Well, winter has come to Iowa with a gale. Yesterday, it was 53°F and gorgeous. Today, it’s about 15 with 45mph wind gusts, blowing snow, and super-icy streets. I’m glad I got a good bike ride in yesterday…it’ll be a few days before I get another opportunity.
It’s a quickie this evening.
On December 11, 1941, Germany declared war on the United States. But Germany didn’t necessarily have to do so. The U.S. hadn’t declared war on Germany, nor had either country attacked the other. And what’s more, though Germany and Japan had signed the Tripartite Pact the previous year, Germany was only obligated to come to Japan’s defense, not back her aggression against Pearl Harbor and the Pacific Rim.
Members of the German High Command also believed a declared war with America was dangerous ground. It’s true that the U.S. was openly assisting Germany’s enemies through the Lend-Lease program, and German U-boats were clashing with the U.S. Navy in the Atlantic. But this was a far cry from open war, where the full weight of America’s military potential would be brought to bear.
But Adolf Hitler made the declaration anyways. With his successes to date, he believed in the might of his military and the ability of his country’s industries to fuel it. He also believed in Japan’s ability to defeat America, even though some in Japan’s own leadership, particularly Isoroku Yamamoto, pretty much knew the score. And he thought that America lacked the will to fight and that it would take some time for her to put her economy on a war footing…by which time Japan would have already knocked her from the conflict.
Adolf Hitler ended up being wrong on every point…
Today's History Lesson 
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