History That Doesn't Suck - 189: World War II in Europe & the American Response (1941): Production & Preparation

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

"At long last, Mr. President.”—Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill This is the story of the second year of WWII and the United States’ response.  As the war enters its second full year, things are looking dire for Britain: Germany has forced France into submission, the Blitz is in full swing, and the cash-strapped nation is running out of money to pay for US aid. Lend-Lease, or H.R. 1776, is the proposed solution; it’ll allow Franklin to transfer munitions to “any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the US.” But there is stiff opposition. Is the language too dictatorial? Does it make entering the war unavoidable? As Americans discuss the bill across the country, famed aviator Charles “Lucky Lindy” Lindbergh will argue against it, while recently defeated 1940 presidential candidate Wendell Willkie will argue for it. Nor are they the only ones disagreeing: workers are striking in record numbers. Building an “arsenal of democracy” means labor and business will have to settle their differences. Meanwhile, as FDR and Winston Churchill secretly meet for the first time in the frigid climes of the northern Atlantic, the Army and Navy are drilling down to brass tacks—what would it really mean if America enters the war? How many men would the nation need in uniform? Could American production cope with wartime demands? Pragmatic American leaders are preparing and planning just in case, mostly with their eyes on Germany … but increasingly on Japan. Relations are eroding swiftly. Perhaps Uncle Sam’s greatest immediate threat isn’t across the Atlantic but the Pacific … ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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June 21st, 1940. We're in northern France's Compiline Forest at a secluded opening amid the largely oak and beach trees known as the Rotonde clearing. Yeah, we've been here before. It was back in episode 146, or to put that another way, nearly 22 years ago, as we gathered inside Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinandfus' ornate, luxurious train carriage for the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Imperial Germany

that silenced the guns of the Great War. And now, that same old train car is once again sitting on the same little piece of track that had occupied during those fateful November days in 1918. It's all just as Adolf Hitler wants it. And speak of the devil, that's his Mercedes pulling up now. The furor and his entourage, including supreme commander of the Luth Waffe, Herman Guring, and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribentrop. Exit their vehicles.

They walk around, taking in what the Allies consider a sacred side of victory, and what they see as a place of humiliation. As they do, a small granite monument, with an inscription in French, catches Adolf's eye. Translated into English, it reads, Here, on the 11th of November 1918, succumbed the criminal pride of the German Empire, vanquished by the free peoples,

which it tried to enslave. American reporter William Shire will never forget watching Adolf's face in this moment, the silent rage and hate that flashes in the furor's eyes as he reads. But Adolf will have his revenge. And that revenge will start in just a few minutes. It's now 3.30 p.m.

With Adolf and his crew waiting in the historic railway car, another group is pulling up. It's the French delegation. Sent by the French government, now operating out of Bordeaux, under the leadership of great war hero Philippe Petin. This delegation is led by General Charles Onsinger and is here to negotiate an armistice. But it's only as they step out of their cars, that the group sees where the Germans have brought them for these talks. The indignity and embarrassment Adolf spitefully means to impose on them hits like a sucker punch.

Nonetheless, the Frenchmen hold their heads high and step inside the railway car. With everyone seated, the chief of the German Armed Forces High Command, the Ubeckomando de Vermacht, or OKW, Wilhelm Keitel, reads the preamble of the All-W of the already prepared armistice in French. Then, Adolf leaves. He's seen the pained faces he came for, and now leaves the rest in the capable, cold hands of his OKW chief and general Alfred Yoder.

At this point, the French delegation is left to read the terms of the armistice, and it's rough. The document calls for the northern half of France, as well as its entire Atlantic coast, three-fifths of the nation altogether, to be occupied. The French state will continue to govern the nation's unoccupied zone-libe or free zone in the south and its colonial empire, but it will do so as a rump puppet state. The French will also pay the cost of this Nazi occupation. As for the French army, the vast majority will be imprisoned,

thereby making roughly 1.8 million French troops instant prisoners of war. Meanwhile, any French national caught fighting in a foreign military, or as a guerrilla fighter, as a Frank Tierre will be shot. As for civilians, France is to surrender any anti-Nazi German refugees, be they here in France or in the colonies. Effectively, this means any German Jews who fled with the Reich. And just to ensure France truly stays out of the fight, it must surrender nearly all military material, minus the Navy, whose ship are to remain in their home ports and offer no aid to the British. This is a crucial demand.

Expecting that they'll conquer Britain in the next few weeks, the Nazis want to ensure that the French Navy stays out of the fight. The French delegation is shocked. Harsh as the armistice imposed on Germany in 1918 was, this is significantly harsher. General Charles Ansinger calls it Hard and Mercellus. Worse still, the German generals are adamant that this is not, in fact, in negotiation.

This is a take-or-leave-it situation. The French delegation is permitted to call and consult the Bordeaux-based French government. The conversation will continue tomorrow. It's now late morning on the following day, June 22nd, 1940. Having spoken with the French government last night and this morning,

General Charles Onsingerer and his delegation are fighting for any concessions they can. They plead the case for German emigre on the basis of asylum. They argue for reestablishing the French government in Paris with a corridor to the unoccupied south. No dice. The Germans will, however, forego making the French surrender military aircraft, which will instead be held in custody. They also agreed to keep the terms of the armistice secret until an armistice is made with Italy so as not to bias those negotiations. But as the evening comes on, the clock is ticking.

At 6.30, OKW chief, Wilhelm Keitel, says the French must sign in the next hour, or the Nazi war machine will carry on its work of death in France. With orders from Bordeaux to sign, the odious task falls to General Charles Lansinger. But before he does, the bald, slender, and nearly 60-year-old Frenchman, declares resolutely, forced by the fate of arms to cease the struggle in which we were engaged on the side of the Allies, France sees imposed on her very hard conditions. France has the right to expect in the future negotiations

that Germany show a spirit which will permit the two great neighboring countries to live and work in peace. And with that, Charles takes a pen in hand and signs this cruel armistice. With tears in their eyes, the French delegation exits the old railway car. This wheeled shrine to the Allied victory in 1918 now made into a place of French humiliation in 1940. They step into the evening's light rain, then drive off. As they do, German engineers descend on the old railway car,

immediately preparing their captured prize for transportation to Berlin. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story. You may have noticed that this armistice between Nazi Germany, and the French government in Bordeaux, soon to be remade into the Philippe-led Nazi collaborationist Vichy regime. Leave no room for French nationals who continue to fight. If you didn't catch that, let me emphasize it here. Per this armistice, the Nazis can execute any French citizen who soldiers against them. The reason for this severe language is one man. General Chaud de Gaulle,

A decorated great war veteran and commander of an armored division who was elevated to Undersecretary of War in the final moments before France fell, Charles adamantly rejected his government's willingness to raise the white flag. On June 17, 1940, the same day that Philippe Petin took over the French government, Charles fled to London, and the very next day, he delivered a powerful, patriotic plea to the French people via the BBC. In this broadcast, he reminded them that, La France, is not alone. The French Empire remained. The British Empire was still fighting and they could

rely upon the immense industry of the United States. In closing, he called on every French soldier and specialized worker who can to join him in London. With this broadcast, Charles effectively created the French resistance and a government in exile known as Free France. This follow-up broadcast on June 22nd, the same day that the armistice was signed, only added fuel to the fire. And that is why the Nazis made it clear that they would kill any French national who fights on. They hoped to snuff out the French flame of resistance, but it won't work. Like the Poles, Danes, Belgians, and other European peoples blitzkrieged before them, a small but meaningful percentage of French, both at home and in exile, will resist to the death.

and many will indeed make that ultimate sacrifice. Yet, it's not the Nazis who impose the next great loss on the French. It's the British. Fully aware of Nazi Germany's proclivity for breaking its diplomatic word, Prime Minister Winston Churchill doesn't dare believe that Germany will abide by the terms of this armistice and not use the mighty French fleet against Britain. He pleads with French leaders to send their warships beyond the Germans' reach or scuttle them, and when they refuse to do either, Winston makes the hard decision to bombard the French fleet

off the North African coast of French Algeria. This July attack sends roughly 1,300 French sailors to their watery graves. Some will praise Winston for making a painful but necessary decision. Others among the French call it the deepest betrayal and a war crime. Sadly, it's but one of many difficult decisions to come. But this is where we must leave the tale. of occupied Vichy and Free France for the time being, because now we must turn our attention back to the wanting to stay out of the war, United States. We pick up where we left off

in the last episode in December, 1940, as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pushes to build an arsenal of democracy to lend in lease to the Allies. Okay, basically Britain in hopes of staving off the Nazi threat. But challenges abound. Staunch isolationists, like famed Aviator Charles Lindbergh pushed back, and a spike in labor strikes threatens to derail the ramp up in military production. We'll follow FDR and Winston into their first and secretive face-to-face meeting, where the two leaders will envision a post-war world of freedom. They'll describe it in a document called the Atlantic Charter. Finally, we'll see how George C. Marshall is hustling to get the U.S. Army into fight in shape, and how relations between the U.S. and Japan are

faltering. Hmm. Might Japan, not Nazi Germany, actually be America's most imminent threat? We'll explore that possibility as we follow the still-neutral United States up to a very specific date to the night of December 6, 1941. It's a jam-packed, contentious year, and we begin by heading back to the previous December to reorient ourselves, then dive into the division. Rewind. As early 1940 fades into 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt finds himself in a position he never would have imagined while taking the oath of office nearly eight years ago. We covered this in the last episode, but here's a quick refresher. First off, Franklin, though at the end of his second presidential term, is not leaving the White House.

He's just won a third term as president. The reason for this third win, which, although unprecedented, is constituted. institutionally permissible in this pre-22nd Amendment era, is the unprecedented foreign threat, the autocratic empires of Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan, together known as the Axis powers, and all hellbent on expansionist conquest. It's because of the threat they pose, particularly Nazi Germany at this point, that FDR both chose to run again and experienced a mighty shift in his foreign policy views. While he entered the White House, holding to a form of America's traditionally isolationist ways, this good neighbor of the Western

Hemisphere has grown increasingly interventionist. First came his cash-and-carry policy, which began by permitting the sale of non-military goods, then full-on munitions to the allies on a cash-and-carry basis. Then, in December 1940, he got even more interventionist with his lend-lease concept. This would allow the still-neutral United States to arm the Brits, now fighting for their island nation's life against the Nazi war machine, without making them pay for those military goods up front. In fact, FDR wants America to provide an arsenal of democracy to the allies, with the hope they can defeat the fascist and authoritarian access powers. And that's where we left off in the last episode, with Franklin pitching the idea of a lent and leased arsenal

of democracy to the American people and a fireside chat broadcast on December 29, 1940. And now, as we pick up the story but days later in early 1941, the Commander-in-Chief is preparing to make Lend-Leese not just an idea, but reality by selling it to Congress in his State of the Union address. Yet, as FDR drafts and thinks through his speech with others, and particularly with Eleanor, he realizes that it's important to help Congress and all Americans envision, even now the post-war world,

to remind them of the freedoms that democracy can deliver. and thus why they must stand with their fellow democracies now under siege by the Axis Powers. And as that realization distills on his mind, Franklin Crafts one of his most memorable speeches ever. It's a little past 2.30 in the afternoon, January 6th, 1941. Assisted by his leg braces, President Franklin D. Roosevelt is standing at the Rostrum, delivering his State of the Union address to senators, representatives, and distinguished guests gathered here in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol.

For half an hour, he's built the case for Americans to commit to all-inclusive national defense, and more than that, to break from the isolationist path, essentially to build the arsenal of democracy he called for in his fireside chat only a week before and support their fellow democracies facing the existential threat of war the world over. But that's not the most famous and rousing. section of the speech. In closing, Franklin calls for a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. Let's listen. In the future days that we seek to make the cure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedom. The first,

is freedom of speech and expression everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way, everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want, which translated into world terms, means, economic understandings which will secure to every nation

a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom

from fear which translated into world terms means a worldwide reduction of armaments

to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor anywhere in the world. The freedom of speech, the freedom to worship,

freedom from want and freedom from fear. It's upon these four freedoms that FDR is making the ideological argument for his lend-lease idea to support the Allied forces without engaging in the conflict on the ground. And now, Franklin hopes that the country will agree with him. At his January 20th, clear-skied, sunny inauguration day, a Gallup poll shows FDR's approval rating at a new high. 71%. Incredible. But we can hardly forget the 29% of the country that remains less certain about their three-term president, particularly as one of those dissenters is a highly influential old friend of ours, Charles Lindbergh.

Ah, yes, Charles Lindberg, or Lucky Lindy, as the famous aviator is known. Much has happened in his life since we witnessed his transatlantic flight in episode 181. Back on March 1, 1932, his 20-month-old son, Charles Jr., was taken from his second-floor nursery in the family's New Jersey. home. After an exhaustive search, the Lindbergh Gaby was found dead, and the kidnapper sentenced to death. It's a heart-wrenching story, one that newspapers made much content on. I'll leave it to you to investigate further, if you so choose. Desperate to escape the constant publicity, Charles and his wife Anne fled to England in 1935. Here, Charles was invited by the British, French, and German governments alike to check out their separate aviation capacities. From these trips,

Charles came away believing that the British, quote, had never adjusted themselves to the tempo of this modern era, close quote. That generally describes how he felt about France, too. But as for Nazi Germany, well, his visit to Berlin in 1936 at the invitation of American military attach, Colonel Truman Smith, left Lucky Lindy and his wife convinced that Germany was the world leader in air power. Charles submitted reports reflecting his enamorment with the German, Luftwaffe to allied governments. In fact, the famed aviator was left with a favorable view not only of the Luftwaffe, but Germany as a whole. The adoration was mutual. In 1938,

Herman Guring presented Charles with a Nazi medal, the service cross of the German eagle. Much to the chagrin of many Americans increasingly bothered by the Nazis increasingly evident cruelty toward Jews and others, Charles accepted it. As Adolf Hitler kicked off World War II in 1939, Charles desperately wanted to keep America out of it. Primarily, he feared that this heavily European war would destroy all of its participants, meaning that, if the U.S. was involved, this conflict could destroy the whole of Western civilization. Hoping to prevent this, the famed aviator decided to re-engage with the public, writing in his journal. I felt I could exercise a constructive influence in America, trying to convince its citizens

of the need for strict neutrality in the event of war. then at least one strong Western nation would remain to protect Western civilization. And exercise his influence he does. On September 15, 1939, not even two weeks after Adolf's invasion of Poland, Charles spoke in a broadcast speaking against American involvement in the war. He described the coming war not as a conflict between democracy and totalitarianism, but as just another European fight. regretfully, he also laced his isolationism with white supremacist thinking, suggesting that Europe and the U.S. should not fight among themselves, but rather stand united in, quote, defending the white race against foreign invasion, close quote. Thus, Lucky Lindy has reentered the public

sphere as one of the most popular anti-war Americans in the country, and in our present of January 1941, he's ready to do battle against a bill now moving through Congress. H.R. 1776. And just what is this bill? Officially known as House Resolution 1776, this is the proposed legislation that would make FDR's lend lease take effect. It would grant the president the ability to transfer munitions to, quote, any country whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the U.S., close quote. And of course, the number 1776 feels pretty symbolic. But H.R. 1776's opponents have two clear arguments. First, they fear that it'll give FDR near-dictatorial powers to lead undeclared war anywhere he pleases. And aren't we denouncing Europe's dictators

right now? Second, they worry that it'll eventually force America into the very war that Franklin says it's avoiding. And as debate over this lend-lease bill rages, the House Foreign Affairs Committee wants to hear what Charles Lindbergh thinks. It's a little before 10 in the morning, January 23rd, 1941. We're in Washington, D.C., just south of the U.S. Capitol, on the other side of Independence Avenue, in one of the city's newest meo-classical editions, the Longworth office building. More specifically, we're in the Ways and Means Committee room for a public hearing of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee. And it's packed.

Nearly a thousand people are here, all eager to listen to the famous Charles Lindbergh, take on H.R. 1776's lend lease, or rather to take on the president. Oh, and here he is. Photographers snap photos of the veteran pilot, dressed sharply in a suit and tie, as the committee's chairman, Congressman Sol Bloom, shows him to his seat behind the microphone. But they respect Lucky Lindy's request that the flashing photo stop as he reads his prepared testimony. After doing so, the aviator turned Politico hands his statement, to the stenographer, then awaits the committee's questions. Hamilton Fish III, the Republican Minority Leader from New York,

begins by asking if it's likely the U.S. could be invaded by air. Charles replies, I don't see how any country can successfully invade either this country or South America so long as we keep a reasonable Army, Navy, and Air Force. But he's careful to note that it might be worth adding to our air bases out in the Pacific and perhaps the Northern Atlantic. Texas Democrat and Majority Leader Luther A. Johnson questions if the aviator's non-plane-related testimony

should be given any weight. I make no claim to be an expert, Charles replies. But Luther presses wanting to hear more about Colonel Lindbergh's political opinions shared in September and October of 1939. The pilot responds by suggesting that the best course of action is a, quote-unquote, negotiated peace, kind of like Neville Chamberlain's appeasement, even though that didn't work for Britain,

and noting that he places the blame for the war, not on Nazi Germany alone, but on all of Europe. The faults and causes of the war are evenly divided in Europe. It would be better for us and every nation that the war in Europe end without conclusive victory. A negotiated peace would be the best thing for the United States. Yes, his disdain for the Brits and love for the Jews, Germans is seeping through. It's a position that this largely lucky, Lindy-loving crowd appreciates.

But even as the gentleman from Texas asks for clarification, Charles still won't speak ill of Nazi Germany. He answers, I am in sympathy with the people on both sides and not with their aims. And this is where things get interesting. Now Luther Johnson cuts to the heart of it all. To be spectacled, majority leader, asks what everyone is waiting to hear. Have you ever expressed any opposition to Hitler? The crowd waits in anticipation. Unlike the moments after previous questions and responses, the room is silent. The smooth-talking aviator replies carefully.

Yes, but not publicly. I believe we should maintain neutrality publicly. There is much I do not like that is happening in the world. On both sides, over a period of years, however, there is not as much difference in philosophy as we have been led to believe. That's right. Colonel Charles Lindbergh really pushed so hard for neutrality that he refused to publicly condemn Nazi Germany or the furor. Deeply frustrated, FDR will compare the isolationist and neutrality-seeking aviator to the copperheads of the Civil War at an April press conference.

In response to this public lashing, Lucky Lindy will result. from the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve. Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Debate over Lend Lease, aka H.R. 1776, is still going strong through the rest of January and into February 1941. And it's permeated the nation.

If you pick up a newspaper, overhear a conversation at the bar, or turn on the radio. It's highly probable that the topic is Lend Lease. It is, as historian Wayne Cole calls this flurry of discussion, democracy in action. Hoping to settle things in Congress,

Franklin sends two men to London to meet with Prime Minister Winston Churchill and assess what the Brits really need if H.R. 1776 becomes law. One is FDR's longtime New Deal ally, Harry Hopkins. The other envoy is FDR's most recent rival for the White House. Yes, last year's Republican presidential candidate, Wendell Willkie. And it's this charismatic Republicans' February 11th testimony before Congress that really turns the tide in the president's favor. Arriving on the hill in a blue suit

still rumpled from his transatlantic flight, Wendell is ready to challenge the anti-Lend leasers. He tells Congress that we have no idea where, quote, the mad men who are loose in the world, close quote, may attack next. And he goes further, criticizing the very party for whom he was the presidential nominee, to quote him again.

If the Republican Party makes a blind opposition to the bill, and allows itself to be presented to the American people as the isolationist party, it will never again gain control of the American government, close quote. And so, with bipartisan support in the House and Senate, Lend lease passes. Franklin signs it into law on March 11, 1941. And its head administrator? That's Harry Hopkins. He and FDR have a long bond,

and Harry's already developed a close relationship with Winston Churchill. In short, he's perfect for the job. The Nazis take note of this stealthy American move. General Friedrich von Boitisha, the German military attaché to D.C., sees only mild immediate concern. He cables Berlin that FDR has nowhere near the production capabilities to meet his commitments to the Brits. With this propaganda measure, they consider the simple fact that the United States is today not yet capable of giving help that could decisively influence the course of the war. But that doesn't mean Adolf Hitler isn't upset at this not-so-neutral act.

Nazi propagandist-in-chief, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, writes in his diary, The Fuhrer finally gave his propagandist's permission to attack America. It was high time. Now, we shall let rip. Mrs. Roosevelt is shooting her mouth off around the country. If she were my wife, It would be a different story. I don't know that Magda Goebbels would appreciate her husband's remarks, but we have bigger concerns

right now than their relationship. Even though Franklin has just re-declared America won't enter the war as a belligerent, the nation's eventual participation in this war only appears more and more likely. And that's not all of America's troubles. All is not well on the home front. is brought to you by Peloton. A new era of fitness is here. Introducing the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ, built for breakthroughs

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You're not alone. Finding mental health support shouldn't leave you feeling more lost. At CAMH, we know how frustrating it can be trying to access care. We're working to build a future where the path to support is clear, and every step forward feels like progress. Not another wrong turn. Visit CAMH.ca to help us forge a better path for mental health care. Amid the tales of FDR's second new deal in episode 175, you might recall my mentioning the American Federation of Labor, or AFL, breaking with its long tradition of only concerning itself with unionizing skilled or craft labor.

It did so in 1935 by creating the Committee for Industrial Organization, often called the CIA. to serve unskilled industries. This included the auto industry. The CIO nurtured the newly founded United Auto Workers and upon separating from the AFL in 1938 to become its own thing under the name of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. A new moniker that, thankfully, kept the same abbreviation, it took the UAW with it.

This means that, for now, this automobile union is sometimes called the UAW CIO. But as fun as that nickname is, the key thing for us to track currently is that 1941 is a year of labor strikes. One of the most strike-filled years the nation has seen since 1919. And that's bad news in terms of helping Britain fight off Nazi Germany. Uncle Sam can't very well lend lease an arsenal of democracy if workers aren't building said arsenal. Hence, journalist Raymond Clapper writes, quote, Some friends of labor are very deeply troubled over the fact that labor is working itself into a role of irresponsible obstruction to war production.

Close quote. And one of the most embattled labor disputes is at Ford Motor Company. Here's the deal. The UAW has signed contracts with all the major auto players save Henry Ford. And that's grading on the union. See, famous as Henry is for paying outstanding wages in years past, that's changed amid the Great Depression. but his notorious surveillance of employees and control-freak ways have enabled him to hold out against collective bargaining.

In 1937, men from the Ford's service department even roughed up UAW organizers and what came to be known as the Battle of the Overpass. But that hasn't stopped the UAW from showing up at Ford's River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, to unionize workers, particularly now as the Ford Motor Company cranks away on Arsenal of Democracy-building government companies. contracts, including one paying a cool $122 million to produce thousands of plane engines. So, in the spring of 1941, many Ford workers are eagerly aligning with the UAW. But the Ford Motor Company strikes back. On April 1st, it fires eight workers for engaging with the labor union. As word spreads, many Ford employees start walking off the job. Yet, one group disproportionately stays, and that's the foundry workers. many of whom are black.

It's April 2nd, 1941. We're outside Ford's River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, where strikers are crowding the entrance. Walking back and forth on the pavement, they hold their signs high. One poses the question, why did Ford get a Nazi medal? Another simply reads, Ford and Hitler with a swastika between the two names.

Sounds like it's fair to see. say war tensions are bleeding into the strike. And as these strikers pace, they hurl insult after insult at their fellow Ford employees still loyal enough to Henry to head into work. Inside the plant, as many as 5,000 black workers remain on the job. Some are truly loyal to their boss. Many others fear the predominantly white strikers outside are a mob waiting to happen. UAWCIO reps assure the black workers that they'll be protected from

any racial violence should they join the picket line. But not many do. Most stand with the company. Likely this same day, those sources aren't entirely clear. Black employees reportedly stand atop the plant, hurling buckets down at the strikers below. Around 200 others rush from the entrance,

attacking the mostly white picket line with wooden clubs and steel bars. It's brutal. Finally, one black union member, Horace Sheffield, borrows a sound truck, that is, a truck with amplifier megaphones atop the roof. He urges those acting violently to not permit any of their race to be made the cat's paw of a consciousness company. Ford incites racial hatred to break the ranks of its striking employees.

And during 10 days in total, this strike saw ample violence. Black employees felt great loyalty to Henry Ford because he has hired more black workers into skilled positions than any other automaker. But did he do so with ulterior motives? According to one member of FDR's informal black cabinet, Mary McLeod Bethune, yes. In a memo, she explains that Henry intentionally hired black men and pushed anti-union propaganda on them so they would serve as effective strike breakers in exactly this kind of situation. With FDR refusing to get involved, it falls to Michigan governor,

Murray Van Wagoner to run the negotiation between Ford Motor Company and the UAWCIO. He gets Henry Ford to agree to a National Labor Relations Board election on April 7th. Three days later, the 10th, Henry agrees to a settlement before the election. The UAWCIO wins overwhelmingly forcing Henry to capitulate to the union. Ironically, the terms the two corporations settle on are perhaps the most generous of any union auto agreement in the business. but make no mistake 1941's racism and discrimination

are not limited to production plans as we saw in the last episode the president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Carporters A. Philip Randolph is still pushing for desegregation of the armed forces. Under his influence President Franklin Roosevelt takes one step in this direction by signing Executive Order 802 on June 25th Although it does not desegregate the armed forces

this executive order bans discrimination on the basis of, quote, race, religion, or national origin, close quote, in industries that receive government contracts. Recognize that language? If not, take note. We'll hear it more than once in future episodes. Back on the Foreign Affairs Front, FDR wakes with a sore throat on a hot, sticky June 22nd, 1941,

to learn that the German army, the Wehrmacht, has launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union. The operation, codenamed Barbarossa, marks a dramatic betrayal of Nazi Germany's and the USSR's non-aggression agreement, the Molotov-Ribbentrup pact. This means war in Eastern Europe. U.S. Army analysts estimate that Adolf Hitler's new campaign against the Soviets should keep him tied up for roughly one to three months. The slightly ill president breathes a little, easier. Operation Barbarossa also makes for an interesting turn of events by putting the USSR

in the same camp as the allies in a, the enemy of my enemy as my friend sort of way. In step with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the American president soon realizes that the U.S. will need to support the USSR, which will ultimately happen through Lend-Lease. Speaking of the British Bulldog, Franklin's determined that he needs a real face-to-face meeting with his British counterpart and ally Winston Churchill. But rather than use proper diplomatic channels, he's concocted a secret and rather dramatic scheme. On Sunday, August 3, 1941,

FDR boards the presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, telling reporters he's delighted to spend the next few days fishing near Cape Cod. Oh, but he's not going fishing. At least not here. While a FDR look-alike sits, atop the Potomac waving to onlookers, the real FDR is on board the Navy cruiser USS Augusta, steaming toward Newfoundland. Franklin loves the ruse, as can be seen in how he writes about it, to his cousin, Margaret Daisy Suckley. Quote, strange thing happened this morning,

suddenly found ourselves transferred with our baggage and mess crew from the Little Potomac to the great big cruiser, Augusta. And then, as we headed out into the Atlantic, All we can see is our protecting escort. Curiously enough, the Potomac still flies my flag, close quote. Even Eleanor is left out. She's told her husband is enjoying his Cape Cod fishing trip. After a few days at sea, the Augusta glides into Newfoundland's Argencia Harbor. Next to the American vessel, HMS Prince of Wales appears.

At 11 a.m. on August 9th, a heavy set figure appears on the British battleships quarterdeck. Yes, it's Winston Churchill. He finally gets to greet his pen pal, Franklin Roosevelt, in person. Boarding the Augusta, Winston takes in FDR for a moment. This man with whom he's exchanged so many messages it already feels like they know each other. This American, who, Winston hopes, will prove the salvation of the British nation. Taking in FDR's developed arms, atrophied legs, and handsome, 58-year-old face, this heavy-set 66-year-old prime minister reflects their already strong bond and his hope,

as he says with relief. At long last, Mr. President. Franklin responds warmly. Glad to have you aboard, Mr. Churchill. As they converse, the Brit speaks with 19th century propriety. The American is far more casual. Over the course of four days, talk centers around the state of war, both with Germany and feared future conflict with Japan.

On day one, Winston gives an overview of the current situation and describes a sort of tightening news approach to fighting Germany, wanting to avoid yet another lost generation. He hopes that blockades, bombings, and financial support of internal resistance groups will smother the Nazis. Then the conversation pivots to Japan. The next three days are pretty similar. The British PM tells the U.S. president, I had rather the United States came into the war now and that we got no more.

more supplies from the United States for six months than that supplies from the United States should be doubled, but the USA kept out of the war. Of course, FDR isn't ready or constitutionally able to do that, declaring war is Congress's role. But Franklin does make it clear to his British friend that, although he can't declare war, he will push the limit. The U.S. Navy will expand its convoy escorting role, and if the German Navy, that is, the Kriegsmarina, engages, well, the U.S. won't take that line down. Just exactly how far into the gray, FDR's careful words push will always be up for debate, but the important thing is that Winston is persuaded that the United States' support is such

that it will, in time, become an official co-belligerent. In the meanwhile, the British Bulldog is happy to draw the special friendship between himself and FDR, and between their respective nations, even closer with a joint statement or press release, or perhaps something bigger than that. Maybe it's a charter. Composed of eight points, this charter declares the, quote, common principles in the national policies, close quote, of both the United Kingdom and the United States. Essentially, these are their shared values and vision for the future after the fascist threat is defeated. The first three points are very Woodrow Wilson-esque. They clarify that in the process of

this unfolding world war, neither the U.S. nor the U.K. is looking to add new territory, and that they are both committed to respecting self-determination. Numbers four and five state their commitment to post-war prosperity for all nations, regardless of size or which side of this war thereon, as both the U.S. and the U.K. hope to build a world of trade, economic advancement, and improved labor standards. 6, 7, and 8 focus on maintaining a peaceful world, quote, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, close quote. A world where all can traverse the seas and peace,

a world that encourages peace by disarming aggressor nations. Given its birth on the waters of the Atlantic, this document, released to the public on August 14, 1941, is called the Atlantic Charter. Truly, the Atlantic Charter is a beautiful and high-minded vision for the post-war world, but the immediate response in Britain and America is less than positive. The British want American soldiers, not post-war ideals. Moreover, what implications might all this self-determination talk have on the British Empire down the road?

Across the pond, Franklin's advisors are upset. Why weren't they informed of this meeting? Worse, how could he make such commitments without their input? on the language. Simultaneously, interventionists wanted more, yet isolationists are concerned that this means America's entry into the war isn't a question of if but when. And will Congress rally behind the president? All these questions and arguments fill the air, as America's leaders desperately try to prepare for the United States not certain, but increasingly likely entrance into the war.

While Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill are waxing eloquent in the Northern Atlantic during the summer of 1941, the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy are planning. Not that this is new. Even as the United States proclaimed neutrality at the start of the war in Europe in late 1939, the two military staffs wisely began considering strategies for waging war in both Asia and Europe simultaneously. Not because they wanted war, but because it's their job to be ready if it comes. These strategies are called the Rainbow Plans and following a secret American and British chat known as ABC1, short for American British Conversations No. 1, which was held earlier this year, between January and March, 1941, they've reached their fifth and most current iteration. Rainbow Five envisions a defensive strategy

in the Pacific combined with a British and Free France Allied offensive in Europe to take on both fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Okay, good broad strokes. But if, God forbid, the lending and leasing of an arsenal of democracy doesn't do the trick, and this plan is needed. How many boys in uniform will it take? How many warships, tanks, planes, bullets? Those are the kind of specifics that Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, George C. Marshall, needs FDR to think about, especially with Lend-Lease complicating any potential mobilization timeline. Thus, under pressure from George and others, the president finally asks for a report to drill down on these numbers. That's how we get Major Albert Weddemeier's top secret victory plan. Relatively new to

the War Department General Staff's War Plans Division, the Major is cool-headed, calculated, and brutally honest. He doesn't sugarcoat anything. According to his predictions, if the U.S. enters the war, the Army will require a ground force of over 6.7 million men. The Air Force, which is still a part of the Army at this point, will need just over 2 million more. Yeah. In sum, the major predicts that the U.S. Army will need 8,7958 men on the ground and in the sky. Oh, and between this massive military buildup and lend lease, the U.S. needs to roughly double its production and prepare to pay a bill of at least $150 billion. In other words, the country is nowhere near prepared for war.

The classified victory plan's findings shock the president into more decisive. of action. Immediately, he asks Congress for 8 billion more in military appropriations. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of a German U-boat firing on the destroyer, USS Greer, FDR delivers a fireside chat on September 11th to explain that U.S. Navy warships will now shoot on-site German vessels threatening merchant shipping. Meanwhile, General George Marshall is also quite busy. Grateful to have a realistic view of what war might mean thanks to the victory plan, he's doing all he can to ensure the U.S. Army is prepared for the war that he believes is a certain eventuality. During 1940, he ran a series of training exercises for

the first batch of draftees, and now, in late 1941, he's preparing for larger-scale conflict by shipping soldiers off to war in Louisiana. It's 1201 a.m., September 15, 1941. between Shreveport and Alexandria, Louisiana, where a grand battle has just begun. Amidst pouring rain, courtesy of a nearby hurricane, half a million U.S. soldiers are at war. Donning red armbands and flat-brimmed steel World War I-era helmets, General Benjamin Lear's Red Second Army is positioned to the north, facing off against General Walter Kruger's blue arm-banded and cloth-fat-hat wearing blue Third Army to the south. This is a war game, that is a simulated battle, which General George Marshall is using to give his troops meaningful experience and to test battlefield readiness.

But don't let the game aspect fool you. It isn't entirely dangerous. Early in the morning, 400 of the Blue 3rd Army's planes are grounded after a pilot is killed in a collision. Three more soldiers are killed before sunrise and traffic accidents. But as the sun rises, Benjamin's 130,000 man red army, with the support of George S. Patton's tanks, approaches the less armored but larger blue army. Armed with obsolete weapons, fake guns, and a tiny air force on-the-ground combat is strange in the soon-to-be-dubbed Battle of Red River of the officially named Phase 1 exercise. But the phony conflict feels very real in several ways. Captain Norse Perkins has to shout to be heard.

The scent of burned powder and diesel exhaust tickles the nostrils. And smoke and dust make it difficult to see. The Louisiana maneuvers, as they come to be known, are the largest scale training exercises the U.S. Army has ever attempted. And as we just saw, it doesn't necessarily feel like training. It's pretty authentic. One army sends fake state. over the air about traffic conditions. The other attempts to kidnap their foes general.

One practices paratroop landings. The other drops propaganda leaflets. It's a real test, not just of troop strength and strategy, but of psychological warfare, coordination, and improvisation. It also gives rising leaders like Dwight Eich Eisenhower and Joseph Stillwell a chance to prove they can adapt to the realities of modern war. And of course, funny things happen. Funny things that, if they happened in a real war, would not be funny at all. For instance, a soldier standing at a fork in the road, lifts his thumb toward one street, hoping to hitch a ride. In the process, he accidentally directs the entire army the wrong way.

But that's fine. Now is the time to make these sorts of errors. For the army to learn from their mistakes while the consequences are mostly funny and not catastrophically. deadly. That's the philosophy driving General George Marshall. He explains this clearly in a speech to the American Legion in Milwaukee, broadcast nationwide on September 16th, just one day after the quote-unquote battle we witnessed. To quote him, the present maneuvers are the closest peacetime approximation to actual fighting conditions that has ever been undertaken in this country. But what is of the greatest importance? The mistakes and failures will not imperil

the nation, or cost the lives of men. In the past, we have jeopardized our future, penalized our leaders, and sacrificed our men by training untrained troops on the battlefield. I know of no single investment, which will give this country a greater return in security and in the saving of lives than the present maneuvers." And as George prepares his boys for war, the urgency to do so is only growing. In September and October, German submarines, K.A. U-boats continue to strike. And on October 31st, Germany's U-552 really makes a mark on the American mind by sinking the destroyer USS Rubin James. One of five destroyers escorting merchant convoy HX-156 across the northern Atlantic. The Rubin James is not far from

Iceland when, at 534 in the morning, two of the U-boats torpedoes rip into the ancient World War I vessels portside, effectively splitting her in half. The ancient destroyer sinks in minutes, taking over a hundred American sailors with it. Americans fume. Woody Guthrie responds by writing his famous song, The Sinking of the Ruben James, which brings the war home in a way not yet felt, as the folk singer asks his American listeners, Did you have a friend on the good Rubin James? What were their names? Tell me, what were their names. Meanwhile, FDR pushes Congress to take yet another step. U.S. Navy ships will no longer be the only American vessels ready to fight at sea. He wants a Neutrality Act amended to allow merchant

ships to arm themselves. Congress debates and fights, but with national opinion swiftly moving in favor, the national legislature gets on board, so amending it in November. Yes, war with Germany looks all but certain and fast. Yet, shockingly, late fall brings a shift in focus. While America has been focused on Nazi Germany, I mean the Nazi sunk a U.S. warship, FDR is starting to wonder if Japan isn't the more looming threat. We'll get the full backstory on the rise of Imperial Japan in a later episode soon, but here are a few things we need to know about U.S.-Japan relations at this point.

1. After suffering a hard military loss against the USSR in 1939, Japan decided that, rather than trying to expand north on mainland Asia, it would do better heading south or European powers. Two distracted by Adolf Hitler at home would be hard-pressed to protect their Asian colonies. Two, in September 1940, the same month that Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the tripartite pact. Japan followed that southward expanding train of thought and sent troops into the northern regions of French Indochina. The U.S. responded by placing export controls on aviation fuel and metal to Japan. And three, in July of this year, 1941, Japan took control of all of French Indochina, and the U.S. responded to that with an asset freeze and an embargo on oil.

And that hurts. While the Japanese Navy outnumbered, the combined American, British, and Dutch fleets in the Pacific, that Navy mostly runs on U.S. oil. And when the British and Dutch follow suit, Japan has lost about 90% of its oil access overnight. So yes, things just got really tense between the U.S. and Japan. In fact, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Joseph Gru, is so concerned about this erosion of relations,

he writes this in his diary, the vicious cycle of reprisals and counter-reprisals is on. The obvious conclusion is eventual war, close quote. Nevertheless, Franklin urges his advisors to keep diplomatic talks going through October and November. Let us make no more of ill will. Let us do nothing to precipitate a crisis. Even as the drums of war grow louder in the Pacific, the president is still hoping for peace, or at least for time.

Yet, by the end of the end of the war, November, pessimism sinks in. Imperial Japan won't accept any terms that forbid their expansion into Southeast Asia. Franklin desperately wants to find a temporary peace, so he reworks the final Japanese proposal. He'll resume economic relations and help the Japanese sit down with China, but not be involved in those conversations. In return, Japan must send no more troops to Manchuria or Indochina and not invoke the tripartite pact if the U.S. goes to war in Europe. Everyone in Washington waits, barely breathing, to see what the Japanese response will be. On November 26th, only a few days after Franklin's counter-proposal assent,

Army intelligence discovers five Japanese divisions sailing south of Japanese-controlled Famosa, or as you and I know it, Taiwan. FDR's peace- aspiring document is scrapped. What Franklin doesn't know, however, is that another Japanese fleet is also on the move. But as this other fleet quietly moves, the United States is reading quite the expose. On December 4th, the Chicago Tribune's front page screams in bold capital letters. FDR's war plans underneath, the subheading declares, Goal is 10 million armed men.

Yes, this is the top secret victory plan. A high-ranking army official slipped it to isolationist Senator Burton Kate Wheeler, who, in turn, handed it off to the Tribune. Isolationists are incensed. To them, this proves what they've long suspected. FDR wants war, and he's drawn up this secret plan with the intent of carrying it out. But to the interventionists, that is, FDR supporters,

this merely shows forethought. Given where the world is right now, what kind of president wouldn't have his best military minds figuring out what war would mean for the nation? I mean, no one expects that the United States will enter the war anytime soon, but increasingly, it does indeed look like a question of not if but when. To interventionists, leaking this document wasn't patriotic, it was irresponsible, traitorous. Yet, as FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, tries to discover the identity of the leaking army officer,

a search that will end in vain. Something far more shocking is coming. Something that will make Americans across the 48 states and several territories lose all interest in this newspaper article. We're not quite ready for that tale yet, that moment destined to live in infamy. But we are ready for FDR's final hours before that storm breaks. It's 1125 in the morning, December 6th, 1941. We're at the White House where President Franklin D. Roosevelt is meeting with Buddy, Director Harold Smith. Running about 10 minutes behind schedule, the two men have decided they want to hold off on the Navy Department's request for 40,000 Marine Corps draftees. Not only

are the Marines proud of their volunteer ranks, but more to the point, no one is anticipating combat at sea anytime soon. A call from Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, interrupts the meeting. He has jarring news. Japanese fleets have been spotted near Bangkok and Malaya. It's hard to say what this means, but it isn't good. After hanging up, FDR offhandedly says to Harold, We might be at war with Japan, although no one knows. A terrifying thought, perhaps especially to Franklin. As a former assistant secretary of the Navy, he counts several Navy officers among his dear friends. Two are his own sons, and yet another of his four sons is a Marine. As the day wears on, Franklin's mind focuses on what can be done to keep

the Japanese at bay. It's now nine in the evening. FDR decides to send a direct appeal to Japanese Emperor Hirohito for continued diplomacy and peace. It reads in part, developments are now occurring in the Pacific area, which threaten to deprive each of our nations

and humanity of the beneficial influence of the long and unbroken peace, which has been maintained between our two countries for almost a century. Those developments are suggestive of tragic possibilities. In making this proposal, I express to your majesty the fervent hope that our two governments may find ways of dispelling the dark clouds which loom over the relations between our two countries, and of restoring and maintaining the traditional condition of amity, wherein both our peoples may contribute to lasting peace and security throughout the Pacific area.

But ironically, earlier that very afternoon, U.S. Navy intelligence intercepted instructions from Tokyo to the Japanese ambassador in Washington. Though encoded in the Japanese purple system, intelligence officers have decrypted the first 13 of these instructions 14 points by that night. A Navy officer gets them to the president just after his note to Hirohito is sent, around 9.30.

Reading the translated points, Franklin is aghast. The tone is so nice. negative. He exclaims, This means war. Harry Hopkins, who just so happens to be with Franklin, answers that it's unfortunate. We could not strike the first blow and prevent any sort

of surprise. FDR shakes his head and replies, No, we can't do that. We are democracy and a peaceful people, but we have a good record. And so, with no indication of an attack, but a foreboding sense from these first 13 points that Japan will soon break off diplomatic relations. FDR is left to wonder, what will the future bring? Well, from that 14th point to far more, FDR and the whole nation will get all those answers tomorrow. They'll get

them in the most painful of ways. But that, my friends, is a story for another day. History That Doesn't Suck is created and hosted by me, Greg Jackson. Sir Winston Churchill, read by Tim Wells. Episode researched and written by Greg Jackson and Riley New Valley. Production by Airship. Sound design by Molly Bach. Audio editing by Muhammad Chazade. Theme music composed by Greg Jackson.

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