World War II was fatal to the European colonial empires. European states’ populations were too devastated to consider fighting to keep Asia and Africa subjugated. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were hostile to continuation of European colonies. A reluctant Britain, in return for American support, in 1941 agreed to the Atlantic Charter, a pact recognizing the right of people to choose their own government.The Indian National Congress agreed to support the British war effort in return for a significant share of power in India and a postwar commitment to independence.