Hello, and thank you for listening to The History of World War II podcast, Episode

189, Roosevelt's Secret War against Hitler.

On February 17, 1941, the founder of Time Inc. Henry Arloos wrote an essay in Life magazine.

One sentence went, we are in the war, the irony is that Hitler knows it, and most Americans

don't.

Luce was trying to take his fellow citizens to a place they refused to go inside their

own heads.

Yes, the majority of American citizens hated Hitler, felt sorry for Europe, and sympathized

with China for its brutal treatment at the hands of the Japanese Empire.

But they hated any action or law that would bring them closer to participating in the

conflict even more.

Simply America's House was divided.

The isolationists had plenty of support in Congress, but on the other hand, many young

men had already defied the laws of the land to help fight the oppressors, be they Franco's

military in Spain or the soldiers of the Axis powers, by sneaking off and joining up

in other countries.

And President Franklin D. Roosevelt was doing all he could, in a passive way, to bring his

constituents to his way of thinking.

That at some point, the United States would have to enter the war, if only to make sure

the Axis powers lost, and freedom of whatever kind, reigned once again.

But this would take patience, and it would take time.

Engaging the hearts and minds of a population normally does.

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