America, Hitler and the UN

Dan Plesch is the Director of the center for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of London. His previous books include 'The Beauty Queen s Guide to World Peace'."

'Dan Plesch has done a historically vital job in researching the huge, and virtually unvisited, archives of the wartime United Nations. America, Hitler and the UN for the first time shows the present United Nations in the full context of its wartime parentage. In doing so, it provides an important new dimension both for the world organization's current and ever-growing responsibilities, and for those who are responsible for charting and developing its future.' --Sir Brian Urquhart, former Undersecretary-General of the United Nations; 'The United Nations was not created out of nothing. Before it became an organization, it was the name of the wartime alliance against Nazism and fascism. Dan Plesch performs a great service in reminding us of this early history, and of a time when public opinion in the world's great democracies understood the need for binding global arrangements to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war".' - -Edward Mortimer, formerly Director of Communications in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General; 'The story of the United Nations between its creation as a war-fighting alliance by Roosevelt and Churchill in January 1942 and its establishment as a global peace-keeping organisation at San Francisco three years later has never been fully told; but without it we cannot fully understand either the conduct of the war in its latter stages nor the nature of the imperfect peace that followed. Dan Plesch has now pulled it all together in a lively and provocative study that not only fills this gap but will make us re-examine many currently-held assumptions about the making of the post-war world.' -- Sir Michael Howard; 'Television Histories of World War II have been made obsolete by Dan Plesch's book' - Jerry Kuehl, Associate Producer, 'The World at War'; 'This book should be required reading for the Obama administration and the leaders of other countries as well. It is an historical treasure trove of documents and anecdotes about the origins of the United Nations as a project to win the war and secure the peace.' - Thomas G. Weiss, Presidential Professor of Political Science, The City University of New York; 'This book is the most original and ground breaking reappraisal of the conduct of World War II in 65 years. His thesis that the 'United Nations' (which included Soviet Russia) won the war against Nazi Germany and that subsequent Cold War politics obscured this truth, is meticulously documented and supported. This is a 'must read' for every student of modern and contemporary history, international politics and international relations, and modern international policy makers.' - Chris Bellamy, Professor of Military Science and Doctrine and Head of the Security Studies Institute, Cranfield University; 'There are certainly many lessons in this book that statesmen and leaders in defence, security and international economics would do well take on board today.' - Admiral Lord Boyce, Chief of UK Defence Staff 2001-2003; 'In this book, Dan Plesch opens a long-locked door and shines a piercing searchlight on a past which has great impact on the present - the virtually unknown origins of the UN in the dark days of World War II. A genuine revelation which he puts into its challenging and troubled modern context'. - Jonathan Dimbleby; 'Dan Plesch's important research introduces an important new paradigm in International Criminal Law in a most positive manner. It introduces the restoration of the large body of precedents and practice established by states through the United Nations War Crimes Commission during and after the Second World War. The entire archive should now be made readily accessible.' - Richard Goldstone

• ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgements List of TablesList of MapsList of PhotographsMajor participantsChronologyIntroductionChapter 1: America before Pearl Harbour: ostrich or owl?Chapter 2: America goes to war: the creation of the United NationsChapter 3: Weapons for the Allies: Motown goes to StalingradChapter 4 Keeping the Allies together: Casablanca & TehranChapter 5: Justice for War Crimes: Auschwitz and NuremburgChapter 6: Post-war Relief & Reconstruction: UNRRAChapter 7: Money & Trade: Bretton Woods and Havana, prosperity for all?Chapter 8: Security: Dumbarton Oaks, Yalta and San FranciscoChapter 9: Templates for 21st Century Peace and SecurityAPPENDIX I Foreign Office Document June 1942. What is meant by the term “United Nations” and how does it differ from the term “Allied Nations.”Appendix II The surrender of enemy states to the United NationsBibliography