Why do some people think FDR started WWII when it was clearly Hitler's idea?

Question

I refer to Hitler's statement, "Today Europe, tomorrow the world!".

Someone said that FDR started WWII in another question. Part of his initials are TD and he should be here answering this question very soon, if I am not mistaken. lol We sort of provoked Japan by not selling them the oil they wanted to fuel their military machine, but that is a poor reason to fight us.

Answer 1

To blame FDR for starting WWII !?. The US didnt initiate hostilities. the US responded to being attacked. The US attempted to avoid hostilities and did so sucessfully for more than 2 years.
To say that the ww1 allied powers are responsible for Hitlers rise to power and his following agression is quite a strech. you could just as easily blame the german PEOPLE for permitting and endorsing his rise to power. the same can be said for the Japanese people. this is a weak argument designed to misplace blame to satisfy a revisionists agenda. it is abhorable to blame those who fought to right a wrong and depict them as complicit in the greatest tragedy in history.

Answer 2

I haven't heard anyone accuse FDR of starting WWII. Especially since the US was minimally involved in the war prior to Pearl Harbor. But remember that Pearl Harbor was the first millitary attack, the US was involved in non-millitary manners long before Pearl Harbor.

Remember that WWII started as the convergence of 2 seperate wars. The first being the war between China and Japan, in which FDR and the US supported China and FDR found ways to undermine the Congressional Neutrality Act and provide aid and support to China without violating the Act itself.

The second conflict arose when Nazi Garmany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and invaded Poland. The US again stated there neutrality with the renewal of the Neutrality Act in November of 1939, however the new act included additional loopholes for FDR to provide certain assistance to the UK, France and the rest of the Western Allies.

Again the US was not militarily involved in WWII prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, though FDR did support China and the European Allies during a time when the US had a policy of isolationism and neutrality.

I am not accusing FDR of starting WWII, just stating the facts that FDR made it clear he did not support the isolanist policy adapted by the US Congress and believed we should fully support our Allies. It's also important to note that there are 2 side to every conflict. And the attack on Pearl Harbor wasn't completly unprovoked as a number of Americans view it.

Answer 3

Well TD my family has fought in every war this country has had since the Revolution and I'm not the last of the line either. I have four relatives serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today. I have never heard of what you claim and I have read extensively about WW II. Of course, I realize that military commands are always making plans, just in case. Are these the secret plans that you speak of? I am quite sure that somewhere there is a military officer with plans to invade Israel if necessary.
Yes, we did deny oil and metal rights to the Tojo military dictatorship. As to your claim about large empires; the US had the Philippines and the Dutch had Borneo and New Guinea, the French had Indo-China, and the English had Hong Kong. You should have also read the United States was going to make PI an independent country in 1945. Some empire.
Don't forget that Japan attacked our troops before Pearl Harbor (The USS Panay). Of course you know that already.

Answer 4

This question hits on a larger problem on how we determine the causes behind our world's famous and infamous times. Whether it was FDR or Hitler or the Hapsburg family, it would be great to pinpoint a single cause. It were a single cause, which it isn't, wouldn't it also be nice that we could find that it was the most notorious leader of the early to mid 20th century?

As to why FDR would be blamed alone, I would think that a four-term president would have much to do with US foreign policy, even though he was laissez-faire during his last term. It's not the immediate turmoil of 1939 that caused the war; it is almost always a culmination of economic, political and social paradigms which have built and coalesced for decades, if not centuries, before everything comes to a head and boils over. Hitler said a great many things. There was a puppet master though and I will leave it to you to look into it further. The fact is... we did benefit greatly from the war and suffered greatly. Wouldn't it be terrible to believe that a man of great evil could be thanked for bringing the US and most of the industrial world out of a stagnate and depressing economical era? The argument could be made. I, for one, sicken at the thought. FDR, along with his supporting staff and the nations top economists came up with a New Deal to bring the US out of this depression. Wouldn't it be terrible to think of one of our nation's most influential presidents as a person that by changing the affect of trade and the valuation of the US dollar, caused the rest of industrial society to question their boundaries and their own stakehold in the world's minerals and materials?

Your answer is that many could believe that FDR had a hand in WW2, however indirect and unfairly singular it may be, and be partially right.

Answer 5

FDR did NOT start WW2 and I'm not sure any educated person would make that claim...

Americ IS however indirectly responsible for WW2....the average person does not realize this but a well studied scholar would agree.....


....long story short (in simple terms, although I could go deeper into the subject if anyone cares):

America should have never gotten involved in World War One. The war was at a stalemate prior to Americas involvment and records show that both England and the Kaiser were on the verge of a cease fire. Enter the United States. Eventually Germany was defeated, the Kaiser was exiled, which paved the way for extremists in the Nazi party to gain power. If the Kaiser was never exiled there would have been no Hitler. There would have been no holocaust. And there would have been no World War 2.

Answer 6

Hitler is 100% to blame for WWII

HOWEVER...it is the economic conditions in Germany that allowed a radical nationalist like him to take power. Those condtions are directly attributable to the way WW I concluded.

Gavrilo Princip who triggered WW I by killing Arch Duke Ferdinand can take the credit for WW I and perhaps therefore WW II.

However the retribution taken on Germany by the allies was also to blame. I believe Wilson was president then but FDR was very active too. He played an important role in post WW I Germany.

If you look up more information on this you might find out if he was responsible for the bleeding of Germany that took place by the alllies. (I am not sure)

However whether he did or not I don't think you could blame him for the rise of Hitler and subsequent events. Hindsight is always 20/20 right ?

By the way, why are people refering to Pearl Harbor ?
That was not the start of WW II.

Lastly....in the further chain of events WW II lead to the creation of the state of Israel which in turn led in great part to the creation of modern radical Islam.

So Islamic terrorism , the destruction of the WTC and the wars in Iraq and Afghanstan are also at the door of the way in which we treated our enemies after WW I and Gavrilo Princip.

Answer 7

Lots of intersting stuff out there about WWII if you take the time to research. FDR didn't start WWII but he is responsible for getting us involved in it. The American people wanted no part of another European war in the 30's and yet FDR wanted us in it to help the Brits. He knowingly caused the Japanese to attack us and he knowingly allowed the ships in Pearl Harbor to be docked in such a way that they'd be sitting ducks for bombers. After the attack it was easy to lead this country into war.

Another interesting fact is how people if the Government of Mexico conspired with the Nazi's again't America.

Yet another fact is the agreement between Germany and Japan to divide up the United States after they defeated us.

Answer 8

the reasons for pearl harbour are as follows

1. as you say the usa said they would put an oil embargo on japan and also, more importantly, persuaded other countries to place an oil embargo on the japs.

2. the usa was supplying chinese nationalist forces (fighting japan) with weaponary

3. the us navy fleet was re-stationed from oakland in california to pearl harbour move of 3,000 km and within reach of japenese waters

4. germany had given japan an agreement for mutual protection in the event of america declaring war on japan

5. if a succesful attack was launced it would take america years to re-build thus giving japan a huge advantage in the pacific.


but to say that fdr started the war is foolery. fdr was planning or rather making sure america was on a war footing if dragged into war. this provoked japan but he did not start it the decision to surprise attack pearl harbour was taken by the emperial japenese high command.

this tactic was carried out by general nammamoto who undertook the mission against his best judgement 'with this attack we have awoken a sleeping giant' are his famous words after launching the attack. the general studied naval tactics in america and was aware that the american production capacity was far beyond that of the japenese empire.

some historian even argue that the japs tricked the germans into signing a mutual protection pact knowing that they would attack pearl harbour and thus create a two front war against the us

Answer 9

Prior to a Declaration of War, the US did supply adviser's and equipment to England. Because of the size and the Naval strength of the US military, coupled with industrial power,the US was a threat to the Axis powers. The Axis Powers in an attempt to prevent the US from entering the war, planned and executed the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Yamamoto was against this, but did as he was ordered. Not by the exact words, he knew an attack would awake the sleeping giant.

Answer 10

Im not sure what FDR is but the allied nations are not completly devoid of blame as they imposed crippling financial penaltys on germany after ww1 paving the way for a maniacle despot like hitler to take power.america did not win ww1 they simpley helped when it was nearly over.