America, Hitler and the UN: How the Allies Won World War II and Forged a Peace

On 1 January 1942, Churchill and Roosevelt issued a 'Declaration by United Nations' with 24 other states. This marked the beginning of the UN in a real and tangible form. Yet today many people have forgotten that the UN was forged in the midst of the confusion and complexity of wartime. How did the armies of the United Nations co-operate in the final years of World War II to contain - and ultimately reverse - Nazi expansionism? And when and for what purpose did the UN undertake to tackle the international economic and social challenges, not only of warfare but of a post-war world transformed beyond reconition? Drawing on previously unknown material from the UN archives, Dan Plesch analyses responses at all levels of society, from high level political elites to grass roots level. Arguing that the Allied defeat of Nazism should properly be called a United Nations victory, Dan Plesch has pieced together the full story of how the UN intervened in surprising ways at a pivotal time in European history. America, Hitler and the UN is an important addition to the literature of World War II and essential reading for anyone with an interest in military or diplomatic history or contemporary international relations.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface Acknowledgements List of Tables List of Maps List of Photographs Major participants Chronology Introduction Chapter 1: America before Pearl Harbour: ostrich or owl? Chapter 2: America goes to war: the creation of the United Nations Chapter 3: Weapons for the Allies: Motown goes to Stalingrad Chapter 4 Keeping the Allies together: Casablanca & Tehran Chapter 5: Justice for War Crimes: Auschwitz and Nuremburg Chapter 6: Post-war Relief & Reconstruction: UNRRA Chapter 7: Money & Trade: Bretton Woods and Havana, prosperity for all? Chapter 8: Security: Dumbarton Oaks, Yalta and San Francisco Chapter 9: Templates for 21st Century Peace and Security APPENDIX 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 Nations Bibliography

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

Review :
'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