Final Word from Thursday, May 7, 2026
On April 16, 1945, one day after Franklin D. Roosevelt was laid to rest, U.S. Pres. Harry S. Truman told a joint session of Congress that during the dark hours of the horrible war, entire nations had been kept going by something intangible - hope. "Hope has become the secret weapon of the forces of liberation!" he said. Two weeks later, U.K. Prime Min. Winston S. Churchill asked Truman in a telegram to allow Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to advance into Czechoslovakia, because "the liberation of Prague and as much as possible of the territory of western Czechoslovakia by your forces might make the whole difference to the post-war situation." The hope of those rising up in Prague was left unanswered one week later, because Truman decided to defer to the Soviets' interests. If there is a revisionist effort in Czech society to diminish the role of the Red Army in liberating the Czech lands, it should rightly include a stronger remembrance of Churchill for trying to hinder Joseph Stalin's ambitions for Czechoslovakia. [ Czech Republic WWII World War II Prague Uprising Delano United States United Kingdom demarcation line PM minister USSR Union ]
Glossary of difficult words
to lay someone to rest - to bury someone;
intangible - unable to be touched; not having physical presence;
to defer - to yield to another's judgment, wishes or authority out of respect or recognized status;
to diminish - to cause to seem less impressive or valuable;
to hinder - to make it difficult for someone to do something or for something to happen.