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#OTD20 | October 30, 1941

Roosevelt Approves Billion Dollar Lend-Lease Aid to Britain

October 30, 1941: In a decisive move during a time of global turmoil, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approves $1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to help  Britain defend itself against Nazi Germany.

Amidst the backdrop of escalating warfare, the Lend-Lease policy becomes a vital instrument in bolstering Allied defense capabilities against the Axis powers.

With this substantial financial commitment, the United States signals not just its economic support but also its moral and strategic alignment with the Allies, even before entering the war directly.

 By war's end, Lend-Lease to America's allies totals some $50 billion in aid — more than $600 billion in today's dollars.

Viewing Options

The Lend-Lease program and other events leading to the United States' joining the war are chronicled in the program, "World War II: The Road to War," from the series "America in the 20th Century."

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Additional Resources

Access more information from Media Rich Learning and curated off-site sources.

U.S. National Archives

Learn more about the Lend-Lease Act, at the website of the U.S. National Archives.

Radio Free Europe

Read the blog post: "We Would Have Lost': Did U.S. Lend-Lease Aid Tip The Balance In Soviet Fight Against Nazi Germany?" at the website of Radio Free Europe.

U.S. Department of State

Read "Lend-Lease and Military Aid to the Allies in the Early Years of World War II" at the website of the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian.

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