Watch President Roosevelt outline his Four Freedoms and learn how Britain defeated Germany's Luftwaffe
The Royal Air Force fending off German bombers during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Maximilien Robespierre was a radical democrat and key figure in the French Revolution of 1789.
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Auckland Museum; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.Learn about the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and its aftereffects.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.It's no wonder that the man called the Little Corporal has captivated the public for 200 years.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Still with the hope of not directly engaging in the war, the United States provided defense materials and other support systems for the Allied forces at the dawn of the 1940s.
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NASA/Dryden Research Aircraft Movie CollectionU.S. Air Force SR-71 Blackbird taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, c. 1991. The Blackbird was once the world's fastest and highest-flying aircraft.
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Learn about the Potsdam Conference, attended by Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin, to decide the future of Germany and Europe after World War II.
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World War I is remembered for its terrible combination of technological ingenuity and strategic indecisiveness. The growth of army sizes, and the introduction of new weapons like long-range heavy artillery and chemical gas, turned combat into mechanized carnage on an unprecedented scale. It also made it more essential than ever for armies to gather information about enemy troops and weapons. Stationary balloons were used for observation and artillery spotting as early as the American Civil War but found widespread use in World War I. This video shows the view from a balloon over the Western Front.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: In a speech to Congress in January, 1941, Roosevelt issued a ringing declaration of hope to the conquered peoples of the world. In this he named the "four essential human freedoms."
[Music in]
. . . freedom of speech and expression; freedom of every person to worship God in his own way; freedom from want; and freedom from fear. But in that summer of 1940, freedom from fear was only a goal.
[Music out]
Germany's powerful air forces were pounding against the British Isles.
CHURCHILL: We shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our island home, ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny. If necessary for years, if necessary alone.
NARRATOR: This war of bombs and aircraft has come to be called the Battle of Britain. It was the greatest aerial conflict in history. The Royal Air Force of Great Britain turned back the German attacks and with the help of the new miracle of radar, made them too costly to the Luftwaffe.
Without air superiority, Hitler may have felt that he dared not risk an attack across the Channel.
[Music in]
. . . freedom of speech and expression; freedom of every person to worship God in his own way; freedom from want; and freedom from fear. But in that summer of 1940, freedom from fear was only a goal.
[Music out]
Germany's powerful air forces were pounding against the British Isles.
CHURCHILL: We shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our island home, ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny. If necessary for years, if necessary alone.
NARRATOR: This war of bombs and aircraft has come to be called the Battle of Britain. It was the greatest aerial conflict in history. The Royal Air Force of Great Britain turned back the German attacks and with the help of the new miracle of radar, made them too costly to the Luftwaffe.
Without air superiority, Hitler may have felt that he dared not risk an attack across the Channel.
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