The second front was postponed yet again, the invasion of French North Africa by a joint U.S.-British operation occurred instead.
It is interesting to note that Churchill is on record for his frustration at the Soviets destroying German weapons upon capturing German soldiers, he was furious because he wanted these weapons kept in case they would be needed against the Russians in a future war"
FDR's Vision for a Postwar World
The Atlantic Charter was to be the death knell for colonial empires. Western Europe and America thought of it in terms of safety within borders, but the Third World heard the true spirit; national sovereignty. It would take years to make its way around the globe but the fiery spirit had been lit among colonial peoples. Churchill only went along with it because he had to. The continued existence of the British Empire was at stake and only America could save it.
As recounted in, Elliot Roosevelt's As He Saw It, FDR made his thoughts clear on the matter: "I think I speak as America's president when I say that America won't help England in the war simply so that she will be able to continue to ride roughshod over colonial peoples."
Churchill never understood FDR's idea that independence, not dependence, was the best economic solution to the world's problems, nor did he understand that FDR believed the pursuit and maintenance of colonial empires was a root cause of WWII (as did Stalin), and that before independence of these countries could be accomplished it would need in the meantime a strong and balanced leadership of the four powers; U.S., Russia, China and Great Britain to defend nations' right to sovereignty.
On February 23 1944, FDR stated at a press conference his thoughts on the United Nations:
Q: Do you conscientiously believe that the Conference can be the foundation of world peace for more than the generation of the men who are building that peace?
FDR: I can answer that question if you can tell me who your descendants will be in the year 2057.
Q: Can we look forward?
FDR: We can look as far ahead as humanity believes in this sort of thing. The United Nations will evolve into the best method ever devised for stopping war, and it will also be the beginning of something else to go with it.
On March 1st, 1944 FDR spoke to a packed joint session of Congress stating:
"The Crimea [Yalta] Conference was a successful effort by the three [U.S., USSR and Britain] leading Nations to find a common ground for peace. It ought to spell the end of the system of unilateral action, the exclusive alliances, the spheres of influence, the balance of power, and all the other expedients that have been tried for centuries - and have always failed. We propose to substitute for all these, a universal organization in which all peace-loving Nations will finally have a chance to join."
Let us not allow so many millions to have died for this vision, be for naught.
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An upcoming paper will focus on the relations between Truman and Stalin, the dropping of the Atomic Bomb and Churchill's announcement of the Iron Curtain.
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