[hinckley buzzard]

The problem with that guess is that if Hitler had been killed the military would have taken power and immediately sued for terms. The officer corps had seen far more clearly than Hitler his strategic vulnerabilities. They only acquiesced when his diplomatic victories without war depleted domestic political opposition, and then out of nationalism after hostilities began.

[virgil283]

"the military would have taken power and immediately sued for terms."....You are right.

Of course it would hinge on when Hitler went down.

There were several brilliant Generals and Admirals who could have greatly turned events around.

Maybe not to win, but could have presented such a threat as to have kept much of Europe in German hands as part of a settlement, leaving a future threat to come...

[Pelham]

There were a number of peace overtures made to the West by senior German military officers. From what I’ve read these all involved surrendering to the West but not to the Soviet Union. All were turned down by FDR who insisted on unconditional surrender. This did have the effect of lengthening the war in Europe.