10 Really Horrible Things Done By Great People

6. Sir Winston Churchill Allowed Millions Of Indians To Starve To Death In WWII

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." ~ Sir Winston Churchill

With the military career of an action hero, foot-long cigars, and war time speeches that bring goose bumps to this day, Winston Churchill was a giant among men. When Neville Chamberlain stepped down from the office of Prime Minister in 1940, Churchill stood up, taking the reins in his country's darkest hour. The rest is, as they say, history. Churchill lead Britain to victory in World War II, and is easily one of the most inspirational figures of the 20th century. Yet... In 1943, a catastrophic food shortage took place in Bengal (a province of India), resulting in nearly three million deaths. Churchill did not take any action that directly resulted in the famine's occurrence; in fact, he did nothing at all. Bengal was still under British rule at the time, but when the people looked to the Prime Minister his focus was still on Nazi occupied Europe. The threat of U-boat packs sinking transport ships was still a serious threat in 1943. As a result many poor Bengalis starved.