Question

Which among the following statement(s) is/are true about the circumstances surrounding the Atlantic Charter of 1941?

• A. It was held just two months after the London Declaration in June 1941.
• B. The Axis powers were much in ascendancy and Hitler had established a pact with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
• C. Japan had bombed a US Naval base in Pearl Harbour near Hawaii and US had officially entered the war.
• D. The head of states of major powers the US and Great Britain met in a British Naval ship in the Atlantic Ocean to discuss the way forward.

Answer 1

Answer: (A), (B), (D)

The head of states of major powers the US and Great Britain met in a British Naval ship in the Atlantic Ocean to discuss the way forward.

The Atlantic Charter was not a treaty or a formal expression of peace. It was a joint declaration by the US and Great Britain on 14 August 1941 to set out a vision for the postwar world. It was held in utter secrecy to avoid being targetted by German U-boats. The US had not entered the war yet and only joined the war after the Pearl Harbour bombings on 7 December 1941. By January 1942, a group of 26 Allied nations eventually pledged their support. Among its major points were a nation’s right to choose its government, the easing of trade restrictions and a plea for postwar disarmament. The document is considered one of the first critical steps toward the establishment of the United Nations in 1945.