John Lukacs

Five Days in London: May 1940

The days from 24 to 28 May 1940 significantly altered the course of the history of the past century. When German troops reached the Atlantic coast, the British counterattack resulted in the disaster of Dunkirk. Europe was on its knees. Britain seemed powerless. For several critical days, at 10 Downing Street, the British cabinet debated whether to negotiate or to continue the war against Hitler. And if the war was to be continued, how would it be fought? What hope was left? Lukacs takes us into the crucial unfolding of these five days that changed history. The events described here provide a lesson in courage as much as in politics. John Lukacs is a former professor of history at Chestnut College in Philadelphia.