By: Daniel Nardini
Last Monday, June 6th, was the anniversary of the D-Day Landings. The 66th anniversary of the D-Day Landings at Normandy by U.S. and British and Free French forces against the Germans helped not only open up the second front but eventually defeated Nazi Germany. The sheer industrial might of the United States along with that of Great Britain and the Soviet Union spelled the end for the Third Reich and changed the face of the world forever. Those few who are still alive who took part in the D-Day Landings tell of their fight to secure a beachhead for the Allied forces against overwhelming German firepower to eventually liberate France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
None of this might ever have taken place if Germany did not declare war against the United States. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt only asked for a declaration of war against Japan from the U.S. Congress. Yes, back then presidents had to actually follow the U.S. Constitution which authorized that only the U.S. Congress could declare war. Now here was the quandary. Roosevelt wanted war against Germany as well as Japan. He knew that German dictator Adolf Hitler was as grave a threat as the military in Japan.
But he had no such authorization from the U.S. Congress, and as enraged as most Americans were against Japan this did not include Germany or its ally Italy. And without an authorization from the Congress to fight Germany and Italy Roosevelt could not unilaterally take the war to Europe. There were still many Americans who held isolationist views at the time, and their rage was strictly against Japan and not Germany or Italy. And for Hitler it would have made more sense to not declare against the United States at all no matter what the circumstances.
Germany was already fighting a bitter war against the Soviet Union and still had to contend with Great Britain. To bring in the United States—with so much more productive might being allied against Germany—was tantamount to suicide. And delay would have served Germany instead. If Germany had not declared war then it could have used its reserves in France to deal a crushing blow against the Soviet Union. Then it could have isolated Britain even more. At that time Germany was developing highly sophisticated secret weapons like the V-1 pilot-less plane and the V-2 rocket which the British had no defense against. Roosevelt would have had a very, very difficult time selling the Congress and indeed the American people on attacking Germany and Italy.
But true to form, and in alliance with Japan, Hitler impulsively (which he did a lot in his final years) declared war against the United States on December 11th. He had helped write the script for Roosevelt. By both Germany and Italy declaring war against the United States, it looked like a conspiracy by the allies of Japan to want to attack and destroy the United States. This gave Roosevelt the means to successfully wage a Germany first campaign and then turn all the United States’ attention against Japan. It meant the end of war in Europe and the Pacific, and for the most part the end of fascism in the world (with the exception of Spain). That declaration of war meant the end of Nazi Germany and eventually the birth of a democratic Germany.
What if Germany Did Not Declare War?
By: Daniel Nardini
Last Monday, June 6th, was the anniversary of the D-Day Landings. The 66th anniversary of the D-Day Landings at Normandy by U.S. and British and Free French forces against the Germans helped not only open up the second front but eventually defeated Nazi Germany. The sheer industrial might of the United States along with that of Great Britain and the Soviet Union spelled the end for the Third Reich and changed the face of the world forever. Those few who are still alive who took part in the D-Day Landings tell of their fight to secure a beachhead for the Allied forces against overwhelming German firepower to eventually liberate France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
None of this might ever have taken place if Germany did not declare war against the United States. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt only asked for a declaration of war against Japan from the U.S. Congress. Yes, back then presidents had to actually follow the U.S. Constitution which authorized that only the U.S. Congress could declare war. Now here was the quandary. Roosevelt wanted war against Germany as well as Japan. He knew that German dictator Adolf Hitler was as grave a threat as the military in Japan.
But he had no such authorization from the U.S. Congress, and as enraged as most Americans were against Japan this did not include Germany or its ally Italy. And without an authorization from the Congress to fight Germany and Italy Roosevelt could not unilaterally take the war to Europe. There were still many Americans who held isolationist views at the time, and their rage was strictly against Japan and not Germany or Italy. And for Hitler it would have made more sense to not declare against the United States at all no matter what the circumstances.
Germany was already fighting a bitter war against the Soviet Union and still had to contend with Great Britain. To bring in the United States—with so much more productive might being allied against Germany—was tantamount to suicide. And delay would have served Germany instead. If Germany had not declared war then it could have used its reserves in France to deal a crushing blow against the Soviet Union. Then it could have isolated Britain even more. At that time Germany was developing highly sophisticated secret weapons like the V-1 pilot-less plane and the V-2 rocket which the British had no defense against. Roosevelt would have had a very, very difficult time selling the Congress and indeed the American people on attacking Germany and Italy.
But true to form, and in alliance with Japan, Hitler impulsively (which he did a lot in his final years) declared war against the United States on December 11th. He had helped write the script for Roosevelt. By both Germany and Italy declaring war against the United States, it looked like a conspiracy by the allies of Japan to want to attack and destroy the United States. This gave Roosevelt the means to successfully wage a Germany first campaign and then turn all the United States’ attention against Japan. It meant the end of war in Europe and the Pacific, and for the most part the end of fascism in the world (with the exception of Spain). That declaration of war meant the end of Nazi Germany and eventually the birth of a democratic Germany.