Jesse Owens Quotes
Although I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President either.
Schaap, Jeremy. Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007, p. 211.
In addition to the men who feared communism so much that they ignored the then greater menace of Fascism, there was also a small but influential pro Fascist influence in England which included the King who was forced to abdicate as The Duke of Windsor.
After a reception given by Lady Astor, Channon wrote in his diary that the “Cliveden Set” {598323} would be criticized because it was in favor of the policy of appeasement. The name came from the seat of Lord and Lady Astor, who were both supporters of the policy. To some the policy was seen as pro-Hitler, but Channon saw it as reasonable and in concert with Neville Chamberlain’s views. Even so, Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement was very controversial. This very policy prevented early Allied involvement in World War II and therefore gave Hitler time to buildup the German military while invading much of Eastern Europe.
Both Hitler and Stalin were gross egomaniacs who each thought that they had gotten the better of things. The result was that 22 million Russians were killed and the industrial base if Russia Was destroyed. On the German side, the German military was virtually destroyed, many civilians were killed, the nation reduced to rubble and starvation, German leaders were killed, jailed or committed suicide including Hitler, and the country was occupied for years. Neither leader appeared very smart if one judges by the results.
While England was under attack by the Germans in World War II, Congress was debating Roosevelt's proposal for lend-lease. The president had set the passage of this legislation as his main priority, and a critical meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt was deferred until passage was obtained. Roosevelt dispatched Hopkins to London. Urging a prompt meeting, Hopkins cabled:
Hopkins was a social worker with no military of political experience. But the President trusted him implicitly. Most American military officers and Ambassador to England Joseph P. Kennedy, a Nazi sympathizer & father of JFK, believed that England could not stand up to Hitler. Any military aid we gave England would fall into the hands of the Germans. Everyone was shocked when Roosevelt sent Hopkins to England to make a military recommendation. To impress Hopkins with something he thought Hopkins would be interested in, Churchill led a tour of workers cottages built by the government. Hopkins surprised Churchill and his aids who would never forget this statement & then asked to see the military facilities. Hopkins distressed the American military by recommending that Britain could hold out against invasion if they received military aid. Despite the contrary military advice, FDR accepted Hopkins’ recommendations, and the rest is history. He had been right and much of the military wrong.
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete and four-time gold medalist in the 1936 Olympic Games.
