HistoryBuff
I understand that Hitler encouraged the Japanese to attack the USA because Japan being at war with America would possibly reduced the amount of aid that America supplied to the Soviet Union and Britain. I also understand that he thought a war with the US was inevitable because he believed in a conspiracy theory regarding American Jews and American plutocrats conspiring against Germany.
I don’t understand though what exact promises Hitler made to the Japanese. Did he actually promise the Japanese that he would attack America if the Japanese did so first?
Secondary to that question, would Roosevelt have had the political support and the support of the American people to declare war on Germany if Hitler had not declared war on the US?
#Hitlers #promises #Japanese
It was just a matter of time. The US and Germany were effectively at war in the Atlantic anyways. Roosevelt would have kept increasing the escorting of supply ships to the UK until Hitler would be forced to either unleash the U-boats or effectively concede the War in the Atlantic
Hitler didn’t really promise the Japanese anything. The Tripartite pact *was* meant as a deterrent against the US intervening in the wars both Germany and Japan were involved in, but a plan to attack the US wasn’t really part of it. Hitler’s plans for the future, past occupying Eastern Europe and defeating the Soviet Union (and murdering millions of ‘undesirables’), really weren’t all that comprehensive.
Pearl Harbor was as big of a surprise to Germany as it was to the rest of the world. Apart from occasional talks, there was really very little cooperation between Germany/Italy and Japan.
Even stranger, according to the terms of the alliance, Germany wasn’t required to help Japan fight the US, as Japan was the aggressor. Hitler’s decision to declare war on the US is one of the most puzzling events of WW2.
It’s probable that Hitler (justifiably) believed that it was only a matter of time until the Americans would intervene in Europe, and decided to declare war in order to seem in control of the escalating situation (instead of having a war with the US forced on him), and to improve relations with Japan. It’s also possible he still hoped to conclude the war in Europe, and force a peace with Britain while Japan kept the US occupied in the east. He didn’t know the US and Britain had already decided to focus on Germany first.
Interestingly enough, Hitler believed a war with the US to be inevitable. But he also (prior to 1940) believed he could get Britain on his side, and that there would be an eventual confrontation between the US and Britain, with Germany possibly allying with the latter.
>. I also understand that he thought a war with the US was inevitable because he believed in a conspiracy theory regarding American Jews and American plutocrats conspiring against Germany.
That’s not correct. He thought war with the US was inevitable because, it was! Just as an World War 1 the US was producing massive amounts of arms and funding England, and by the time of Pearl Harbor the US was practically at war with Germany already.
Japan didn’t attack the US because of any urging from Hitler. Japan attacked the British, Americans, Dutch and French almost all at the same time. Japan had been in an expansionist war in Asia since before Hitler even came to power. It was a purely opportunistic move.
I understand that the Tripartite pact only said the Axis powers had to help their allies if they were attacked by the Britain or the US, and that therefore under the pact Germany was under no obligation to declare war on the US after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. However, Ribbentrop encouraged Japan to attack and I believe he promised them that Germany would join them in their war on the US. Is this not correct?
I think Hitler declared war on America because he wanted Japan to return the favor and attack the Soviet Union. If that had happened it would have been a very different war. The base of the Soviet resistance came from Far East units. If they were tied down by the Japanese, the Nazi invasion may very well have succeeded.
I’m the OP and I originally posted this question because I was listening to “Hitler’s American Gamble,” which talks about Hitler’s decision to go to war with the US. The author stated that after Pearl Harbor the Japanese were hoping that Hitler would keep his promises to also declare war. I was confused because I hadn’t heard about such a direct promise. I hadn’t been listening to the book carefully enough, which I guess is a problem with how I listen to audiobooks since I’m often doing the laundry or something when I do.
So, I listened to the first few chapters again and yes, Hitler did directly promise the Japanese that he would declare war on the US not only if the Japanese were attacked by the US but also if the Japanese made war with the US. One of those promises was made when he met with the Japanese foreign minister in the Spring of ’41.
The author states that Hitler’s decision was both a calculated gamble and also a manifestation of his world view, one where he saw war with America as inevitable. Although he didn’t hate the US as he did the Soviet Union–due to his racist ideas–he believed that Jewish financers and plutocrats controlled American foreign policy. Although at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack Hitler’s armies were doing very badly (winter of ’41), he still believed that victory was in the bag and that once Germany controlled the food and energy resources of the Soviet Union, he would be able to resist any US and British attacks.
What aid did America supply to the Soviet Union?
America had been business partners with Germany’s war machine for years prior to our engagement with Japan and we had been hell bent on the destruction of the Soviet Union since their revolution in 1917