Free The History Buff's Guide to World War II by Thomas R. Flagel Page B

for their liberty and for our security. Emphatically we must get these weapons to them, get them to them in sufficient volume and quickly enough so that we and our children will be saved the agony and suffering of war which others have had to endure…We must be the great arsenal of democracy…I call upon our people with absolute confidence that our common cause will greatly succeed.
    Response to the speech was overwhelming. Cables, calls, and letters poured into the White House, more than Roosevelt had ever received in his career. Nearly every correspondence expressed approval and support. Roosevelt would follow up this triumph by introducing a bill to Congress for a program called L END -L EASE . 33
Many Londoners who tuned in to Roosevelt’s historic statement had a hard time hearing it. At the time of the broadcast, the British capital was undergoing a sizable Luftwaffe air raid.
    6. “WE MUST WAGE A RUTHLESS FIGHT” (STALIN—JULY 3, 1941)
    Quivering, stuttering Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov delivered the tragic news via state radio: Nazi Germany had just invaded the Soviet Union. Molotov nervously called for action, but his words were a feeble plea made less convincing by the canned idioms he sputtered: “The government calls upon you, citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally still more closely around our glorious Bolshevist party, around our Soviet Government, around our great leader and comrade, Stalin.”
    Stalin ordered Molotov to deliver the speech, as he was either unwilling or unable to do so. Nearly two weeks passed before the Man of Steel brought himself to talk to his people, yet when he did, his words conveyed a new message.
We must wage a ruthless fight against all disorganizers of the rear… All who by their panicmongering and cowardice hinder the work of defense, no matter who they are, must be immediately hauled before a military tribunal…In case of a forced retreat of Red Army units, all rolling stock must be evacuated; to the enemy must not be left a single engine, a single railway car, not a single pound of grain or a gallon of fuel.
    Stalin was unveiling a policy of slash and burn. Nothing, including people, would be spared in creating a sea of devastation before the approaching Germans. Listeners were not exactly enthralled, but Stalin softened the blow by appealing to religion, ethnicity, and czarist heroes. It was his first use of Mother Russia imagery, a departure from years of Communist rhetoric. Citizens found hope in the changing language, believing victory would bring new freedoms previously unimaginable. In reality, it was a ploy—and an effective one. Stalin immediately enforced slash-and-burn tactics and speedy executions, making the Soviet Union deadly to invaders and citizens alike. 34
During the war, four million Germans died in the Soviet Union, mostly military. Twenty-five million Soviets died, mostly civilian.
    7. “A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY” (ROOSEVELT—DECEMBER 8, 1941)
    “They have attacked us at P EARL H ARBOR . We’re all in the same boat now.” Roosevelt’s words elated Churchill, who had called the White House soon after hearing ambiguous reports of a Japanese offensive in the Pacific. The president’s mood stood in stark contrast. Incoming reports only added to the confusion within the executive mansion. Casualty totals were imprecise. Dispatches reported Japanese landings on Oahu. Strikes on the American West Coast appeared possible. The situation in the Philippines was unknown.
    One certainty was Roosevelt’s first move. He immediately drafted a request for a declaration of war. Unlike most of his speeches, this one he created almost entirely on his own. Presented to a packed joint session of Congress and millions of radio listeners worldwide, his statement was brief—just six minutes—and to the point. 35
Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by