SPECIFIC VOCABULARY

History

Hitler revoked the German non-aggression pact with Poland on April 14, 1939

A food-stamp plan to distribute surplus food to the poor and needy

King George VI and Elizabeth I visited the US to cement the relations between the two countries

The repeal of the arm embargo (Roosevelt, July 39)

Congress was asked to revise the neutrality law and abrogate the trade treaty that US had signed with Japan back in 1911

On September 1, 1939, on the pretext of that Polish personnel had attacked first, Hitler launched a massive invasion of Poland

The unprepared Polish forces were overrun

Hitler had no intention of observing Paris and London’s ultimatum to cease the invasion

The British liner Athenia was torpedoed by a German submarine off the Hebrides

On September 28, Poland was divided up between Germany and Russia

Belligerent powers

Roosevelt issued a proclamation closing US offshore waters

The 1939 Neutrality Act allows for the sale of arms to belligerents as long as they are transported in non-American ships

On December 23, 1939, a vanguard of Canadian troops arrived in GB

In the Battle of the Atlantic, largely waged by German U-Boats, the losses are steadily mounting to near-disastrous proportions. 440,000 tons of shipping were lost in January and February of 1940

In 1940, the US feared that their military could not stand up against the Germans

In April 1940, the Norwegians put up an impressive resistance against the German attack

In May 1940, Winston Churchill assumed the office of Prime Minister, replacing the thoroughly discredited Neville Chamberlain

Churchill’s decisiveness, resoluteness, powers of oratory and soon-to-emerge charismatic appeal played a major role in bringing the US into the war with a total commitment

The personal relationship between he and Roosevelt will play a crucial part in the course of events

Having been pushed westward by the German military might, thousands of British troops converged on Dunkirk, a coastal town in France (26 May – 4 June 1940 )

3 June 1940 – Roosevelt agreed to sell Britain millions of dollars worth of outdated arms, munitions and aircraft

5 June 1940 – The Germans invaded France. By June 22, France will have capitulated

18 June 1940 – General CDG pledged to carry on the fight against the Germans for a completely free France