Press Release

"His Finest Hour:" National WWII Museum to Host Winston Churchill Symposium

Four Noted Historians Explore the Legendary PM’s Life and Times

NEW ORLEANS (April 16, 2013) — The National WWII Museum will host its third Churchill Symposium on May 18, featuring talks from four noted historians and authors.

A partnered program organized by the Museum in partnership with The Churchill Society of New Orleans, the symposium explores the life and legacy of Winston S. Churchill, the British prime minister who rallied his country in its darkest hours to fight against the Nazis in the Second World War.

“This will be our third exciting Churchill program,” said Dr. Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller, president and chief executive officer of the Museum. “We’re welcoming historians from across North America for what promises to be a deep dive into every facet of Churchill’s personality, life and times. Churchill and WWII enthusiasts alike won’t want to miss this highly anticipated event.”

Lecturers include:

  • Dr. Michael Shelden, author of Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill and a professor of English and Literature at Indiana State University

  • Dr. Christopher M. Bell, an associate professor of military/naval history and modern English history at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bell’s book, Churchill and Sea Power, explores the wartime leader’s fascination with naval affairs

  • Paul Reid, author of The Last Lion, 1940, the third and final volume of the masterful trilogy begun by William Manchester

  • Dr. Rob Havers, executive director of the Churchill Memorial and Museum at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., and the author of Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech

The event will be held at the Museum’s Stage Door Canteen, beginning with a breakfast at 7:00 am. Tickets for the May 18 symposium are $125 for Museum members and $175 for non-members. Please call 504-528-1944 x 511 for reservation information.

The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American Experience in the war that changed the world — why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today. Dedicated in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum and designated by Congress as America’s National WWII Museum, it celebrates the American Spirit, the teamwork, optimism, courage and sacrifice of the men and women who served on the battlefront and the Home Front. For more information, call 877-813-3329 or 504-527-6012 or visit www.nationalww2museum.org. Follow us on Twitter at WWIImuseum or visit our Facebook fan page.