Churchill broadcasts to the world: If we can stand up to him

The World at War, Episode 4, Alone, May 1940 - May 1941


Narrator: (...) left of Dunkirk surrounded on June the 4th. Thousands of troops could not be rescued. A fortnight later, France stopped fighting and the British Prime Minister Churchill broadcasts to the world:


Winston Churchill: What General Weygand has called the battle of France is over, the battle of Britain is about to begin. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be freed and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’


Fortnight: two weeks.


Break somebody: to make someone feel that they have been completely defeated and they cannot continue working or living.


Stand up to somebody: to be on your feet, to refuse to accept unfair treatment from a person or organization.


Sunlit: made brighter from the light of sun.


uplands: the parts of a country that are far from the sea and are higher than other areas.


brace yourself: to prepare to do something


bear yourself: to walk, to stand, in a particular way, especially when this shows your character.