Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Charter of August 14, 1941 a joint statement of the then Government of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Great Britain, Winston S. Churchill, were formulated in the common principles of its international policy.

Atlantic Conference

In the wake of the German attack on the Soviet Union, Roosevelt and Churchill met from 9 to August 12, 1941 under the utmost secrecy on the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales in Placentia Bay off Newfoundland. Here they agreed to the Atlantic Charter, which was published on 14 August 1941.

In addition, the conference increased U.S. arms sales to Great Britain and the Soviet Union were agreed and an expansion of the American security zone for these supplies to Iceland. Meetings, which mainly revolved around the situation in China and Spain, did not lead to strategic military decisions.

Content

A total of eight points were detained, including: renunciation of territorial expansion, equal access to world trade and raw materials, renunciation of violence, self -determination of nations, closest economic collaboration between all nations with the aim of achieving better working conditions, economic compensation and the protection of workers, security for the people from tyranny, freedom of the seas, disarmament of nations to ensure a system of lasting security.

Two of the points are directly related to a world organization. The declaration was signed on 24 September 1941 by the Soviet Union and nine governments of occupied Europe, from Belgium, Greece, Yugoslavia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and by representatives of the Free French. The Atlantic Charter became the basic document for the United Nations. She had the goal of a better world order (especially with respect to international law, the independence of nations founding of the state, etc.). A certain amount based on the Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilson plan can not be denied.

Several points of the Charter were disputed between Roosevelt and Churchill. Thus, contrary to point three of the dominance of England in the Commonwealth, which did not provide for a withdrawal of individual states of this composite. Point four was the commercial foreclosure of the British Commonwealth contrary to the outside. Churchill agreed to the Charter but with the restriction that the UK will not allow an application to the Commonwealth. The USSR claimed later, in each individual case, in particular in Poland and the Baltic states to decide whether the Atlantic Charter should be applied to their area of ​​interest.

Point two of the Charter contradicted the ideas of the exile governments of the occupied by troops of the Axis countries, which had their own designs of the future borders of their states after the war. They reported on reservations. The Polish government saw their claims to Danzig, East Prussia and Upper Silesia risk. Yugoslavia was concerned with the border of Italy with regard to Slovenia to revise his favor, and to obtain Trieste. Czech it came to the Sudetenland.

Wording ( German translation )

The Atlantic Charter of August 14, 1941

The President of the United States of America and Prime Minister Churchill, representing His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, consider it as their right, some general principles of the policies of their countries announce principles on their achievement, their hope for a better future of the world reasons.

Adopted by the Inter-Allied Council on September 24, 1941

In its second meeting in St. James's Palace in London on 24 September 1941, the Inter-Allied Council adopted the general principles of the Atlantic Charter with the following resolution ( German translation ):

" The governments of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and representatives of General de Gaulle, the, leader of the Free French ', have taken the statement note that the President of the United States and Prime Minister Churchill have submitted to His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom recently. You hereby consent to the general policy principles which are set out in this declaration, and announced their intention to work best efforts with it, to realize it. "