Lend-lease Quotes

When asked to explain why the U. S. had supplied $11 billion to the Soviet Union in lend-lease aid during World War II:

This was the address where FDR used the “arsenal of democracy” phrase which became so famous. A similar phrase was used in May by Robert E. Sherwood--{624748}. Then Jean Monnet began to use the exact phrase in Mid 1940--{624746}. He almost certainly had read Sherwood’s earlier, similar phrase. However so had Presidential Aid Harry Hopkins who thought that it would be a good phrase for President Roosevelt to use to “brand” the activity of the United States. So diplomatically, Monnet was asked not to use the phrase any more, and he acceded to the request. At the end of the year, FDR gave his address with this quotation.

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.

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:

The president had wanted to send large amounts of armament and other material to England—Lend Lease—to help stave off a German invasion. The leading military men argued against it. Conservative isolationists and Congress had prevented our own military from having enough supplies and equipment. Also the conclusion of the American military leadership of the time was that England was beyond help and would have to capitulate to Germany. Even with massive armaments they would not be able to defend themselves. Any arms that we might provide to England would then fall into German hands. Roosevelt then sent his civilian assistant, Harry Hopkins, to England to assess their ability to survive. Hopkins with no military experience told Roosevelt that with the arms and ammunition England would be able to forestall invasion. Roosevelt trusted Hopkins’ judgment and decided to arm England. Hopkins turned out to be exactly correct and the military leadership was wrong. See {642830}.

Some major celibrities like Charles Lindbergh were admirers of Hitler and other fascist leaders. There were even some American Fascist Organizations that overtly supported Hitler and Mussolini.

Precursor to CIA. WWII had begun in Europe and England was under great pressure as Hitler threatened invasion and the German military had been successful everywhere they tried to invade. FDR had received an intelligence report and advice from our Ambassador to England, Joseph P. Kennedy (JFK’s father). He told the military, the State Department, and the President that England was finished—that they would not be able to stave off the coming German invasion. He predicted that Germany would set up a puppet state. Any help America could supply would not only be wasted but if material, would fall into the hands of the Nazis and be used against us. {610109} The military attaches attached to our Embassy in England generally agreed. However, the President knew that not only did Kennedy dislike Winston Churchill {613151}, but he had been an admirer not only of German Fascism, but Hitler in particular. Kennedy ran around with some of the wealthy, aristocratic English Fascists who were advocating a negotiated surrender to prevent English civilian casualties. So FDR sent his friend, Donavan, to make an independent Assessment. Donovan had served as an officer in WWI and had earned the Medal of Honor. This quotation was the summary of Donovan’s recommendation. Based on Donovan’s report, and other information, the president had gathered and his geopolitical judgment, FDR provided aid to England (Lend Lease) and fired Kennedy, who had disliked Roosevelt before and this turned to hate and became a vendetta for Kennedy thereafter, especially when his oldest son Joe volunteered to serve in the war, that the Ambassador had so viciously opposed, {610121} and then was killed while carrying out a very dangerous volunteer mission. {616651}.

Expressing concern over the amount of lend-lease and other aid going to England:

FDR was hoping to defeat or at least stop Hitler and Germany by arming England and Russia and thus avoid having American troops committed. However. when the Japanese launched their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler immediately declared war on the United States, and our troops were suddenly in a two continent war.

Things were looking bleak for the British & they were dependent on material help from the U.S. to give them a chance. The British navy was one of the largest and most powerful in the world & this cable was a veiled threat that if U.S. military aid did not come, England could not defend the country in the air, Churchill might be kicked out of office & his successors surrender to Germany turning over the British fleet to Hitler giving Germany control of the seas & with their ally Japan a naval force stronger than America’s. Anglophiles would not describe it as a threat, but merely a statement of the reality of the time. Roosevelt’s Ambassador to Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy, a Nazi sympathizer & some American military officers were opposed to aid to Britain seeing it as a lost cause. Roosevelt, however, acting on his own marvelous instinct, his advice from Harry Hopkins, and his back-channel contacts in England, decided that if armed Britain could hold out. He turned out to be right.

Roosevelt came up with Lend Lease and other mechanisms to provide military aid to England.