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To: ohioman; Homer_J_Simpson
"The anti-American press today would be siding with the Germans."

Indeed.
And note how the article keeps mentioning Ambassador Kennedy, however tangentially.
Kennedy was strongly opposed to FDR's efforts to support the allies or prepare for war.

But it strikes me as odd that Nazi propaganda, even this early in the war, already claims America intends to enter it on the side of the allies.

Question: did Nazis actually believe their own propaganda?
If they did, don't you suppose it would give them reason for pause -- do they really want to invade all of Europe, if it means the US will enter the war against them?

And note that Roosevelt doesn't really deny the basic charge -- only says it must be taken with "three grains of salt."
FDR knew the US was not yet ready for war, but he was working hard to make it so.

Keep this in mind when the question arises: why did Hitler declare war on the US in December 1941?
Answer: because in Hitler's mind war with the US was always inevitable, it was only a matter of when, and December 1941 seemed like a good time to declare it.

We see that already in Nazi propaganda of March 1940, imho.

9 posted on 03/30/2010 6:13:45 AM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective...)
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To: BroJoeK
By the end of 1941, Hitler had more than enough reason to believe war with America was inevitable. And the Germans were correct in their assumptions in the article.

Take a look at 1940. Destroyers for bases [incidentally relieving the Brits of garrisoning those bases]], lend lease, dividing the Atlantic with the Brits into two defense zones, convoying ships for Britain in the U.S zone, tracking and radioing U-boat positions to the Brits, depth charging German U-boats. The last four [at least] made the U.S a co-belligerent under international law]. And the co-pilot of the British PBY that spotted BISMARCK on the 26th of May had an American co-pilot.

By the time in 1941 German U-boats sank at least one U.S destroyer, the REUBEN JAMES [and maybe two or three], while they were engaged in anti-submarine ops, there was no great outrage in the U.S populace, because what was happening in the North Atlantic was common knowledge. Raeder had been urging Hitler to declare war for over a year by then.

11 posted on 03/30/2010 6:28:08 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: BroJoeK

If there even were any doubts by Hitler that he would have to fight the United States, the last shreds of it were cast aside on December 4th 1941 when the Chicago Tribune leaked the Rainbow 5 War Plan. In the article it specifically lays out the “Germany First” plan to defeating the Axis powers, with an emphasis on containing Japan until this is accomplished. This leak would likely have grown into a scandal had the Japanese not attack a mere 3 days later.

Hitler though saw what the plan said and I feel that is what prompted him to declare war on the 11th. This was a great error on his part because he was under no obligation to do so and had he not, the United States probably could not have declared war on Germany. The isolationists were still strong enough, despite the Japanese attack to for FDR to declare war on Japan only. It is one of the reasons there is no mention of Germany in his Day of Infamy speech. If FDR felt he could tie all of this together, I’m certain there would have been at least some reference to “Axis” powers in that speech.


17 posted on 03/30/2010 8:36:46 AM PDT by CougarGA7 (In order to dream of the future, we need to remember the past. - Bartov)
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To: BroJoeK
But it strikes me as odd that Nazi propaganda, even this early in the war, already claims America intends to enter it on the side of the allies.

Hitler wrote a second book after Mein Kampf, which was never published, and was discovered after the war during the Allied occupation of Germany. My understanding is that Hitler believed that the “final struggle” of the war would be between the Third Reich and the United States of America, “a mongrel nation”. Not having actually read the book I cannot personally vouch for the accuracy of that information. But is is possible that Hitler was expecting a confrontation with the U.S., and that is why he so lightly declared war on the U.S. on December 11, 1941, days after Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. His alliance with Japan was defensive only, and did not require him to join Japan's offensive war.
18 posted on 03/30/2010 8:39:59 AM PDT by Cheburashka (Stephen Decatur: you want barrels of gunpowder as tribute, you must expect cannonballs with it.)
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