The Lend-Lease Act

Early in World War II the United States came up with a plan, dubbed Lend-Lease, to assist the nations that were then fighting the Axis powers (Germany, Japan and Italy). The Lend-Lease Act was passed by Congress on March 11, 1941. It provided that the president could ship weapons, food, or equipment to any country whose struggle against the Axis assisted U.S. defense.

By retooling U.S. industrial output to the demands of war, Lend-Lease formally eliminated any neutrality. President Franklin D. Roosevelt saw the Lend-Lease Act as "helping to put out the fire in your neighbor's house before your own house caught fire and burned down." In effect, it turned the U.S. into an "arsenal of democracy" following the eruption of hostilities.

At the outset, $7 billion worth of American matérial was shipped to Great Britain, China, Russia, Brazil and eventually many other countries. The expenditure grew to $50 billion by 1945. Each of those nations was assumed to be fighting not only in its own defense, but in that of the United States as well.*

By permitting the president to ship war equipment and supplies to a besieged Britain, without payback as stipulated by the 1939 Neutrality Act, Lend-Lease empowered the British to resist the German onslaught until Pearl Harbor spurred America into the conflict. In addition, it avoided the prickly issues of post-World War I war debts.

Following World War II, no decision was arrived at for the return of Lend-Lease goods by recipient nations. Some countries, notably Great Britain, had previously offset part of their indebtedness by providing U.S. GIs with goods and services.

*Information Adapted From http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1600.html

Questions to Think About: • Analyze the map above what three areas/countries are getting the

most money? • Why would we give these countries the most money?

What do you think this political cartoon is trying to say?

Questions to Think About:

• What kinds of products is ‘Uncle Sam’ unloading into the ocean? • In this picture, where are all these things going?

The Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain was one of the major World War II battles. The battle was waged in the skies over the English Channel and England's eastern and southern coast in 1940 and 1941. World War II had broken out in Europe, and Adolf Hitler was determined to defeat England. The main combatants were the United Kingdom and Germany. Hope for American isolationism came to an end with the Battle of Britain. By the end of 1940, most Americans had come to realize that war was inevitable.

Background

On February 26, 1935, Hitler ordered to rebuild the German air force, the Luftwaffe (literally, air weapon, pronounced looft-vaaf-fa) against the rules of the Treaty of Versailles.

The Battle and the Blitz

The Battle of Britain was the longest and largest nonstop bombing campaign yet attempted by any government.

In the autumn of 1940, Hitler, having grown impatient with the failure of the German air force to destroy the British air force, ordered a switch to bombing major British cities. Known by the British as The Blitz, the change of strategy was intended to demoralize the people and destroy industries.

The Battle of Britain would continue until October 31, 1940, but after September 15th, most raids were conducted on a far smaller scale. The Blitz continued with constant night attacks for 57 consecutive days after September 7, but the bombing of British towns and industrial centers continued until 1944. Records report that 2,944 pilots took part in the historic battle, of whom 497 lost their lives.

The Battle of Britain marked a turning point. Its outcome ensured the survival of an independent Britain and represented the first failure of the German war machine.

*Information Adapted From http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1756.html

Questions to Think About:

• These are pictures of London after being bombed by the German air-force (Luftwaffe). Describe the picture, what is going on? What does London look like?

Questions to Think About? • Where are the R.A.F (Royal Air Force) headquarters located? Why do you think they are

located there • Where were most of the German fighters coming from? (what country?)

Invasion of Poland

Poland was attacked by Germany on September 1st 1939. The attack on Poland

started at 04.45 hours when blitzkrieg (lightning warfare) tore through the Polish

military and by the end of the month Poland had surrendered to the Germans and

the country was occupied.

How did Germany achieve such an overwhelming victory? While the German Army

had been developing new tactics and building new fighting vehicles to implement

these tactics, the Polish Army, like many others in Europe, had stayed the same.

A comparison of both armed forces clearly indicates the problems faced by Poland.

Germany had 11 tank divisions compared to Poland’s 1 (Polish Cavalrymen on

horses were attacking tanks!!)

Such a massive superiority of modern weaponry could only lead to one result – a

swift and decisive victory for the Germans.

The Germans put all their faith in a lightening attack that would a) militarily

hammer the Poles and b) create such chaos in Poland that any form of a unified

Polish attack simply would not occur. For the Germans, speed and success went

together.

England and France wearily knew they could not sacrifice Poland. On September 3,

1939, the Allies declared war against National Socialist Germany.

Then the Russians invaded eastern Poland on September 17th, the defeat of

Poland was sealed. On September 24th, Warsaw (Poland’s capital) was bombed by

1,150 German aircraft. On September 27th, Warsaw surrendered.

No-one doubts that the Polish military put up a brave fight, but they were the first

army to feel the full might of Germany. Tanks versus a primarily non-mechanized

army could only lead to one result.

* Information Adapted From http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/attack_on_poland.htm;

http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/poland.htm

Pictures of Polish CalvaryQuestions to Think About:

• Do these men look equipped to fight Tanks? Why or why not?

The Capture of Paris, France

It took only six weeks for France to surrender to the German invaders. A stunning defeat - particularly since before the war the French army was considered the most powerful in Europe.

France's Maginot Line (line of defense) failed to hold back the Nazi onslaught and the German Blitzkrieg (fast moving attack) poured into France. Thousands of civilians fled before it. Traveling south in cars, wagons, bicycles or simply on foot, the desperate refuges took with them what few possessions they could salvage. It wasn’t long before the roads were blocked to the French troops who were headed north in an attempt to reach the battlefield.

Paris was abandoned and declared an Open City. The French government joined the fleeing throng and after moving to, and then quickly abandoning one location after another, finally ended up in the city of Vichy.

The ultimate humiliation came at the signing of the armistice on June 22. The French had maintained as a memorial the railroad car in which the armistice ending World War I had been signed twenty-two years earlier. It occupied a hallowed space within a small forest north of Paris. Hitler insisted that France's surrender to his Nazis be formally acknowledged in the same railroad car at the same spot.

Under the terms of the armistice, France was divided into two sections: Occupied France under direct German control and Vichy France - a quasi-independent territory with Marshall Petain, an eighty-four-year-old hero of the First World War, as its head.

*Information Adapted From http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/francedefeat.html

Questions to think about: • What countries are being invaded in this map? • The Maginot Line was said to be invincible. How did the Germans get past it?

Our Intelligence has gathered this Top Secret Picture!

Questions to Think About: • Who are the people in this picture? (Especially that guy in the center) • What clues give away their location and what is its significance?

Battle of Britain

Major Events of

World War II

Lend-Lease Act

Invasion of Poland

Capture of Paris

Capture of Paris

Lend-Lease Act Invasion of Poland

Battle of Britain