Preface to War: Hitler Bombs Poland

by Time Inc.

The telephone in Franklin Roosevelt’s bedroom at the White House rang at 2:50 a. m. on the first day of September. In more ways than one it was a ghastly hour, but the operators knew they must ring. Ambassador Bill Bullitt was calling from Paris. He had just been called by Ambassador Tony Biddle in Warsaw. Mr. Bullitt told Mr. Roosevelt that World War II had begun. Adolf Hitler’s bombing planes were dropping death all over Poland.That day Franklin Roosevelt’s press conference was a grave business. One question was uppermost in all minds. Correspondent Phelps Adams of the New York Sun uttered “Mr. President . . . can we stay out of it?” Franklin Roosevelt sat in silent concentration, eyes down, for many long seconds. Then, with utmost solemnity, he “I not only sincerely hope so, but I believe we can, and every effort will be made by this Administration to do so.”No person in the room doubted Franklin Roosevelt’s sincerity, but neither was anyone in the slightest doubt as to where lay the sympathy, the potent human partisanship, of this President of the United States. He was against Germany, against the aggressor, against totalitarianism, against Adolf Hitler the dictator and Adolf Hitler the man perhaps mad. His every word henceforth would be weighed in the light of his own injunction, which he now laid upon the Press, to stick rigidly to the facts because “that’s best for our own nation—and for civilization.” His deeds and those of his subordinates would now be examined for lack of bias as the nation watched his “every effort” to keep the U. S. out of war.This story is part of the TIME Classic Coverage Collection from Time Inc. This is a reproduction of a story that appeared in the September 11, 1939 issue of TIME magazine. Time Inc. is one of the world’s most influential media companies – home to 90 iconic brands like People, Sports Illustrated, Time, InStyle, Real Simple, Food & Wine, and Fortune. The Spotlight Stories in this collection aim to provide you with a quick read on a single subject, highlighting our readers’ most popular stories and featuring great reporting from our Time Inc. journalists.

16 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2016

Reviews

[JANET · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is Kennedy on this cover? Misleading...


This article contains news releases and early statements by FDR when Germany invaded Poland. Anyone who knows Kennedy family history knows of Joseph Kennedy's brief and unsuccessful stint as US Ambassador to Great Britain, but his name is not even mentioned in this article, which is what I was curious to read about. As a prelude to US involvement in the European war, while the article is Interesting, it's so brief it's disappointing. Of course there was no way to know in early September 1939 the fury coming for the US and its Allies through the years that became WWII.

[John Rhoads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peanut politics

It was called that with courage and conviction . I'm sure Obama has the same conviction. Courage comes with true love of country, I wish he had that too.