Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Charter was signed by Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill and the President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt in August 1941 aboard a warship in Placentia Bay off Newfoundland. It established a vision for a post-World War II world, despite the fact the United States had yet to enter the War. The participants hoped in vain that the Soviet Union, since June invaded by her previous ally Nazi-Germany, would sign as well.

In brief, the eight points were:

1. no territorial gains sought by the United States or the United Kingdom,
2. territorial adjustments must conform to the people involved,
3. people have right to choose own government,
4. trade barriers lowered,
5. there must be disarmament,
6. there must be freedom from want and fear,
7. there must be freedom of the seas,
8. there must be an association of nations.

The Axis Powers interpreted this diplomatic agreement as a potential alliance against them. Adolf Hitler saw it as evidence the UK and USA as colluding in an international Jewish conspiracy and agreed to the implementation of the Final Solution before the conclusion of the war in retaliation. In Japan, this agreement rallied support for the militarists in the government who pushed for a more aggressive approach to UK and USA.

On the other hand, this agreement proved to be one of the first steps to the formation of the United Nations.

See also

• Four Freedoms
• Fourteen Points
• Dumbarton Oaks Conference
• Bretton Woods Conference
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization

External links

• The Atlantic Charter (1941)