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Question: Benito is sent on a foreign assignment to London. On his return, he is rewarded with a flatter a meeting with executives to discuss opportunities for using what he learned in key assignm described as a form of his experiences in the company newsletter recognition of Benito's service can be best

The recognition of Benito's service can be best expressed through a formal recognition program with...

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• FOREIGN INCOME & TAXPAYERS

Tax Planning Insights for Foreign Work Assignments

• International Tax
• Individual Income Taxation

In today's global economy, U.S. employers are sending workers abroad in increasing numbers. These workers commonly are referred to as expatriates or assignees. It is a trend that helps spread technical expertise throughout an organization, while simultaneously inspiring creativity and innovation. With proper planning, the transition abroad can be beneficial to both the employer and the assignee. Without proper planning, it can be a disaster. Though not a complete road map, the following is a basic overview of what one would want to know when advising clients prior to foreign work assignments.

An understanding of how expatriates, or expats, are taxed is necessary before one can properly plan for an assignment abroad. In short, U.S. citizens are taxed on their worldwide income by the United States, regardless of their residency or the income's source. This means that a U.S. employee's income could potentially be subject to double taxation, in both foreign and U.S. jurisdictions. It seems a bit unfair, right? Well, fortunately, the U.S. government is not completely heartless. Relief is available in many cases. For foreign earned income, an expat can claim either a Sec. 901 foreign tax credit, an itemized deduction for foreign taxes paid, or a Sec. 911 exclusion.

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

A U.S. taxpayer may exclude up to $100,800 of foreign earned income in 2015 (adjusted for inflation annually) as well as a housing allowance if he or she maintains a tax home in a foreign country and qualifies via either (1) a bona fide residencetest or (2) a foreign physical presencetest (Secs. 911(a) and (b)(2)). 

• Bona fide residence test: A taxpayer who is a citizen of the United States satisfies this test if the taxpayer establishes to the IRS's satisfaction that he or she was a bona fide resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year. Temporary visits to the United States or elsewhere for vacation or business do not necessarily prevent a taxpayer from establishing a bona fide foreign residence for a continuous period. The expat cannot qualify under this test if he or she submits a statement to the foreign country stating that he or she is not a resident of that country and is held by that country to not be subject to income tax in that country (Secs. 911(d)(5)(A) and (B)).
• Foreign physical presence test: A taxpayer that is a citizen or resident of the United States meets this test if he or she is present in one or more foreign countries (not the United States) during at least 330 "full" days in any given 12-month period (Sec. 911(d)(1)). These days need not be consecutive, which allows for potential partial exclusions when assignments begin in the middle of the calendar year. Also, notice that not all time needs to be spent in the country in which the taxpayer is claiming to have a tax home and not all time needs to be spent doing business. Personal and vacation time count. This test does not require that the taxpayer's income be subject to foreign income tax. Good records substantiating time spent outside the United States are a necessity, however.

If claiming the exclusion, the taxpayer will need to file Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income . U.S. citizens living abroad are allowed an automatic two-month extension until June 15 to file their individual tax returns. This extra time may be needed to properly substantiate certain claims for relief mentioned above. If needed, a U.S. citizen living abroad may apply for an additional extension.

Foreign Tax Credit

U.S. citizens are entitled to a foreign tax credit for income taxes paid or accrued to a foreign country. Though it sounds simple enough, this calculation can be complex in certain situations. Sec. 904 limits the credit by the amount of U.S. tax that is levied on the same amount of income. Sec. 901(j) can cause the credit to be denied entirely if the income earned is from a country whose government the United States (1) does not formally recognize; (2) has severed diplomatic relations with; (3) has not severed diplomatic relations with but with which it does not conduct relations; or (4) has designated as repeatedly supporting acts of international terrorism. Any excess foreign taxes not credited in the current year can be carried back one year and forward 10 years (or just forward 10, if elected) per Sec. 904(c).

Previously, if these tax credit amounts were unused, they could be converted into a deduction in the 10th year. The IRS recently changed its position regarding the 10th-year deduction, so CPAs can no longer rely on the safety net of converting a credit to a deduction in the final year (see Ward, "Foreign Tax Credit: When Is It Too Late to Change Your Mind?" 46 The Tax Adviser 662 (September 2015), where the author writes, "As evidenced by the recent reliance on this position in CCA 201330031 and CCA 201517005, it appears the IRS is holding firm in denying the 10-year period of limitation to taxpayers amending to change elections to claim credits for foreign taxes to elections to claim deductions."). Basically, if a taxpayer can reasonably predict that the expat will be in an excess credit position, the deduction might be the better way to go from the beginning. Foreign tax deductions can still be turned into foreign tax credits, but not the other way around.

It is also worth mentioning that U.S. individuals cannot claim a foreign tax credit for otherwise creditable foreign taxes attributable to income that they elect to exclude from gross income as foreign earned income (Sec. 911(d)(6)). In other words, a taxpayer can get either the exclusion or the credit, but not both. In practice, both are often calculated to see which provides the higher tax benefit for the particular situation.

It sounds simple enough, but it is hardly ever that simple.

A number of things might occur. One aspect that often is not considered is how the taxpayer's home state treats his or her assignment abroad. Practitioners should determine to what extent the relevant state law considers a taxpayer stationed abroad to still be a state resident and subject to state income tax. Most states do not follow federal law in terms of double-taxation relief, i.e., foreign tax credit or exclusion. The state might offer some sort of relief, however, but sometimes it is not much. For example, an Oregon resident is allowed to take a foreign tax deduction up to $3,000, but it phases out at higher income levels. On the other hand, Oregon nonresidents may exclude the foreign earned income.

Depending on the company policy (discussed later), sometimes the employer or the foreign company "gross-up" payments and pay the foreign tax on the expat's behalf. These gross-ups are income to the employee, which can increase the amount of taxes owed in the United States and the home state, making any withholding on the U.S. side insufficient, ultimately causing the employee to fork over some extra cash unexpectedly at the filing deadline. Remember that the entire tax liability is due at the original filing deadline for the return, April 15, not the extended date of June 15. In addition to taxes paid on the assignee's behalf, other items must be considered as well. Compensation packages for foreign assignments often have many additional allowances or income items.

The tax rate in the foreign country compared with the U.S. tax rate also makes a difference. For instance, a higher foreign tax rate means that it costs the employee more to work in the foreign jurisdiction, which is a benefit to the employer. Conversely, if the foreign tax rates are lower, the employee receives a benefit. Basically, the arrangement is not always considered fair.

Structure of the Foreign Assignment

Because of all the possibilities that can occur as a result of an expat's foreign assignment, it is imperative that planning occur well before the assignment begins. A few things should happen.

First, the employer should work with a service provider to develop an expatriate employee policy, often referred to as a global policy. This policy may touch on a variety of items, including, but not limited to, automobile policies, cultural orientation programs, pet policies, emergency and security planning, and, of course, the payment for and preparation of foreign, federal, and state taxes.

As mentioned previously, there is often a disparity between an assignee's U.S. tax liability and foreign tax liability. Employers can choose to handle this disparity in one of three ways:

1. Equalization,

2. Protection, or

3. Laissez-faire.

Equalization: If a company decides to enact an equalization policy, both the employer and the employee are no better or no worse for having participated in the overseas assignment. In other words, the policy is tax-neutral.

If a "hypothetical tax" exceeds the actual tax as filed on the assignee's U.S. tax returns, the assignee would owe the employer the difference. If the actual tax exceeds the hypothetical tax, the employer would reimburse the assignee for the difference.

The mechanics work as follows: After the tax return is filed, the hypothetical tax is figured considering only income and deduction items that the assignee would have incurred had he or she stayed in the United States. The hypothetical tax is then compared with the actual tax liability per the tax return plus any hypothetical withholding. Hypothetical withholding is withholding in addition to regular withholding that the employer holds on to so that in the event that the hypothetical liability exceeds the actual liability, the assignee does not have to settle the entire liability.

Some common questions should be kept in mind when reviewing an equalization policy. How are state taxes handled? If an assignee decides to sell his or her home as a result of the foreign assignment, is this factored in? Is all of the income equalized? Or is it just the employment income?

Protection: If a company enacts a tax-protection policy, the employer makes certain the employee bears no adverse effects from the foreign tax assignment.

When the hypothetical tax exceeds the actual tax, the employee retains the benefit and is not required to reimburse the employer the difference; when the actual tax exceeds the hypothetical tax, the employer will reimburse the assignee.

The actual calculation of tax under a tax-protection policy is a bit simpler in that there generally is no hypothetical withholding. All taxes are paid directly by the assignee. The employer will square up later.

Laissez - faire : This policy is just as it sounds—let the cards lie where they fall. A lot of smaller companies will typically go this route. Implementation of both equalization and protection policies can be time-consuming and expensive.

Structuring a Compensation Package

After the employer settles on a global policy, both the employer and the prospective assignee should sit down with the service provider to structure a compensation package that is both tax-efficient and fair. At this time, the employer and the service provider should explain to the assignee how he or she will be taxed and what to expect as far as services are concerned. These packages are generally much more complex than regular domestic compensation and usually cost employers two to three times more. They usually consist of a base salary and various other allowances, depending on the location of the foreign assignment.

The more common allowances are cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), housing allowances, and moving allowances.

The COLA allows an expat to live off the same level of income that he or she would have had in the United States. The adjustment is calculated based on the employee's spendable income multiplied by a cost-of-living index. This income is taxable to the assignee.

Housing can be tricky. If the employee receives a cash allowance, it is generally taxable. Generally, the allowance is calculated by subtracting the amount of home country housing costs from the amount it would cost the expat in the foreign country. Sometimes expats are required to live on the employer's property as an unavoidable working condition. When this is the case, the housing is considered a tax-free fringe benefit.

Most of the time, employers will cover an assignee's moving expenses. This either comes in the form of an allowance or reimbursement upon submittal of expenses. This benefit is also taxable.

The benefits received vary by country. Special attention should be paid to the following countries: Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Yemen. These countries are specifically listed as boycott countries by Treasury under Sec. 999(a)(3). If an expat takes an assignment in one of these countries, he or she will have to file a Form 5713, International Boycott Report .

Lastly, although this topic probably deserves its own article, prior to the assignment, the company should make sure that it has a solid payroll strategy in place. For less-sophisticated organizations with limited personnel, hiring an outside payroll professional is recommended. Larger companies with a strong internal foreign tax department may be able to handle the payroll function internally. Consultation with a professional is needed in either case.

Planning for foreign work assignments can be time-consuming and requires expert knowledge, but it is necessary to ensure all the relevant tax issues are considered in advance. Only then can both the employer and the expat benefit fully from the experience.

Editor Notes

Michael Koppel is with Gray, Gray & Gray LLP in Canton, Mass.

Unless otherwise noted, contributors are members of or associated with CPAmerica International.

Recent developments in Sec. 355 spinoffs

The research credit: documenting qualified services, income tax treatment of loyalty point programs, tax court rules cancellation of debt is part of gain realization, listing of reportable transactions under the apa.

This article discusses the history of the deduction of business meal expenses and the new rules under the TCJA and the regulations and provides a framework for documenting and substantiating the deduction.

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

CPAs assess how their return preparation products performed.

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5 Tips for Managing Successful Overseas Assignments

• Andy Molinsky
• Melissa Hahn

Stay in constant touch and have a plan for their return.

Sending talented employees overseas can be a promising way to leverage the benefits of a global economy. But expatriate assignments can be extremely expensive: up to three times the cost of a person’s typical annual salary, according to some statistics. And despite the investment, many organizations lack the know-how for optimizing the potential benefits, leaving them disappointed with the results. The unfortunate reality is that even companies providing well-crafted relocation packages (including the all-important cultural training) may not have the talent management mechanisms in place to truly leverage the valuable skills expatriate employees gain during their assignments.

• Andy Molinsky is a professor of Organizational Behavior and International Management at Brandeis University and the author of Global Dexterity , Reach , and Forging Bonds in a Global Workforce . Connect with him on LinkedIn and download his free e-booklet of 7 myths about working effectively across cultures .
• Melissa Hahn teaches intercultural communication at American University’s School of International Service. Her new book, Forging Bonds in a Global Workforce (McGraw Hill), helps global professionals build effective relationships across cultures.

Partner Center

United States: Expat Playbook: Best Practices For Sending Employees Abroad

Introduction.

Deploying and maintaining talent around the world is a critical priority for multinational companies. Driven by globalization, global mobility is an increasingly important component of maintaining market competitiveness, whether for expanding to a new country, sourcing the right talent or ensuring workforce diversity.

There are myriad reasons why companies choose to send employees overseas on assignment, but employers typically must navigate a common set of challenges with regard to properly managing their expats. Make no mistake: The stakes are high. Employing an expat typically costs two or even three times more than the simple cost of the individual's home-country salary. Moreover, expat assignments can and do fail, and improper immigration or tax compliance management can lead to serious legal trouble for the employer and/or the employee.

This playbook addresses the most common challenges faced by multinational companies sending employees abroad. Effectively managing a mobile global workforce is highly complex, touching on everything from immigration to taxes, insurance to talent development. Drawing on our vast experience supporting clients that send employees abroad, we have created this document as a roadmap of important questions organizations should answer and sensitivities they should be aware of to successfully deploy a workforce to foreign countries.

The playbook is organized according to four important themes. Though it would be impossible to give a full, technical account of each, we highlight those issues relevant to most organizations and suggest best practices where appropriate. The four themes are:

• Immigration
• Tax and Payroll
• Compensation
• Other Considerations

For the purposes of this document, an expat is an employee who is sent abroad by his or her employer on a foreign assignment for an extended period of time.

The expat's length of stay in the host country is often a critical determinant of his or her immigration status, compensation, taxes and treatment under company policy, among other factors. Thus, the most salient organizing principle for expat assignments is determined by assignment length. Here are five common types of expat assignments.

• Business visitor assignments: Typically last less than six months and can often be treated as a regular business trip, with reduced consideration for issues such as immigration and taxation (although the details of each assignment, including country requirements, must be reviewed).
• Commuter assignments: Frequently crossing jurisdictions (e.g., between the United States and Canada); how these expats are managed will largely be determined by the amount of time they spend in the host country and the activities being performed.
• Short- and medium-term assignments: Last anywhere from six months to two years and will require full consideration of immigration, taxation and other issues.
• Long-term assignments: Usually last more than two years and require full consideration of immigration, taxation and other issues.
• Permanent assignments: These are "one way" relocations, and the expat is expected to remain in the host country permanently or for the foreseeable future. Often the expat's employment contract and compensation treatment will be structured like those of locally hired employees, but with some additional payments to cover the initial relocation.

Understanding the composition of your expatriate workforce and adopting policies to manage them effectively begins by ensuring you understand how long each employee plans to be or has been outside the home country and where each employee has been or will be located. A common theme throughout this

playbook is the importance of developing expat policies that are appropriate to different types of assignments and implementing a system to administer and track expats. Taking these steps will help ensure that you are being consistent in your treatment of each employee, aware of and proactively addressing key questions that may arise from employees and other company stakeholders, and properly managing expatriates according to home- and host-country obligations to avoid costly errors.

It is advisable, then, that employers adopt and adhere to a comprehensive global mobility policy. The policy should address the key considerations discussed throughout this document, including incentives for accepting a foreign role, logistical support, local housing allowances, family support and tax considerations, among many others. Adopting and adhering to a well-structured policy with clear guidelines will help provide for a consistent and transparent approach across a potentially diverse expat population, removing uncertainty and reassuring your employees that you are in control.

To read the full article click here

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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Purdue OWL® Exercises Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Exercise : Subject and Verb Agreement Exercise

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Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.

1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.

2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.

5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.

6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.

7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.

11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.

12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.

13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.

14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?

15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite subject.

16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.

17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?

18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.

19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left!

20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.

21. The committee members (leads, lead) very different lives in private.

22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press cordially.

23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus convallis sem tellus, vitae egestas felis vestibule ut.

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Structuring Expatriate Assignments and the Value of Secondment

Multinational employers needing to post staff overseas can struggle to structure an expatriate assignment to meet business needs and legal mandates.

Although there are several viable expatriate assignment structures, "they are not interchangeable," cautioned Donald C. Dowling, Jr., an attorney with Littler in New York City.

Essentially, all expatriates fit into one of four categories, according to Dowling:

• Foreign correspondent.  An expatriate remains employed and paid by the home country employer entity while working abroad. The place of employment shifts to the host country, but there is no local host country employer entity and, thus, no in-country visa sponsor. This structure violates payroll laws in many countries.
• Secondment. An expatriate remains an employee of the home country employer entity but is assigned to render services to a host country entity, usually the employer's affiliate or business partner. The place of employment shifts to the host country. The home or host country entity—or both—may pay the expat, or the home country entity may pay the worker and the host country entity may issue a "shadow payroll," reporting the expat's income to authorities to comply with local laws. Then, the host country would reconcile the amount paid each payroll period with the home country employer.
• Temporary transferee or localized expatriate. An expatriate transferee resigns from the home country employer, moves overseas, and then is hired and paid by a new host country employer, which is often an affiliate of the initial employer but may be a third-party employer.
• Joint employee. An expat is simultaneously employed by the home and host country employer entities, or actively works for the host country employer entity with the home country employment agreement suspended or "hibernating." The place of employment usually shifts to the host country. The host country employer can sponsor a visa.

[SHRM members-only toolkit:  Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline ]

Advantages of Secondment as Expatriate Strategy

Secondment is popular among Fortune 500 firms, as it often fits their business needs, Dowling explained. It allows them to "lend out" an employee to work in a foreign affiliate or subsidiary and still maintain the expat as an employee of the home country employer entity.

"A seconded employee is generally asked to handle a project-critical assignment in another country with the added benefit of maintaining home country salary and employment benefits, plus coverage of most or all local country costs," noted Courtney Noce, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig in Atlanta.

Ciara Muldowney, an attorney with Lewis Silkin in London, observed that in addition to providing employees with an opportunity to gain new skills and experiences, "secondments enable employers to move individuals around the business to use skills where they are needed, and to build relationships and networks by deploying employees to other organizations."

The secondment structure offers advantages, such as allowing an expatriate to continue participating in a company's 401(k), pension, and health benefit plans, as well as in the social security program, Dowling noted, although there are inevitably payroll complications to address.

Maintaining the expatriate as an employee of the home country entity—assuming it is a U.S.-based company—is also advantageous to the employer, as U.S. employment-at-will rules generally favor the employer. Nonetheless, a choice-of-law clause in an employment contract doesn't usually block more-favorable host country employment rights, Dowling said.

Structuring Secondment Agreements

Employers must exercise care to protect their interests in structuring a secondment. Muldowney said employers should document the secondment arrangement and have two secondment agreements in place: one between the host organization and the home country employer, and the other between the home country employer and the worker. The agreements should state that there is no direct relationship between the expatriate and the host entity.

"Both agreements should clarify the scope and duration of the secondment and the secondee's duties and responsibilities," Muldowney said. Both the home country employer and the host country entity will owe duties to the expatriate related to health and safety, and both entities may be liable for any discrimination claims arising during the secondment, she noted, so making a contractual agreement about who will bear any liabilities concerning the worker is appropriate.

"Employers will also need to consider issues in relation to data protection, confidential information and restrictive covenants, intellectual property, immigration, and tax requirements," she advised.

Secondment agreements must be tailored to the employment laws of the host country, Noce cautioned. For this reason, she suggested, have the agreements drawn up by a host country lawyer who specializes in this area.

Further, Noce said, employers "must consider the worst-case scenario—a need to terminate an employee during the expat assignment—and insert the necessary contingency clauses into the agreement to limit liability." 

Sarah Harrop, an attorney with Addleshaw Goddard in London, explained, "It is important to set out how long the secondment is expected to last, what will happen at the end of the secondment, and what happens if the secondment ends early." Further, agreements should specify any additional benefits or payments the expatriate will receive in connection with the secondment.

Because expat packages "often include valuable benefits, such as private-school fees, return flights and accommodation, which would not be available to a local recruit, it is helpful to include in the agreement a date after which the expatriate switches to local terms or returns home," Harrop suggested.

She stressed that agreements should also address the impact of the secondment on an expatriate's terms of employment in the home country. For example, agreements should provide for the treatment of an employee's taxes while overseas. "Employers also need to be aware that employees may have statutory employment rights in their home country and their host country," she said.

Dowling cautioned, "Structure expat arrangements with your eyes open. Choose the best option for your specific business needs among the four choices, and set it up properly."

Rosemarie Lally, J.D., is a freelance legal writer based in Washington, D.C.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War

The London Conference

In the summer of 1933 , 66 nations sent delegates to the London Economic Conference .  The delegates hoped to coordinated an international response to the global depression. They wanted to stabilize currencies and the rates at which they could be exchanged.

President Roosevelt opposed the conference because he did not want any interference with his own plans to fix the American economy.

Without support from the United States, the London Economic Conference fell apart.  The collapse strengthened the global trend towards nationalism, while making international cooperation increasingly difficult.

Freedom for (from?) the Filipinos and Recognition for the Russians

Continuing the nation's isolationist policies, President Roosevelt withdrew from Asia. Congress passed the Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934 , providing independence to the Philippines by 1946. The nation did not want to have to support the Philippines if Japan attacked it.

In 1933 , Roosevelt formally recognized the Soviet Union , opening up trade and fostering a friendship to counter-balance the threat of German power in Europe and Japanese power in Asia.

Becoming a Good Neighbor

FDR started the Good Neighbor policy , in which America would not intervene or interfere with Latin American countries. All marines left Haiti in 1934 . America also released some control over Cuba and Panama.

When the Mexican government seized American oil properties in 1938 , President Roosevelt held to his unarmed intervention policy and a settlement was eventually worked out in 1941 .

Secretary Hull's Reciprocal Trade Agreements

Congress passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act in 1934 , which was designed to lower the tariff. This act allowed the President to lower tariffs with a country if that country also lowered their tariffs. Secretary of State Hull succeeded in negotiating pacts with 21 countries by the end of 1939. 

The trade agreements dramatically increased U.S. foreign trade.  The act paved the way for the American-led free-trade international economic system that took shape after WWII.

Storm-Cellar Isolationism

Following the Great Depression, totalitarianism spread throughout Europe. Joseph Stalin took control of the Communist USSR and killed hundreds of thousands of political opponents. Benito Mussolini took control of Italy in 1922. Adolf Hitler took control of Germany in 1933.  Hitler was the most dangerous of all of the dictators because he had tremendous power and he was impulsive.

In 1936 , Nazi Hitler and Fascist Mussolini allied themselves in the Rome-Berlin Axis .

In 1934, Japan terminated the Washington Naval Treaty and accelerated their construction of large battleships.

Mussolini, seeking power and glory in Africa, attacked Ethiopia in 1935 .

Americans maintained an isolationist attitude because they thought that the oceans that surrounded the country would protect them.

In 1934 , Congress passed the Johnson Debt Default Act , preventing debt-dodging nations from borrowing further from the United States.

Congress Legislates Neutrality

Congress sought to keep America out of war by passing the Neutrality Acts of 1935 , 1936 , and 1937 .  The acts stated that when the president proclaimed the existence of a foreign war, certain restrictions would automatically go into effect. In regards to countries that were involved in a war (victim or aggressor), no American could legally sail on one of their ships, sell or transport munitions to them, or give them loans.

Because America did not help its democratic friends, America actually helped provoke the aggressors (because it did not deter them).

America Dooms Loyalist Spain

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 started when Spanish rebels, led by fascist General Francisco Franco , rose against the left-wing republican government in Madrid. Aided by Mussolini and Hitler, Franco overthrew the Loyalist regime , which was supported by the Soviet Union. This war was a " dress rehearsal " for World War II because it involved many of the same countries.

A small group of American volunteers ( Abraham Lincoln Brigade ) fought for the Loyalists.

The United States wanted to stay out of war, so Congress amended the neutrality legislation to apply an arms embargo to both the Loyalists and rebels.

Appeasing Japan and Germany

In 1937 , the Japanese invaded China .  President Roosevelt refused to call this invasion a "war", so the neutrality legislation did not take effect. If he had called it a war, he would have cut off munition sales to the Chinese. A consequence of this, though, was that the Japanese could still buy war supplies from the United States.

FDR gave his Quarantine Speech in 1937, in which he proposed economic embargos against the aggressive dictators. The public opposed this, so FDR did not follow through with his plan.

In 1937 , Japanese planes sunk an American ship, the Panay . Tokyo quickly apologized and the United States accepted.

In 1935 , Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles when he introduced mandatory military service in Germany.  In 1936, he again violated the treaty when he took over the demilitarized German Rhineland.

In March 1938 , Hitler invaded Austria .  (Note: Austria actually voted for the occupation, fully aware that if it resisted, Germany would forcefully take over Austria.)

At a conference in Munich, Germany in September 1938 , the Western European democracies allowed Germany to keep Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia). They hoped that this would stop Hitler from taking over other countries. It did not.

In March 1939 , Hitler took over all of Czechoslovakia .  (See Austria note.)

Hitler's Belligerency and U.S. Neutrality

On August 23, 1939 , the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression treaty with Hitler.  The Hitler-Stalin pact meant that Germany could make war on Poland and the Western democracies without fear of retaliation from the Soviet Union.

Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 .  Britain and France, honoring their commitments to Poland, declared war on Germany; World War II had started.

Although Americans were strongly anti-Nazi, they wanted to stay out of the war.

Britain and France needed war materials from America, so Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1939 . (The previous Neutrality Acts prohibited trade with them.) This new act let the European democracies buy American war materials as long as they transported the goods on their own ships and paid in cash. This allowed America to avoid loans, war debts, and the sinking of American ships.

The demand for war goods helped end the recession of 1937-1938, and it solved the decade-long unemployment crisis.

The Fall of France

The months after the fall of Poland were known as the " phony war " because France and the U.K. were not really militiarily involved in the war, yet.

The Soviet Union took over Finland despite Congress loaning $30 million to Finland.

The phoney war ended in April-May 1940 when Hitler took over Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium . France fell in June 1940 .

When France surrendered, Americans realized that England was all that stood in the way of Hitler controlling all of Europe. FDR and Congress quickly set out to build large airfleets and a two-ocean navy. On September 6, 1940 , Congress passed a conscription law ; under this measure, America's first peacetime draft was initiated.

At the Havana Conference of 1940 , the United States agreed to protect Latin America from German aggression (extension of the Monroe Doctrine).

Refugees from the Holocaust

On November 9, 1938, mobs of Germans attacked German Jews (Kristallnact, "night of broken glass"). Following these attacks, thousands of Jews were sent to concentration camps.

FDR created the War Refugee Board after learning of the Nazi genocide. It was created to help victims of the Nazis and other Axis powers.

By the war's end, over 6 millions Jews had been murdered in the Holocaust .

Bolstering Britain

After France fell to Germany, Hitler launched air attacks against Britain in August 1940 ( Battle of Britain ). During the Battle of Britain, radio broadcasts brought the drama from London air raids directly into America homes. Sympathy for Britain grew, but it was not yet sufficient to push the United States into war. 

The most powerful group of those who supported aid for Britain was the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies .  Isolationists organized the America First Committee , contending that America should concentrate what strength it had to defend its own shores.

On September 2, 1940 , President Roosevelt transferred 50 destroyers left over from WWI to Britain.  In return, Britain gave to the United States 8 valuable defensive base sites in the Western Hemisphere. This transfer of warships was a flagrant violation of America's neutrality obligations.

Shattering the Two-Term Tradition

The Republicans chose Wendell L. Willkie to run in the election of 1940. The Republicans condemned FDR's alleged dictatorship and they opposed the New Deal's inefficiencies.

Roosevelt decided to run for a 3rd term, arguing that in a time of war, the country needed his experience. At this point, a 2-term presidential limit only existed in tradition.

FDR won the election of 1940 ; voters generally felt that if war came, the experience of FDR was needed.

A Landmark Lend-Lease Law

Fearing the collapse of Britain, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Bill in 1941 , under the pretense of defending America. It allowed America to lease arms to the democracies of the world that needed them. (Europeans didn't have the cash to buy the arms; cash was required by the Neutrality Act of 1939.) When the war was over, the guns and tanks could be returned.  Opponents of the bill, like Senator Taft , criticized it, saying that the arms would be destroyed and unable to be returned after the war. It was pitched as a program that would allow the democracies to win the war and keep it away from America.

The bill marked the abandonment of any pretense of neutrality.

Hitler saw the Lend-Lease Bill as an unofficial declaration of war. Until then, Germany had avoided attacking U.S. ships, but on May 21, 1941 , the Robin Moor , an unarmed American merchantman, was destroyed by a German submarine in the South Atlantic, outside the war zone.

Charting a New World

Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, 2 events marked the course of WWII: the fall of France in June 1940 , and Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 .

Hitler decided to crush the Soviet Union

On June 22, 1941 , Hitler attacked the Soviet Union . He hoped to take the oil and other resources of the Soviet Union and then concentrate on Britain. President Roosevelt sent military supplies to the USSR.

In August 1941 , Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met and came up with the eight-point Atlantic Charter at the Atlantic Conference . It discussed the goals of the war. Among other things, it promised that there would be no territorial changes contrary to the wishes of the inhabitants; it affirmed the right of a people to choose their own form of government; and it declared for disarmament of the aggressors.

U.S. Destroyers and Hitler's U-boats Clash

Because Germany kept sinking arms shipments, FDR decided to have American warships escort supplies to Britain (July 1941).

After a series of American boats were sunk by German U-boats, Congress voted in November 1941 to repeal the Neutrality Act of 1939 . This enabled merchant ships to be legally armed and enter combat zones with munitions for Britain.

Surprise Assault on Pearl Harbor

Since September 1940, Japan had been allied with Germany.

Japan's war effort was dependent on trade with America. In late 1940, though, Washington imposed the first of its trade embargoes on Japan. The U.S. offered to lift the embargo if Japan ended its war with China. Japan did not agree to America's terms, and it continued to fight.

On "Black Sunday" December 7, 1941 , Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor , killing 2,348 people. ( List of those who died ) Most of America's battleships were significantly damaged, but its 3 Pacific-fleet aircraft carriers were spared because they were out of the harbor.

On December 8 , the U.S. declared war on Japan . On December 11, 1941 , Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. The U.S. followed suit by declaring war on them.

America's Transformation from Bystander to Belligerent

Pearl Harbor united Americans in their desire to go to war. Prior to the attack, though, most Americans only supported policies that might lead to war. They did not want Britain to fall to Germany, and they wanted to stop Japan from expanding.

Next Chapter >>

• Department of State

American Foreign Service Association

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• Recalling Dec. 11, 1941: When World War II Truly Began

Join this retired FSO and historian on a journey back to the day when the U.S. entered the Second World War.

BY RAY WALSER

“Excruciating uncertainty.” Such was the troubled state of mind among Embassy Berlin staff, as First Secretary George F. Kennan recalled in his memoirs, in the aftermath of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941. Stationed in the Nazi capital since 1939, Kennan at age 37 was already in his 15th year of diplomatic service. For four days, U.S. Embassy Berlin, occupying the sprawling Blücher Palace, was increasingly isolated: no cables, no telephones; code books and sensitive files burned without clear instruction. “We were,” recalled Kennan, “on our own.”

Shortly after noon on Thursday, Dec. 11, Kennan continued, “the telephone suddenly and mysteriously came alive.” A German official announced dispatch of a car to collect Chargé Leland B. Morris. Once ushered into Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop’s grandiose Wilhelmstrasse office, Morris remained standing while the Nazi’s top diplomat, “striking ferocious attitudes,” delivered a declaration of war, “screaming at him, ‘Your President has wanted this war, now he has it!’” Morris simply requested permission to cable Washington. Having, in diplomatic-speak, been handed his passport, Morris acknowledged the end of America’s diplomatic mission in Nazi Germany. The hostile encounter lasted three minutes.

At 3 p.m., in the Kroll Opera House, Adolf Hitler launched into a 90-minute boastful, meandering tirade to announce war with the United States. Much of the speech was devoted to vilification of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a plutocrat, failed political leader, warmonger, hypocrite, insane individual and pawn of “the eternal Jew,” according to Mark Weber in The Journal of Historical Review . Moreover, Hitler reached an ominous conclusion: Ultimate blame for a world war rested with the Jewish race, and the only answer was their annihilation. In December 1941, contends historian Klaus P. Fischer, Hitler “crossed the line separating a brutal dictator from a mass murderer.”

Was the declaration of war on the U.S. a suicidal and irrational decision? Why wage war on the U.S. with the mass of the Wehrmacht locked in titanic winter combat at the gates of Moscow and in an air and African ground war with Great Britain?

Historians point to Hitler’s belief that the United States was already at war with Germany. Indeed, FDR’s un-neutral neutrality—a “Destroyer for Bases” deal with Britain, Lend Lease, a Western Hemisphere security zone, the Atlantic Charter, “shoot-on sight” orders—were all, in Hitler’s view, warlike acts. Even before Pearl Harbor, the Germans reaffirmed unwavering commitment to the Tripartite Pact binding Germany to Italy and Japan. Although surprised by the attack on Pearl Harbor, according to premier Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw, the Nazi leader exclaimed, “We can’t lose the war at all. We now have an ally which has never been conquered in 3,000 years.” On Dec. 8, he authorized Admiral Erich Raeder’s U-boats to attack U.S. shipping anywhere on the high seas. Undoubtedly Hitler, with his self-proclaimed instinctive genius, was dismissive of U.S. military and industrial capabilities and the tenacity of its leaders and citizens. Now, he embarked on a war he could not win.

In Rome at 2:30 p.m., Benito Mussolini’s Foreign Minister (and son-in-law) Galeazzo Ciano summoned U.S. Chargé George Wadsworth. This “good man, somewhat timid,” confided Ciano to his diary, “thinks I have called him to discuss the arrival of certain newspapermen, but I disillusion him immediately. He listens to the declaration of war, turns pale. Wadsworth’s response: ‘It is very tragic.’”

In a brief speech from the Palazzo Venezia’s balcony, Mussolini denounced FDR as an “authentic and democratic despot” responsible for the outbreak of war with “diabolical pertinacity.” He termed Italy’s alliances the guarantor of victory and the future artificer and organizer of just peace among the people. “Italians … rise to your feet once more,” Il Duce exhorted. “Be worthy of this great hour. We will win.” Ciano recorded sourly: “It was three o’clock in the afternoon, the people were hungry, and the day was quite cold. These are all elements that do not make for enthusiasm.”

On this day, too, a revised version of the September 1940 Tripartite Pact committing the Axis powers to wage war together and pursue victory in order to bring about a “just new order” was signed in Berlin.

Germany’s dashing chargé in Washington, D.C., and loyal Nazi, Hans Thomsen, and an aide arrived at the Department of State at 8:20 a.m., one hour after the Ribbentrop-Morris encounter. His instructions: Deliver the war message to Secretary of State Cordell Hull, then ask for your passport and a repatriation plan.

At about 9:30 a.m., the Secretary brushed past the Nazi envoy. The State Department’s press release reported, “The Secretary, otherwise engaged, directed they [the Germans] be received by the Chief of the European Bureau.” New York Times diplomatic correspondent Bertram Hulen described the atmosphere as “frigid,” but also marked by “a complete absence of excitement or dramatics.”

In December 1941, contends historian Klaus P. Fischer, Hitler “crossed the line separating a brutal dictator from a mass murderer.”

The rebuffed German climbed the stairs to the office of chief of the European Division, Ray Atherton. Upon receiving Thomsen’s message, Atherton made it clear that since 1939, the United States had recognized the threat and purposes of an aggressive Germany “toward the Hemisphere and our free American civilization,” as stated in another State press release.

In an elevator on the way out, press photographers jostled Thomsen, whose comment was captured also by Hulen: “This is not very dignified.” The Germans retreated to their embassy on Massachusetts Avenue to await developments. Soon the Swiss flag was hoisted over it, as it was over the American embassy in Berlin. Swiss diplomats quickly assumed the duty of representing both American and German interests.

At 10:30 a.m., Italian Ambassador Prince Ascanio Colonna visited political adviser James Clement Dunn, only to confess he was without instructions from his government and had called to inquire as to his status. Dunn acknowledged that a state of war existed with Italy. FDR’s press secretary acidly noted that a vainglorious Mussolini was in goose-step fashion reduced to following Hitler’s orders.

By midday, the die was cast. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and his aides hurriedly drafted the text of a presidential message to Congress: “The long known and long expected has thus taken place. The forces endeavoring to enslave the world are moving toward this hemisphere. Never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty and civilization.” Prompt action, President Roosevelt told American lawmakers, promised “a world victory of the forces of justice and of righteousness over the forces of savagery and barbarism.”

Before 3 p.m., without Roosevelt’s appearance, Congress unanimously approved war resolutions. At 3:06 p.m., FDR initialed them. The U.S. was at war with Germany and Italy.

In a single day, a Pacific war became a global war with cascading consequences for grand strategy and statecraft. In the geopolitical game, Hitler’s and Mussolini’s actions further unleashed the fury of American power. Despite the humiliation of Pearl Harbor and daunting Pacific challenges, the bull’s-eye fell squarely on Nazi Germany and occupied Europe as the focal point for U.S. war strategy. With no end other than victory and a Grand Alliance—the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union—taking shape, the fate of the Axis was sealed. On Jan. 1, 1942, 26 nations signed the United Nations Declaration pledging to accept the Atlantic Charter and agreeing not to negotiate a separate peace with any Axis power.

Hitler’s action forced his East European allies—Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania—to follow Berlin.

In Budapest, Premier László Bárdossy summoned Minister Herbert “Bertie” Pell, a U.S. political appointee to Hungary and former minister to Portugal, to announce a rupture in relations. Two days later, on Dec. 13, Hungary fell in line and declared war. (If the name “Pell” sounds familiar, it is because Bertie’s son—Claiborne, future FSO and long-serving chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—enlisted as a seaman in the Coast Guard in August 1941. Correspondence in FDR’s files testifies to an anxious father in faraway Budapest asking high-powered friends, including FDR, to keep an eye on his adventurous son.)

In Bucharest, sadness prevailed. Minister Franklin Mott Gunther, a career FSO since 1908 and former minister to Egypt and Ecuador was stricken with leukemia. Although advised to depart post, he remained. Assigned to Romania since 1937, Gunther distinguished himself through relentless reporting on rampant anti-Semitism, the Isai pogrom and the massacre of Jews. He was among the first at State to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding Romania’s appalling complicity in the ultimate murder of as many as 300,000 Jews. Citing obligations under the Tripartite Pact, an official delivered a note verbale on Dec. 12 announcing a state of war to Chargé James Benton. Less than two weeks later, the 56-year-old Gunther was dead. In the words of the State Department press release: He “sacrificed his life in the course of duty.”

George H. Earle III, minister to Bulgaria, stands out as one of the most intriguing political diplomats of the 1930s. Appointed minister to Austria (1933-1934), Earle left Vienna to run successfully as a New Deal Democrat for the governorship of Pennsylvania. When his term ended in 1939 and a Senate bid failed, the indefatigable Earle jumped back into the diplomatic game.

He attracted international attention in February 1941 when he became embroiled in a diplomatic kerfuffle. With Germans present in a popular restaurant, Earle requested the band play “Tipperary,” a British World War I marching song. Taking offense, a German, presumably a Nazi in mufti, livid with rage threw an empty wine bottle at Earle. “This sudden, vicious, unprovoked attack irritated me considerably,” Earle, a rugged 220-pounder told the press. “So I smashed him in the face, knocking him down, causing his face to bleed.” Shades of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 hit “Casablanca.” Earle would report that from King Boris on down, Bulgarians regretted having war with the U.S. forced upon them.

In a single day, a Pacific war became a global war with cascading consequences for grand strategy and statecraft.

Opéra bouffe? “The United States should pay no attention to any of these declarations … against us by puppet governments,” FDR wrote to Secretary Hull. Reciprocal U.S. declarations of war did not come until June 5, 1942.

On Sunday, Dec. 14, Chargé Morris, First Secretary Kennan and others arrived, luggage in hand, from U.S. Embassy Berlin at Potsdamer Station to board a special train for the spa town of Bad Nauheim. The party of 130—men, women and children, as well as several journalists—would remain in the Jeschke’s Grand Hotel for months under the Gestapo’s watchful eyes. Isolation, boredom and meager diets took a toll. “Particularly disillusioning were the endless complaints about food which I was compelled to receive,” Kennan wrote in his memoirs.

One embassy staff member, Herbert John Burgman, an American-born but locally engaged clerk, failed to appear at the station. He subsequently became an anti-American propagandist/broadcaster for the Nazi regime. In 1949 a U.S. court convicted Burgman of treason, a dubious distinction for a one-time State Department employee.

Invidious comparisons were often made between the spartan conditions at Bad Nauheim and the treatment Thomsen and the German diplomats received while interned at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

American diplomats in Italy experienced a more civilized confinement. Allowed to stay in Rome, each American was shadowed by so-called “guardians” in plain clothes and permitted considerable freedom as long as they followed what Second Secretary Elbridge Durbrow described as the “rules of internment”: no social contact, movies, restaurants, golf or tennis; plenty of walking and sightseeing.

Minister Earle and staff escaped internment in Bulgaria, safely arriving in Istanbul in late December. Hungarians also treated Minister Pell well. After closing the U.S. mission in Hungary, the Pells occupied a suite in the Ritz, vacated temporarily by Pell and his wife when von Ribbentrop descended on Budapest. Following a friendly send-off, Pell’s party reached neutral Portugal in January 1942 after promising not to leave the continent until such time as Hungarian diplomats arrived there from the U.S.

Last to leave were the American diplomat refugees camped at Bad Nauheim. Traveling through Germany, Occupied France, Vichy France and Spain, they did not reach Lisbon until May 16. Kennan confessed in his memoirs that after months on the receiving end of food complaints, as the only American allowed to leave the train at the Portuguese border, he took “final revenge upon my fellow internees by repairing to the station buffet and eating a breakfast of several eggs.” It was hours before the rest of the internees could eat to their fill in friendly Lisbon.

On June 1, for the hundreds aboard the Swedish-flagged liner S.S. Drottningholm , chartered to ferry diplomats and others across the Atlantic, there was no more welcome sight than Lady Liberty and New York’s skyline. In the minds of Minister Pell, Mrs. Gunther, Chargé Morris, First Secretary Kennan and numerous others, it was a bittersweet ending to ordeals begun five months before.

Eighty years later, Dec. 11, 1941, marks a day when the world descended with head-spinning rapidity into total global war. Wrote Secretary Hull: “The voices of diplomacy were now submerged by the roar of the canon.”

War forced upon the State Department and Foreign Service challenges never before experienced and scarcely imagined. They ranged from waging economic warfare, while preserving alliances and hemispheric solidarity, to supporting governments in exile and shaping public opinion while planning for postwar peace. State vied for influence in a time of war, not always with success. Competing agencies proliferated; personnel shortages persisted; and FDR, sometimes known as the Juggler, frequently kept his own counsel.

Nonetheless, for the Foreign Service, staff and families, ahead lay ordeals of separations, perilous journeys and risky assignments. Total global war would continue to test the mettle of State and the Foreign Service until the guns of war fell silent on Sept. 2, 1945.

Ray Walser is a retired FSO (1980-2007), former senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation and currently Professor of Practice, Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Washington Program. He holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Read More...

• “ War Comes to Warsaw: September 1939 ,” by Ray Walser, The Foreign Service Journal , September 2019
• “ The FSO’s in Manila ,” by Cabot Coville, The Foreign Service Journal , June 1942
• “ Interrupting a Declaration of War ,” by William T. Turner, The Foreign Service Journal , November 1950

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Columbia University Libraries

Fascism in germany & italy: primary sources.

• Background/Reference Sources
• Primary Sources
• Citation Management

Historic Newsreels

The Archivio Storico Luce , is an Italian archive of newsreels, photographs, and films put out by the Istituto Luce, a Fascist-sponsored corporation based in Rome, that chronicles life in Italy and the colonies during the ventennio and through the war.

British newsreels focusing on:

• Key events in WWII
• WWII in France
• The Holocaust
• Post-WWII War Crimes Trials

RBML Collections on WWII/Fascism

• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace European Center records, 1910-1954. C orrespondence, memoranda, financial documents, minutes, book and lecture typescripts, printed matter, reports, press releases, news clippings, posters, architectural plans, and photographs document the activities of the New York and Washington Offices of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 1910 until 1954, as well as the founding, administration, and activity of the Centre Europeen (CEIP Paris Office) and the work of the Carnegie Endowment in Europe in 1911-1940.
• Marie Read Smith Papers, 1934-1938 : Marie Read Smith was an avid supporter of Benito Mussolini. Likely affiliated with the women's division of the No Foreign War Committee, she was staunchly opposed to American involvement in World War II. In 1938, she was granted a fellowship by Casa Italiana and Barnard College to study in Italy. While there, she had a brief encounter with Mussolini, which is the subject of the letter in this collection.
• Society for the Prevention of World War III Records, 1945-1972 : Founded at the end of the Second World War, the Society concerned itself with the problems of dealing with post-war Germany. The issues in which it was most interested were de-Nazification and de-industrialization, and many of its records relate to former Nazi leaders or German industrialists who assumed or attempted to assume positions of power after the war.

Records of the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League to Champion Human Rights, 1836-1978 : The Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League to Champion Human Rights (NSANL) was founded in New York City in 1933. Its goal was the coordination of a systematic trade boycott of all German-made goods in an effort to weaken the economy of Nazi Germany. This collection contains extensive correspondence, administrative records, NSANL publications, investigative files, and photographs, as well as a large collection of publications and pamphlets produced by extremist groups and some government and civil rights groups.

Alexander Dallin Papers, 1934-1955 : Almost all the materials concern World War II in the Soviet Union. Materials include reports, two diaries, documents, and printed materials. There are photocopies of reports concerning the German occuation of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, written by German military staff, and a mimeographed research report by Alexander Dallin entitled "Kaminsky: The History of an Experiment (1941-1945)." One diary is by Otto Bräutigam, a German Foreign Ministry official who worked in the Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories; the other diary is by one Linge, apparently a secretary to Hitler, for his diary is a record of Hitler's daily appointments from 1934-1943.

More relevant RBML collections...

Columbia Center for Oral History

The Columbia Center for Oral History (CCOH) was founded by historian and journalist Allan Nevins in 1948 and is credited with launching the establishment of oral history archives internationally. At over 10,000 interviews, the CCOH Archives is one of the largest oral history collections in the United States

Search the Oral History Portal here .

Oral History Collection FAQs.

Columbia Subscription Databases

Conditions & Politics of Occupied W. Europe, 1940-1945

Selected from the PRO Class FO 371 files in the National Archives, London, Conditions and Politics in Occupied Western Europe, 1940-1945 features full-text documents received in the British Foreign Office from all European states under Nazi occupation during World War II. This unique collection includes a range of primary sources related to wartime conditions in France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the Vatican, in addition to those from Spain and Germany itself. Subjects covered include: the German attempt to win over important groups within the territories; the psychological warfare of rival propaganda campaigns; resistance units; and the repercussions of such events as Germany's invasion of Russia.

The Economy & War in the Third Reich, 1933-1944

30,506 digitized pages from German publications of the period that illustrate a number of major topics, including: the importance of German trade with Eastern Europe; effect of new trade treaties with Southeastern European states concluded in 1934 and 1935; Germany's economic offensive beginning in1934; growth of a "command economy" and the requirements of the Rearmament Program; balance of payments problem; and the defeat of "the traditionalists" with the dismissal of Schacht and Neurath and the appointment of Ribbentrop. Sondernachweis der Aussenhandel Deutschlands is particularly important as it provides a thorough breakdown of German foreign trade by commodity, volume and value on a monthly basis. The December issue of each year gives a final listing of annual figures.

Voices from wartime France 1939-1945 : clandestine resistance and Vichy (La France pendant la guerre: résistance et journaux de Vichy

Providing perspectives from both the Vichy government and the resistance movement, this unique collection constitutes the sum of the French press that actually reached Britain during the Occupation of 1940-44. It is the record of what was known by the British about the hearts and minds of the French people throughout the war. Reproductions were made from materials held in the British Library.

Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees: the West's Response to Jewish Emigration

This collection comprises, in its entirety, the Primary Source Media microfilm collection entitled Records of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, 1938-1947. In July 1944, 37 governments participated in the work of the Committee. Of these, representatives of nine countries, including the United States, served on its Executive Committee. The primary responsibility for determining the policy of the United States with regard to the Committee was that of the Department of State. It ceased to exist in 1947, and its functions and records were transferred to the International Refugee Organization of the United Nations.

Japan at war and peace, 1930-1949: U.S. State Department records on the internal affairs of Japan

This collection comprises, in their entirety, the Scholarly Resources microfilm collections entitled Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs, Japan, 1930-1939; Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs, Japan, 1940-1944; and, Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs, Japan, 1945-1949, all reproduced from materials in the U.S. National Archives.

Socialism on Film

This collection of films from the communist world reveals war, history, current affairs, culture and society as seen through the socialist lens. It spans most of the twentieth century and covers countries such as the USSR, Vietnam, China, Korea, much of Eastern Europe, the GDR, Britain and Cuba.

Visual History Archive

Contains nearly 52,000 video testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust taped in 56 countries and in 32 languages between 1994 and 1999. Most testimonies have been indexed for keywords at one-minute segments.

World Council of Churches Online: WWII Era Records

Documents from 1932-1957 include: newspapers, press clippings, press releases, telegrams, correspondence, minutes, manuscripts and personal notes. The collection includes correspondence and personal letters of such notable individuals as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, George Bell, Hans Schönfeld, Karl Barth, James McDonald, Georges Casalis, Adolf Freudenberg, Martin Niemöller, Otto Dibelius, Gerhart Riegner, Marc Boegner, and Willem Adolf Visser 't Hooft.

Free Resources on Germany and Italy

The German Historical Institute has a useful compilation: German History in Documents and Images (GHDI). Some of the collections include:

• Wilhelmine Germany and the First World War (1890-1918)
• Weimar Germany (1918/19-1933)
• Nazi Germany (1933-1945)
• Occupation and the Emergence of Two States (1945-1961)

The U.S. Government Printing Office is also publishing a collection of translations of German documents in the series Documents on German Foreign Policy, 1918-1945.  Documents through 1941 have been translated, and are in the Butler Stacks  at JX691 .A46 .

Also see History of Germany: Primary Documents from EuroDocs and ANNO- AustriaN Newspapers Online as well as German Studies in North America , a GHI-sponsored directory of scholars in the U.S. and Canada whose research touches upon Germany and the German-speaking world.

Calvin College has an extensive Nazi Propaganda Archive (1933-1945) . All of the content is in English, translated from German by Professor Emeritus Randall Bytwerk, including essays, posters, speeches, caricatures, etc.

Italian Life Under Fascism: Selections from the Fry Collection

The Fry Collection at the University of Wisconsin-Madison contains many hundreds of printed items, ranging from single broadsides to large volumes, along with hundreds of linear feet of archival material; many items date from the period 1922-1945.

The Avalon Project at Yale Law School

Features thousands of digitized documents in the fields of law, history, and diplomacy. Many, many items from the 20th century, including an unparalleled collection of WWII materials.

Includes many online resources including the freely available 2-volume Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettoes .

Duke University Special Collections have digitized many items in their ' Early Fascism ' collection.

BYU's EuroDocs repository lists freely available digital collections relating to 20th Century Italy , including newspapers, pamphlets and government documents.

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