ABSTRACT

The guarantee that the Western Allies would not negotiate a separate peace or armistice with the Axis excluding the Soviets, or make any agreement that allowed enemy governments to remain intact after hostilities, was explicit. In addition, Roosevelt wanted Germany to know that its final defeat would be an undeniable fact, unlike in World War I where an armistice was negotiated only to have the Germans later claim they were not militarily defeated but were “stabbed in the back” (q.v.) by defeatists and treasonous politicians. A final reason was Roosevelt’s personal moral outrage about Axis atrocities and his refusal to deal with those he con­ sidered ruthless war criminals.