8/12/2023 0 Comments America firstLindbergh's position on American interests in the war effort contrasted with that of President Franklin Roosevelt, and the two men at times seemed to be conducting a debate via radio addresses.Īs these debates continued, public criticism of Lindbergh’s views and of the America First Committee grew. Over the next year he made 13 more speeches for the group, officially joining in Apr 1941. In 1940, Lindbergh spoke to the Yale University student chapter of the America First Committee, a nationwide organization that opposed American intervention in the war. Dorothy Thompson, a journalist and leading opponent of Hitler, attacked Lindbergh in her column, dismissing him as a “pro-Nazi recipient of a German medal.” In his first radio address, Lindbergh warned against becoming “entangled in European alliances.” His speech made headlines, drawing both support and criticism. At the time, more than 80 percent of the American public shared his views, opposing any involvement in the European conflict, which broke into open warfare when Germany invaded Poland on Sep 1, 1939. Upon his return to the United States, Lindbergh began to actively work for the anti-interventionist cause. The Lindberghs decided that the safest place for the family was back in the States, and in April 1939, they returned to New York. Lindbergh remained convinced that Germany would win any coming war based on its superior military strength. ![]() Many saw Lindbergh’s acceptance of the "Nazi medal" as a sign of Lindbergh's sympathies with the Third Reich, and he was vilified in the American press. That evening Goering presented Lindbergh with the Service Cross of the German Eagle for his services to world aviation.Īlthough the medal had previously been presented to other foreign dignitaries visiting Germany - such as Henry Ford and IBM chairman Thomas Watson - the award to Lindbergh came as a surprise to everyone at the event. On Oct 18, 1938, Lindbergh attended a dinner in Berlin with several distinguished guests. Lindbergh made several more visits to German factories and airfields over the next two years. A person would have to be blind not to realize that they have already built up tremendous strength." ![]() With the admiring approval of German Air Minister Hermann Goering, Lindbergh toured combat units, factories, airports, and military bases, including some that had never been seen by an American.Īfter his tours, Lindbergh concluded that Germany was "now able to produce military aircraft faster than any European country possibly even faster than we could in the States. In 1936, at the request of officials at the American Embassy in Berlin, Lindbergh was invited to Germany to help gather intelligence about the Reich's growing military air power. During this time, the Lindberghs spent time studying and writing. In December 1935, he and Anne moved the family to Europe, where they hoped to live more private lives.įor nearly four years they lived in England and France, making only one brief holiday visit to the United States in December 1937. Lindbergh became increasingly unsettled by the public attention surrounding him and his family in the wake of the kidnapping and Hauptmann trial.
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