Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to be America’s 32 nd President in 1932. He would go on to become the only U.S. President to serve four terms in office (1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944). He eventually died in office in
1945, but not before having a great impact on America and the world.
During World War II he led the United States from isolationism to victory over Nazi Germany and its allies. He also spearheaded the successful wartime alliance between Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United
States. Among other achievements, he helped lay the groundwork for the post-world peace organization that would become the United Nations.
As early as 1937 President Roosevelt warned the American public about the dangers posed by hard-line regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan. However, at this time he did not suggest ending America’s isolation policy.
Isolationism is a policy that America adopted because of the Great Depression and the memories of World War
I, and it kept America from getting involved in European and Asian conflicts, and international politics. In response to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Roosevelt met with Congress and decided to allow Britain and
France to buy American weapons and ammunition. When Germany captured France he convinced Congress to provide more support to Britain. Roosevelt met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in March 1941, and created the Atlantic Charter. In the Atlantic Charter they declared the “Four Freedoms” on which the postwar world should be founded: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. On December 8, 1941 he appeared before Congress, and convinced them to declare war on
Japan, thus entering America into World War II.
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was not involved in politics from 1929 to 1939, but as Hitler became more aggressive in Europe, Churchill became more concerned with the stance taken by Neville Chamberlin, Britain’s leader.
Churchill urged the government to be more pro-active against Hitler. Churchill was appointed First Lord of the
Admiralty by Chamberlin on September 3, 1939. On May 10, 1940 Churchill became Britain’s Prime Minister, and was the most dominant British political figure during World War II. Churchill’s stand against Nazism summarized why the war was being fought. He remained in Britain while Germany dropped bombs during the Battle of
Britain. The people of London saw him as one of them, a man who could have removed himself from the dangers of German bombs, but chose to stay along with those who suffered.
Churchill also took a role in military issues. He had attended Britain’s Royal Military Academy, and served in various military roles throughout his life. He helped create commando units that continuously disrupted the German military. Churchill also held many wartime meetings with other wartime leaders. He met with President Roosevelt nine times between 1941 and 1945, and with Russian leader Joseph Stalin five times between 1942 and 1945. His meetings with Roosevelt eventually led to the creation of the United Nations.
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the U.S.S.R. from 1929 to 1953. Under his rule the Soviet Union transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. Stalin aligned the U.S.S.R. with

Britain and the U.S. during World War II, but afterward engaged in an increasingly tense relationship with the
West known as the Cold War.
In 1939, on the eve of World War II, Stalin and German dictator Adolf Hitler signed a nonaggression pact. He then added parts of Poland and several other countries to the Soviet empire. In June 1941 Germany broke the Nazi-Soviet pact and invaded the U.S.S.R. Stalin had ignored warnings from America, Britain, and his own intelligence agents about a potential German invasion. As German troops attacked and advanced towards the Soviet capital city of Moscow, Stalin implemented a scorched earth policy, destroying any supplies and buildings that might benefit the attacking Germans. The tide turned in the Soviets’ favor at the Battle of
Stalingrad between August 1942 and February 1943. The Red Army defeated the Germans, and eventually drove them out of the U.S.S.R. During the war Stalin participated in several wartime meetings with other leaders such as Winston Churchill. His iron will and deft political skills enabled him to play the loyal ally while never abandoning his vision of an expanded post-war Soviet empire.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was the Nazi leader, and one of the most powerful and infamous dictators of the 20 th
Century. He took control of the Nazi Party, and later the German government in 1933. His establishment of concentration camps resulted in the death of more than 6 million people in the Holocaust. He attacked Poland in
1939, which began World War II.
Hitler hoped to carry out a program calling for the restructuring of Germany on a racist basis so that it could lead to Germans exclusively inhabiting the globe. He believed that Germany should fight wars for large areas of land to allow the people to raise large families in these areas, and provide soldiers for the next war of expansion. His wars would lead to German expansion into France, Britain, the Soviet Union, and eventually
America. Preparations for these wars began once Hitler came to power in 1933. He attempted to persuade
Poland to join him peacefully in 1939, but their resistance led to the German invasion that started World War II.
Hitler signed a nonaggression pact with the U.S.S.R. in order to ensure that Germany would face no threat from the east while attempting to dominate Western Europe. One of Hitler’s biggest triumphs came when he was able to capture France, and control much of Western Europe. This victory ensured him enthusiastic support from almost all of Germany’s military leaders. As Britain refused to accept defeat, Hitler prepared to use the German air force, a large invasion, and a quick defeat of the Soviet Union to force Britain out of the war. He also hoped this would give Japan the confidence to begin advancing through the Pacific to occupy the American military.
The German invasion of the U.S.S.R. began on June 22, 1941, and was initially very successful. As progress slowed in the Soviet Union some German generals began to disagree with Hitler’s decisions, and disagreements became more frequent. German progress was halted at the Battle of Stalingrad, and Germany was forced to retreat. Hitler used submarines to try to secure the coast in Western Europe so that he could prevent the Allied Nations from advancing on Germany. As this plan began to fail Hitler prepared for the Battle of the Bulge. Victory here would stop progress of Allied Forces in the west, and allow an opportunity for
Germany to move troops east and take Soviet lands once and for all. Germany’s defeat at the Battle of the Bulge all but ended the war. As Allied Forces closed in around Germany Hitler killed himself, ending World War II in
Europe.