Description
Object description
American civilian served as Presidential Special Envoy to Europe, 1941-1943; served as United States Ambassador to Soviet Union, 1943-1945
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of period as Presidential Special Envoy to Europe, 1941-1943: question of why United States of America did not intervene in Second World War prior to 1941; President Franklin D Roosevelt's moves to aid GB after German invasion of Low Countries, 5/1940; situation in GB, early 1941; British and American attempts to warn Josef Stalin of German invasion plans; visit to bombed Bristol with Prime Minister Winston Churchill; visit to Moscow, Soviet Union to provide aid and Josef Stalin's initial reaction.
REEL 2 Continues: hearing news of Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 12/1941; Prime Minister Winston Churchill's reaction to attack on Pearl Harbor; need of President Franklin D Roosevelt to prioritise war against Germany after Pearl Harbor; reasons for Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany's declaration of war on United States of America, 11/12/1941; need to balance allocation of war production between Europe and Pacific; first meeting between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D Roosevelt in Washington DC; contrasting long term objectives of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D Roosevelt; question of Second Front in 1942; accompanying Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Moscow in Soviet Union for meeting with Josef Stalin, 8/1942; President Franklin D Roosevelt's attempts to build a relationship with Josef Stalin.
REEL 3 Continues: Recollections of period as United States Ambassador to Soviet Union, 1943-1945: issues raised during Tehran Conference in Iran, 11/1943; friction between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D Roosevelt over issue of unconditional surrender of Germany; attending Yalta Conference in Soviet Union, 2/1945; question of effects of President Franklin D Roosevelt's health on decisions made during Yalta Conference in Soviet Union, 2/1945; attempts to discuss Polish issue with Josef Stalin; reaction to Josef Stalin's behaviour towards Poles during Warsaw Uprising, 8/1944; Allied leaders reaction to Josef Stalin's refusal to allow relief columns to aid Allied prisoners of war after German surrender, 5/1945; first meeting with President Harry S Truman and how he understood relations with Soviets through reading correspondence.
REEL 4 Continues: meeting with Josef Stalin on death of President Franklin D Roosevelt; meeting between Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and President Harry S Truman; outcome of meetings over Eastern Europe between Harry Hopkins and Josef Stalin; nature of Potsdam Conference, Germany, 7/1945-8/1945; question of use of atomic bomb on Japan, 8/1945; reaction of Josef Stalin to only reaching Berlin during Second World War; situation in Eastern Europe and start of the Cold War, 1945.