchill.- Zürich: 19.09.1946. Médiathèque de la Commission européenne, Bruxelles. - SON (00:05:34, Editing, Original Sound Track).
Médiathèque centrale de la Commission européenne, Berlaymont 4/363, 200 rue de la Loi B-1049 Bruxelles.
Keywords Zurich speech
Copyright European Commission Audiovisual Library
Caption On 19 September 1946, Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister, gives an address at the University of Zurich in which he invites European countries to form a United States of Europe.
Location in the digital library HISTORICAL EVENTS >> 1945–1949 The pioneering phase >> The European idea >> Winston Churchill's Zurich speech
Document extract I wish to speak to you today about the tragedy of Europe. This noble continent, comprising on the whole the fairest and the most cultivated regions of the earth, enjoying a temperate and equable climate, is the home of all the great parent races of the western world. It is the fountain of Christian faith and Christian ethics. It is the origin of most of the culture, the arts, philosophy and science both of ancient and modern times. If Europe were once united in the sharing of its common inheritance, there would be no limit to the happiness, to the prosperity and the glory which its three or four hundred million people would enjoy. Yet it is from Europe that have sprung that series of frightful nationalistic quarrels, originated by the Teutonic nations in their rise to power, which we have seen in this twentieth century and even in our own lifetime, wreck the peace and mar the prospects of all mankind. And what is the plight to which Europe has been reduced? Some of the smaller States ha (...) Read more in ENA
See also The Zurich speech
The Zurich address (Zurich, 19 September 1946)
ENA is the first digital library documenting the history of European integration. It is freely available online and provides access to a wealth of multimedia, multilingual and multisource material that will help you learn more about the history of Europe from 1945 to the present day. ENA is developed by the Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe (Virtual Resource Centre for Knowledge about Europe — CVCE).