1941June 24th, Roosevelt made it clear at the press conference: "The United States is prepared to give the Soviet Union all-out assistance as much as possible." However, the Soviet Union suffered repeated wars and defeats in the early stage of the war, which caused a debate on the wisdom of aiding the Soviet Union among American policy makers.
Military experts are generally pessimistic that "Russian troops will fall apart", "Hitler will take Leningrad and Moscow in six weeks" and "the * * * production party government will collapse". They predicted that if the arms were transported to Russia, it would only be wasted. Only joe davis, the former ambassador to the Soviet Union, was optimistic. He told Roosevelt: "The Russians know more about goods than anyone else. They are great fighters and will not be easily defeated. "
The prospect of war is uncertain, and Roosevelt is in a dilemma. He decided to send Hopkins to the Soviet Union to find out. Harry hopkins is lanky and untidy, but he is free and easy and has a sharp mind. At that time, he was in charge of the implementation of the Lending Law and had no clear official position. Since 1940, when Germany attacked western Europe, she has been living in the White House. She has close ties with Roosevelt and is deeply trusted by him.
At this time, the Soviet Union is in a difficult period and is eager for outside assistance. Naturally, they attach great importance to the arrival of this presidential envoy.
On July 27th, Hopkins arrived in Moscow and was immediately received by the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Union. Stalin told Hopkins frankly about his family and told him unreservedly that the number of Soviet troops, tanks, guns and planes far exceeded the estimation of westerners. Stalin said that the Soviet Union could completely hold Moscow and Leningrad, but the Soviet Union was in urgent need of anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft guns, heavy machine guns, rifles and aluminum, especially airplanes, tanks and anti-aircraft guns.
During his visit to the Soviet Union, Hopkins personally visited the front line. He was so impressed by the heroic struggle spirit and winning belief of the Soviet people that whenever military observers in Moscow sent back pessimistic reports, Hopkins showed extreme anger and thought that they could only rely on a distorted guess influenced by prejudice.
Hopkins' visit to the Soviet Union was a turning point in wartime US-Soviet relations and an important event in the establishment of the international anti-fascist alliance. Roosevelt thus obtained a lot of reliable information about the strength and future of the Soviet Union, deepened his understanding of the Soviet Union, and thus strengthened his confidence in helping the Soviet Union. At the end of September, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union held a meeting in Moscow and signed a protocol of $654.38 billion to assist the Soviet Union. Accordingly, the United States and Britain will provide 400 planes, 500 tanks and other arms to the Soviet Union every month.
1 65438+1On October 7, Roosevelt announced that the Soviet Union was the recipient of the Lease Law, and the United States would provide the Soviet Union with an interest-free loan of1billion dollars.