Dunkirk: Defeat, Evacuation and the Making of a National Myth

The episode examines the 1940 evacuation at Dunkirk—how rapidly advancing German forces forced Britain to abandon its army yet save most of it—and how the event was framed by Churchill and the press into an enduring myth of resilience. It looks at surviving evidence, contemporary reports and later interpretations to show why the evacuation was a desperate retreat, not a triumph, and what the legacy reveals about Britain’s use of narrative during crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices