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Germany DOESN'T declare war on US in 1941
Topic Started: Mar 14 2013, 10:05 PM (222 Views)
John
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Suppose:

Germany doesn't declare war on the United States after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.



Would the US have joined the war in Europe? What would have happened if they didn't?

What would the Pacific War have looked like if the US concentrated all its might against Japan; Post-war Pacific? Might it have had implications on the Chinese Civil War? Korea? Etc.?
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Basil Fawlty
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Post Tenebras Lux
The short answer would be: not much difference.

There is a discussion somewhere around here about the book Hitler Attacks Pearl Harbor, which purports to show how public opinion toward Germany changed in the lead-up and aftermath to December 7. One of the polls I recall from it said that 90% of respondents favored an immediate declaration of war on Germany, and there was some popular confusion as to why FDR didn't ask for one along with Japan. The answer was that Washington already had indications the German declaration was coming, and decided to wait so that the last isolationist holdouts would be convinced.

In its absence, there would have been slightly higher dissent but probably not an avoidance of war with Germany.
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JBK
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Also remember that Germany and the USA were already at war in the Atlantic even though it was undecleared.
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Vonar Roberts
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Yeah, Germany and the U.S were basically at war in the Atlantic so I don't think a non-Nazi dow would change anything. FDR would just increase aid to England, and use the next American warship sunk by U-boats as a excuse to DOW Germany
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Simon Darkshade
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Nefarious Swashbuckler
It would have only taken a month or so for a DoW on Germany to follow at the latest in my view.
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Basil Fawlty
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Post Tenebras Lux
I remember seeing an interview with either Andy Rooney or Walter Cronkite, who said that well into the war he didn't think America had any business fighting in Europe because it was Japan who'd attacked us, not Germany. His opinion changed after the concentration camps became public. It shows you that that attitude still existed in some circles, but did not affect the war effort.
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