After my December visit to Florida I pointed out that Floridian's believe the Early Bird Special is the State bird. I believe I am on to another Floridian novelty which I was lucky enough to capture on a picture:
Now on to my latest book. A good read for aspiring historians; the book contains some new revelations concerning some pivotal decisions made during 1940-41.
Ian Kershaw, “Fateful Choices (Ten Decisions That Changed the World 1940-1941),” Penguin Book Ltd, 2007, 483 Pages
This book revolves around 10 decisions that moved the European war of 1939-40 into a global conflict by December 1941: 1. Britain's decision to continue the war after the fall of France. 2. Hitler's decision to attack the Soviet Union. 3. Japan's decision to go after the colonial empires of Hitler's European victims. 4. Mussolini's decision to join Hitler. 5. Roosevelt's decision to support Britain. 6. Stalin's decision to ignore warnings of a German attack. 7. Roosevelt's decision to wage undeclared war. 8. Japan's decision for war against the U.S. 9. Hitler's decision for war against the U.S. 10. Hitler's decision to annihilate Europe's Jews.
All the Axis governments contained highly personalized regimes, lacking constraints on their leaders. In Russia, too, Stalin’s personality determined in detail the course of the entire system—often disadvantageously. In Britain and the U.S., by contrast, long-established, well-structured bureaucratic machinery framed policy choices, allowing little scope for arbitrary, all-or-nothing decision making. Behind them was public opinion: of major importance in the U.S., and not to be ignored even in wartime Britain. During the two years presented here vital considerations were constantly at stake; vital risks were involved, in rapidly changing circumstances.
My Notes:
Pg. 3: WWII recast the twentieth century and took its shape largely from a number of fateful choices made by the leaders of the world’s major powers within a mere nineteen months, between May 1940 and December 1941.
Pg. 46: By June 4, 1940 224,301 British and 111,172 French and Belgian troops had been rescued off the beaches of Dunkirk. This was the whole of the British army that had been engaged on the continent.
Pg. 50: It took three days of intensive discussions in London in May 1940 for Churchill to prevail in his determination to not negotiate with the Nazis and fight on no matter what. This had not been a foregone conclusion as most today believe. Also, Germany did not invade Britain as they were certain the British fleet could cut off supplies to any invading force. Also, Germany lacked adequate landing barges to effect an invasion. So even if they had attained mastery of the air it still appeared less dangerous to them to invade Russia than invade Britain.
Pg. 184: Speaking in Boston on October 30, 1940 FDR made a pledge to his audience. “And while I am talking to you mothers and fathers, I give you one more assurance. I Have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign war.” Roosevelt was telling those listening what they wanted to hear. At the end of September 1940, 83% of those asked in a public opinion survey had favored staying out of the war.
Pg. 230: December 1940 a decision to implement a program that amounted to nothing short of a declaration of economic warfare on the Axis was made by FDR. And opinion was shifting in line with FDR’s lead. Now, as many as 70% of those questioned were ready to help Britain win, even at the risk of American involvement in the war.
Pg. 246: In 1937-8 Stalin had close to 700,000 people shot and more than a million and a half arrested. The military was decimated: in all, 34,301 officers were arrested or expelled from the armed forces. Some 30% were reinstated by the beginning of 1940 but 22,705 were either shot or their fate remains unknown. Higher ranks suffered disproportionately in the decapitation. Of the 101 members of the supreme military leadership, 91 were arrested, and of these 80 shot. Among them were three out of five of the Marshals of the Soviet Union (the highest military rank), three out of the four army commanders, all heads of military district, nearly all divisional commanders, all commanders of the air force and two admirals of the fleet.
Pg. 358: Before the war with the U.S. began, Japan presided over insufficient raw materials, shipping and shipbuilding capacity to fight for more than two years, before the overwhelmingly superior resources of the U.S. would inexorably begin to tell. Oil—even taking into account that which could be extracted from the Dutch East Indies—would only last for two and a half years. Synthetic oil production would not be in a position for three years to make good the shortfall, and even that would depend on the availability of a million tons of steel and other large amounts of precious resources to construct the manufacturing plant.
Pg. 436: Jews were a tiny minority of the German population—a mere 0.76% in 1933.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ian Kershaw is Professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield.
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