News from Europe

US Declares Neutrality, New Zealand Shows Loyalty, South African PM Resigns
President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared US neutrality as the European conflict widened, signaling America’s non-belligerent status amid public debates on intervention. New Zealand Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage echoed solidarity with Britain, famously assuring his people, “Where she goes, we go. Where she stands, we stand.”
In South Africa, Prime Minister J.B.M. Hertzog resigned after Parliament refused his call for neutrality, succeeded by Jan Smuts, who favored the Allied cause. These events revealed how global alliances and domestic pressure shaped national responses to war’s outbreak.
Immediate Consequences and Public Mood
In Europe, military operations against Poland continued, with reports of atrocities and rapid advances by German forces. In Britain and France, the populations entered wartime footing, facing censorship, rationing, and rapidly changing social routines. Markets remained volatile, but the overall sense was one of grim resolve and national unity. The full scale of the conflict, and the suffering to come, was yet to be understood.