Lease-lend for Dummies

Lease-lend is a phrase that may sound a bit complicated at first, but don't worry, I'm here to break it down for you! So imagine you have a friend who doesn't have a bike, but really needs one to get around. You have an extra bike just sitting in your garage, not being used. Now, instead of selling the bike to your friend or giving it to them, you decide to let them lease it. This means your friend can borrow the bike from you for a certain period of time, but they will have to give it back eventually.

Now, let's think about a larger scale, like countries lending things to each other during a time of war. Back in the day, during World War II, some countries, like the United States, had a lot of resources, like weapons, airplanes, and even food. On the other hand, there were countries, like Great Britain, that were really fighting hard but didn't have as many resources.

So, to help their allies, the United States came up with this idea called lease-lend. It was kind of like sharing or borrowing on a big scale. The United States decided to lend those resources to their allies, like Great Britain, so they could use them in the war effort. Just like when you lent your friend the bike, the idea was that the allies would use the resources, and then give them back when they were done with them.

But wait, there's more! Lease-lend can also mean that instead of lending something and getting it back, one country might give the resources to another country, with the understanding that the receiving country won't have to pay money for it. It's kind of like when you give your friend a small present on their birthday, and they don't have to give you anything in return.

So, to sum it all up, lease-lend means lending or giving resources, like weapons or food, from one country to another during times of war, with the understanding that they will either give it back or not have to pay for it. It's like borrowing or sharing things, but on a really big scale!