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Winston Churchill statue vandalised in Paris
20.08.09
A statue of Winston Churchill has been vandalised in Paris, it was disclosed today.
The bronze of Britain's wartime leader was daubed in thick red paint and the initials RH scrawled on the plinth of the statue, which stands opposite the Grand Palais exhibition hall in central Paris.
The RH inscription is believed to refer to Nazi Rudolf Hess, as the Monday evening attack on the statue coincided with the anniversary of his death.
In 1941 Hess secretly flew to Scotland to try to negotiate a peace treaty but was arrested.
Following the Nuremberg war crimes trials he was incarcerated in Berlin's Spandau prison where he remained until his death in 1987, aged 93.
Churchill remains a troubling figure for a small minority of the French population partly for his decision to scuttle the Vichy French fleet rather than let it fall into the hands of the Nazis and also for the Allied bombing of occupied France, which led to many deaths.
The Rense freedom group, believed to be behind the attack, left a message on their website which read: "Sir Winston set the stage for the slaughter of millions in World War II, when he refused to hear Hess' proposals for ending that unnecessary conflict, following his flight to Britain on May 10, 1941."
The French authorities are now in the process of cleaning the paint from the statue.
The statue, which stands 10ft high, was designed by French sculptor Jean Cardot.
Reader views (5)
"Ello, ello",
I will say this only once.
Please leave this statue alone, your beautiful City ... Paris ,and the freedoms of France would never have been if it were not for this man,a leader at the right time in our history, Sir Winston Churchill.
Sir, R.I.P.
- John L., Scarborough N.YKS. England. U.K.
Keith: you made me snort my tea!
I've never heard anyone French ever diss Winston Churchill! Indeed my lovely old neighbour, Mad Jacques, who evaded capture, trained in America and returned to fight with the Free French idolised the man and regularly petitioned the Queen and the British and French Governments to create a National Holiday in his honour! Parisians, on the other hand, are not noted amongst the French for resisting capture.
There is considerable doubt that the man who died in Spandau was actually Rudolf Hess: you will recall that the 97 year old man who was one of the most-guarded men in Europe, briefly eluded his guards whilst strolling in the small prison garden and, in a fit of 97 year old dispair, decided he would prefer to meet his maker by garotting himself with a handy bit of wire rather than end his days naturally. There is also a theory to suggest 'the real' Rudolf Hess died in a plane crash along with the Duke of Kent in 1942, possibly both en route to broker a peace deal in Sweden. The Rudolf Hess who was tried at Nuremburg and later imprisoned had convenient amnesia problems and refused ever to see his family again. Churchill having a 'puppet' Hess meant that Hitler thought a peace deal was possible and went ahead with his attack on Russia, weakening his Western Front, and it worried the Americans into thinking a deal was about to be struck, bringing them into the triple alliance that ended the war.
- Roz, France
It amazes me how ungrateful these French protestors are. If it was not for Winston Churchill and the U.S; the world would be a far different place with Europe under Nazi rule.
- Dirk Diggler, Soho, London
I'm going to stop eating garlic, frogs' legs and horsemeat until we get an apology.
- Keith, King's Cross
A question for the Rense freedom group: if Churchill had listened to, and accepted, Hess´ proposals, would that have lead to the liberation and freedom of France? I very much doubt it. Had we withdrawn from the war, like Hess suggested, it would have been the biggest act of betrayal in European history. Winston Churchill was made of better stuff.
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands
