| dc.description.abstract |
Adolph Hitler, Chancellor of Germany, spent the years 1933-1939
preparing his nation for war, He spent the years 1939-1945 in war; in
the process he caused millions of deaths and destroyed much of European
society. In addition, in defeat he gave the Russians an unparalleled
opportunity to dominate Europe and Asia.
The purpose of this study is to determine editorial opinion on
the coming of World War II as expressed in the area newspaper. The
paper examined was the La Crosse Tribune and Leader Press, edited by
R. L. Bangsberg, with Sunday editorials by M. R. Byers, from October,
1933 to December, 1941.
A reading of this newspaper reveals several tendencies clearly.
The editorials leaned toward a policy of strict isolation from the beginning
of Germany's rearmament, through the Anschluss, the Munich Conference,
the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the attack on Poland, the
Soviet Union's invasion of Finland, and the conquest of Denmark and
Norway. On the occasion of Hitler's invasion and conquest of the
Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg, the editorials softened the voice
of isolation as rumblings for preparedness for war began to appear in them. The battles of France and Britain brought an awareness of the
possibility that the United States might enter the war. The editorial
voice urged and approved the war preparations the selection of a war
cabinet, the destroyer-base exchange, the passage of the first peace
time draft law, President Roosevelt's Four Freedom's speech and the
Lend-Lease Act.
As Hitler won more victories America moved closer to the brink
of war in 1941. After Germany's conquest of Greece and Yugoslavia, the
signing of the Russo-Japanese Neutrality Treaty, the freeze on Axis
funds, the attack on Russia, and the Atlantic meeting of President
Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, the editorials fully recognized
that the United States was on the verge of complete participation in
the war and gave approval. |
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