CHURCHILL ON EX-HOT SEAT - An original press photograph of Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill in Berlin on 16 July 1945, sitting on Hitler's chair amid the ruins of the Reich Chancellery, the day before the Potsdam Conference with Truman and Stalin began and 10 days before Churchill lost his Second World War premiership in the British General election of 26 July 1945.
New York: International News Photo, 16 July 1945. Photograph. This original 16 July 1945 photograph captures British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in the final days of his wartime premiership, sitting in a damaged chair said to have been Hitler’s during a tour of the ruins of the Reich Chancellery the day before the Potsdam Conference with Truman and Stalin. As evidenced by the original 26 July 1945 typed caption on the verso, this image is full of portentous symbolism; ten days after it was captured, and in the middle of the Potsdam conference, Churchill lost his premiership in the landslide victory for Labour in the first British General Election since the beginning of the Second World War.
The 8.5 x 6.625 inches image on glossy photo paper is strikingly clear and crisp, Churchill in military uniform, seated, turning to regard the camera with his cigar in his mouth, his cane in his left hand, his right hand slightly blurred, as if captured in motion. The image was subtly enhanced by the newspaper’s art department prior to publication, evidenced by the application of paint to clear bits of the background and line the edges of the chair and the clothing of both Churchill and the two figures closest to him. Condition of the photograph is excellent, with only a touch of soiling, substantially confined to the blank white margins. The verso of the photograph features the original copyright ink stamp of “INTERNATIONAL NEWS PHOTO” of New York, which is mostly obscured by the tipped-on original typed caption. Titled “CHURCHILL ON EX-HOT SEAT”, the caption reads, in full, “BERLIN, GERMANY… WHILE RUSSIAN AND BRITISH OFFICERS GRIN THEIR AMUSEMENT, PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL TRIES OUT THE REMAINS OF THE CHAIR, SAID TO HAVE BEEN HITLER’S PERSONAL SEAT, IN THE RUINS OF THE FORMER FUEHER’S (sic) AIR RAID SHELTER IN BERLIN. RESULTS OF THE BRITISH GENERAL ELECTIONS ANNOUNCED TODAY GAVE THE BRITISH LABOUR PARTY A 2-1 VICTORY OVER CHURCHILL’S CONSERVATIVE PARTY. W.7.26.45”. This photograph later belonged to the Photofest agency, evidenced by their sticker on the verso. The image is protected within a clear, rigid, removable sleeve.
On 16 July 1945, the same day this image was captured, “Churchill and Truman met for the first time, at Truman’s Berlin residence… That afternoon Churchill drove to the ruins of Hitler’s Chancellery which he was shown over by Russian guides. ‘The city was nothing but a chaos of ruins,’ he later wrote. In the square in front of the Chancellery a large number of Germans had gathered. ‘When I got out of the car and walked about among them, except for one old man who shook his head disapprovingly, they all began to cheer. My hate had died with their surrender and I was much moved by their demonstrations, and also by their haggard looks and threadbare clothes.’ Richard Pim, the head of his Map Room, later recalled how, as Churchill looked over the ruins of the bunker, he remarked: "This is what would have happened to us if they had won the war.’”
The next day, the Potsdam Conference began. Following Germany’s unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, the three allied leaders, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Harry Truman, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, agreed to meet regarding postwar Europe. The conference was held in Potsdam, in occupied Germany, from 17 July to 2 August 1945. Churchill’s premiership did not survive the Conference.
Churchill had warred with his own Conservative Party throughout the 1930s. Now, despite his personal popularity, his Conservative Party would cost him the premiership. On 26 July 1945, despite having done so much to win the war, Churchill faced frustration of his postwar plans when his wartime government fell to Labour’s landslide General Election victory over the Conservatives. He would be relegated to Leader of the Opposition for more than six years until the October 1951 General Election, when Churchill’s Conservatives outpaced Labour, returning Churchill to 10 Downing Street for his second and final premiership.
This press photo once belonged to a working newspaper archive. During the first half of the twentieth century, photojournalism grew as a practice, fundamentally changing the way the public interacted with current events. Newspapers assembled expansive archives, physical copies of all photographs published or deemed useful for potential future use, their versos typically marked with ink stamps and notes providing provenance and captions. Photo departments would often take brush, paint, pencil, and marker to the surface of photographs themselves to edit them before publication. Today these photographs exist as repositories of historical memory, technological artifacts, and often striking pieces of vernacular art.
Reference: Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, Vol. VIII. Item #009017
Price: $450.00