Patriot's History: War in Europe, 1937-41 (Chap 16)
I'll See You In My Dreams, Alice Faye, 1940sAll You Fascists Bound To Lose, Woody Guthrie, 1944
War, Daniel Brett
In the Mood, Glenn Miller
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Summary In Europe there were growing signs of danger, tyrants with designs on neighbors. We would isolate ourselves until we felt their hate. Chapter The Thirties, and Japan was quickly rising -- little threat, at first, or so it seemed! America would soon regret this thinking. Airman Billy Mitchell boldly criticized our unpreparedness -- perversely, he was demonized, court-martialed. Mussolini built a fascist state in Italy. The Axis partnership would dominate in Europe, with the Nazis - Adolf Hitler - in the lead. The U.S. public stood aside -- they saw their nation bleed too recently, and suffered through Depression. But Japan had 'raped' Nanking in China, Mussolini overran the Ethiopians. For now, the isolationist prevailed; as largely self-sufficient, interventionist behavior didn't fit America. But did we err? With pacifists opposing an "imperial" affair, we quite abandoned Europe, calling France "hysterical," and even judging Britain and its neighbors culpable for Hitler's conquests. England's Chamberlain and Hitler met, and Chamberlain said peace was guaranteed. But with the threat increasing, FDR at last responded with "Lend-Lease" (we lent our weapons for a lease of British bases). Peace was shattered in America soon after, as Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Soon the serviceman and businessman would demonstrate the great American capacity for spreading freedom through the world, for that's our destiny. |