l>world war two began on september 1st, 1939, with the german invasion of poland. by the time the war in 1945, more than 60 million people have been killed and dozens of

'7;nations were destroyed. the ability sustain and survive a direct attack have been put to the test and proven. the decade of the 1930s has been a time of great unrest, as economic depression resulted in widespread despair. ns fell under the control of totalitarian leaders in europe. adolf and his italian counterpart benito mussolini, took advantage the financial turmoil and promised prosperity based on military expansion. in asia, the military dominated government of japan plotted a course, separated from these troubles by two oceans. in yet another overseas conflict. at time, u.s. military ranked 17th in the world and were hardly in a to enter a world war. but including president roosevelt began view events in europe and the pacific with increasingly more justification of kind. the including vast numbers of women andruthlessly murdered with

bombs. the air at 2:50 a.m. on september 1st, 1939. president roosevelt was asleep at the white house when the is bedside rang. the had invaded poland as pledged to come to poland's defense of germany attacked. roosevelt realized that a larger was at hand. while his sympathies lay with the countries being overrun, the axis powers america's isolate in his mood limited his freedom to respond. the country's neutrality act prevented. the sale of american weapons to warring nations. there was little he could do at congress for authority andsufficient to manufacture munitions and was supplies of many kinds to be turned over to thosere now in actual nation. our most useful and immediate role is to as an arsenal for as well as for ourselves. we should send an ever increasing numberand gun.

that is our purpose and our. on december 7th, 1941, debate american in world war two ended abruptly when japan staged a surprise attack on pearl harbor. the united. japanese that attacked pearl harbor hawaii president just announced that also was made on all naval principal ofdecember seven and 1941. a date which william in r forces of the

empire of japan. i asked that the congress declare that since the and attack by japan on sunday, december seven, 1941 a state of war has existed between the united states and the japanese empire. the attack was part of a larger military plan to seize control oil and other criticalrces in the pacific rim. japan's goal was to destroy our ability to stand in their way. four days lateitaly who were allied with japan, declared war on theedtates. roosevelt had believed for some time that germany pose the threat to america's long term security. when hitler, mmachines against united states, roosevelt'sneed to respond was

as the united states situation was grim. japan had destroyed much of america's west coast fleet and nowd vast areas of the pacific. and the north atlantic.german continued their deadly campaign against supply ships britain. so what? what about. germany armies had invaded the soviet union. winston churchill, the prime of england. america ally, traveled to washington to meet with roosevelt. together, they planned a strategy to combat the axis powers. it began to pay off in june of 42 as the allies stopped the expansion of the axis powers and began to take the offensive in epic battle of midway. in june, 1942 was a major point. the u.s. navy destroyed four japanese aircraft carriers and ended japan's dominance in the central. a month later, american invaded the island of guadalcanal this

was the first step in a strategy that came be called island hopping. an island by island advance toward the japanese homeland in europe. the situation also improved. britishgerman afrika korps in egy force landed in north africa to clear the continent of axis forces and the german the soviet union was stopped in a series of hard fought battles. in 1943, the tide of battle continued to turn in favor of the allies as they gained greater and greater control of e europe and the pacific. the soviet union turned back the german invasion and began hitler's armies westward. in july the allies invaded sicily. the invasion led to the overthrow of mussolini's government. italy's surrender. soon after. the battle of the atlantic. the campaign end. the german submarine menace in began to turn the allies favor as well. the threat so they could begin the giant build up of men and supplies in great britain that would be needed for the europe.

from 1942 to 1944, the allies pondered, when, where and how a second front in europe could be open this issue caus considerable friction between the big three. as roosevelt, churchill and had their own ideas concerning the plan of attack. strike at the heart of hitler's empire in no draw off a portion of the german forces that were attacking the ussr. roosevelt also favored assault on northwestern europe, but realized attack would require time for careful planning and preparation. churchill pushed for a more limited strategy of attack along the of the axis empire not november 1943. ting in tehran, where the leaders able to agree to a spring. 1944 invasion. the talks also included discussion of a postwar united nations organization. soviet fears of a resurgent germany led the russians to demand territorial adjustments in eastern europe to establish

larger postwar buffer zone between germany and the ussr. the allies also agreed that they accept nothing less than an unconditional surrender from the axis powers. as, 1944 the largest amphibious invasionforce in history massed the waters of the english channel. the long awaited invasion of northwestern europe. a second front was underway, codenamed operation. the massive invasion had hundreds of thousands of men and millions of tons ofpo the atlantic ocean to britain. the invasion force consistedchiefly americans, britons and cana in the tense early hours. the assault. fdr monitored reports the front. that evening he a statement to the american people. it took the form of a prayer which he read on national radio. almighty sons, proud of our nation this day set upon the mightypreserve our public, our

religion and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity leading straight and cruel gives to their arms, darkness to theirsteadfastness in their faith. the normandy vise, fighting an expanding anglo-american canadian force in the west and the soviets red army in the east. egan to tighten the vise. by 1945, time was running out for the german and japanese forces. the year before the allied had pushed deep into japan's pacific empire. by autumn of 1940 for liberation of the philippines was underway and american had begun a devastating fire campaign against japanese cities. bases in the marianas. in some of the bloodiest fighting the war. marines landed on the island, iwo jima, midway between the rianas and tokyo. america was now in a position to begin the end game in the war against japan and germany.

franklin roosevelt lived long enough to know that victory was the morning of april 12, 1945, as world warits 2,051st day, an exhausted t roosevelt woke in his cottage at the presidential retreat in warm springs georgia worn down by heart disease, the stresses of wartime leadership. he had brief vacation at 1 p.m. he was studying papers and sitting for a portrait painter when he suddenly complained of a terrific. seconds later, he. within hours the in chief was dead of a massivemonth later, hitler committed suicide in his berlin bunker. and on may 8th, 1945, germany surrendered the allies. four months later, on september 2nd, after suffering atomic bomb strikes on the cities of hiroshima and the war formally ended when japan surrendered in ceremony, the uss missouri in tokyo. world war two, the most important and most terrible event ofs over, but a profoundly economic political and social relationships that continue to

e the world we live in today are. weis war. and we're all in way. every single woman and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertake of our american history. we must share together the bad news and the good news. the defeat and the victory changing fortunes of wall to fight a global war. the united needs to mobilize its entire population. and along what becamow front, the government turned to ordinary citizens and leaders of large corporations help lead the mobilization effort. the response was astounding. american wartime production. more than 299,000 aircraft, 630,000 jeeps, 88,000 tanks 1500 naval vessels, six and a

half million rifles and, 40by 1945, the united states was producing 60% of all allied munitions and, 40% of the world's weapons. the american public was asked to conserve scarce for military use producrom gasoline to sugar. were rationed civilians strove ate meat, less and often drank lessoffee. children organized scrap drives to rubber metal for war industries. while their parents joined civil defense units planted victory gardens and purchased billions dollars worth of war bonds millions of americans began federal time, and to control inflation. the government put limits on wages, prices and rents. president and mrs. roose mobilization effort, setting priorities and f victory. they purchased war bondswindows and committed the white house to wartime. the couple's four sons all served in military during the

war. mrs. roosevelt continued, the ceaseless activism that had long marked as america's most public first lady. she wasr racial and gender equality. she championed the tuskegee into armed services and the right of workers to organize. in 1942, she england to offer support to america's and returned with detailed reports for fdr. a year later she0 mile tour of the south pacific, a representative of the american redthe first lady traveled in military transports, putting herself at rk to visit hospitals, military camps and red cross during her trip, she saw an estimated hundred thousand americanvicemen women. the need for war workers created economic and minorities and advanced cause of these two major social movements. after being threatened by black leaders with a march on washington moved to confront racial discrimination in theexecutive. 8802, which barredplans to enforce

it. he created the fair many women who during the war held men were reluctant to return to the traditional role of homemaker. the opportunitiescan-americans and women during the war contributed to the emergence of the postwar vil rights and women's rights movements. otyrants and slave free men a grant was a common trait that man should know bread and peace that he shall know. justice and righteousness. freedom. security. an opportunity and an equal chance to do his best, not only in our own lands, but throughout the and in that. let us clean world. our hands can make.

o was the most important, most terrible event of profoundly global economics. politics, social relationships and continues to influence the world we live in today. in the uncertain weeks after pearl harbor, as japanese dramatically across the pacific southeast asia, many americans particularly those on the pacific coast, feared enemy attack and, saw danger in evcorner. these wartime fears, combined with racial prejudice, led a great injustice. early in 194n and leaders on the west coast complained that member region's large community might be working the japanese military acts of sabotage. though no serious of this existeroosevelt administration for action. on february 19th, 1942, fdr

issued executive order. 1966, which led to the forced relocation of more than 110,000 japanese-americans living he west coast. they were confined to internment camps operated by the military. more than two thirds of these people were native born citizens abruptly forced abandon or sell their homes and ything that they own. similar throughout latin america to adopt compa japanese ancestry. yet they remained loyal and some japanese-americans from. the camps served ie military. they distinguished themselves with extraordinary valor in combat. the court upheld the president's order in two wartime cases. but in the 1980s, the united states congress acknowledged this violation of the civil itizens and voted to provide some financial compensation to i camps. the supreme court also vacated its earlier wartime rulin.

and. during world war, two millions of americans took up arms to fight totalitarianism and racism abroad. yet in 1941, america was, a deeply racist nation and the military, many other american institutions the war reformers worked to end racial discrimination in the military. with congress largely controlled by powerful southern democrats who staunchly racial separation, fdr felt he could not broadly challenge military segregation. yet world war two provided fdr with opportunities to take action against congress and to create an environment in which the name. the war blacks were admitted to the marine corps for the firstime and the army aicorps, its ban on black pilots with strong public support of first lady eleanor roosevelt. nearly 1000 black piloerts w alabama's tuskegee institute. many of the tuskegee combat in europe and north africa. in the9th pursuit

squadron. none of the bombersuy escorted the unit was ever lost to enemy fire. here for the first time, -- aviation cadets were being groomed to fly of a was then a unit and surrounding the 99% struck. americans of mexican and latino and asian descent as. well as native americans were also given opportunities in the nation's military. and in the fight united states and. rica entered the conflict. fdr began to frame world war two in more universal terms as a struggle to defend freedom around the fdr is most enduring expression

of this concept came in his sixth 1941 annual message to congress in the future days, which we seek to make secure, he declared, we look forward to a worldsential human freedoms. the first is freedom speech and expression. every square in the world. the second is freedom of every person to worship god in hiseverywhere in thethe third is freedom which translated into world economic. which will secure to nation a peacetime life for its everywhere in the world. the fourth is freedom fear, which translated into terms

means a world wide reduction of armament to such a point and in such a thorough that no will be in a position to commit an act. the perfect aggression against neighbor anywhere in the world. during the final year of the in europe, allied forces began overrunning camps used by nazi germany carry out its horrific final solution. the effort to eliminate europe's entire jewish population that is known today as the holocaust. the final solution was rooted in ideology, which held that -- were inferiorthe nazi concept of racial purity. this systematic by the nazi state resulted in the murder of approximately 6 million --. the nazis murdered millions of political dissidents physically and mentally handicapped people and others. they considered to be

undesirable. immediately after coming to began the persecution of germany's jewish population. immigration to the world's democracies was seen by many as a way out. but immigration laws were complicated and often harshly. germany's armed expansion during late 1930s and world war two led to enormous growth in german controlled territory that put vast numbers. european -- under german con for escape to safety. with the outbreak of war persecution escalated mass murder. beginning in eastern europe and eventually involving millions of -- the entire continent. what known as the final solution to the jewish question was a carefully planned, organized effort to maximize the killing and destroy every --. the nazis. could find how utterly without mercy or regard for human life. is the german federal? how otherwise can explain the

reports of sending numberless jewish people from berlin and other cities an hour's notice packed like cattle into trains with their destination? neither poland or some part of occupied russia. the scale and depravity of the final solution was staggered in resoon as they happened. the response of president roosevelt and others within the american government society has sparked heated scholarly in recent decades. historians debate whether fdr and, other american decision makers might have more to admit jewish refugees and whether they might have undertakening of the rails to auschwitz that could have saved lives. from.

on october 11th, 1939. economist aldelivered an historic letter from albert einstein to franklin roosevelt at the white house. inter, the distinguished physicist described potential for an atomic nuclear research was underway inermany. roosevelt responded to einstein's letter by authorizing the formation, a scientific committee to study. later, he approved the creation of the manhattan, a top secret effort to build an atomic weapon. at a conference hyde park in september of 1944, fdr churchill

agreed to keep the bombroject codenamed tube alloys secret from soviet leader joseph stalin. what neither was that russian spies were keeping informed about its progress. fdr was prepared to use weapons against both germany and japan but a bomb was not ready for testing until fdr death in germany surrender in july 45. president the use of atomic bombs against japan in cities of hiroshima and nagasaki nagasaki. and.

the most important legacy franklin roosevelt left the world was the united nations organization. from the earliest days of world war, fdr worked to create a postwar organization dedicated to global cooperation and peace through collective security. on january 1st, 1942, he welcomed representatives of 25 allied nations to the white use to sign a declaration pledging each to defend life liberty in dependance and religious freedom and preserve human rights and justice. united nations and later led efforts to expand it int international organization. rning from this trip, the defense of the refreshed inspired with a firmf that we have made a good start on the road to a world of peace and am

confident that the congress and the american people will accept the as the beginning of permanent structure of peace upo build an underground that better world in which our childan your men, mine, and the children and grandchildren of the whole world must live and can live. that, my friend we all imagine jack, give you what i feel is very deeply. and i know that of you are feeling it today and are going to feel it in the future. president roosevelt imagined, an organization of nations dedicated to equality and mutual security with the institutions, backbone, being the four policemen, the united states great britain, the soviet union and china, who would enforce the fdr died days before he was to

address the opening session of the conference that created the united nations and the day before his death, he labored over a speech about the postwar world. the mere conquest of ourote. americans have to cultivate the science of humany of all peoples, of all kinds to live together and work together in the same world at peace. to make our the world. find to be better