Agreed.
What was AH THINKING we he declared war on U.S. in December 1941?
At that precise time his overextended armies were freezing to death just outside of Moscow.
Did he think his Luftwaffe was going to be able to pound U.S. cities?
Did he think his U-Boats would be able to penetrate the Great Lakes?
Did he think his Panzer divisions would be able to roll over the fruited plain?
What exactly was AH thinking by declaring war on U.S.?
What was Hitler thinking when he declared war on U.S.? There are many theories, none of which makes Hitler’s decision seem rational. One view is that Hitler felt if he declared war, he could take the U-Boat War to the U.S. and keep us from continuing to supply Britain. (The Germans did take the U-boat war to the U.S. and really raised hell for a time.) Still, it seems to me that Hitler gave Roosevelt the world’s best early Christmas present. If Hitler hadn’t declared war, FDR would have had to find a reason to get us into the war against Germany and sell that reason to the public, whose rage was entirely directed at Japan after Pearl Harbor.
“What exactly was AH thinking by declaring war on U.S.?”
1. He believed Japan to be much stronger than they actually were and the US would be tied up in the pacific.
2. He believed that it was only a matter of time before the US declared war on Germany since Germany was ‘allied’ with Japan.
IOW’s, he was doomed. He had no choice.