Hitler's Fatal Miscalculation: Why Germany Declared War on the United States

by Klaus H. Schmider

Overview

Hitler's decision to declare war on the United States has baffled generations of historians. In this revisionist new history of those fateful months, Klaus H. Schmider seeks to uncover the chain of events which would incite the German leader to declare war on the United States in December 1941. He provides new insights not just on the problems afflicting German strategy, foreign policy and war production but, crucially, how they were perceived at the time at the top levels of the Third Reich. Schmider sees the declaration of war on the United States not as an admission of defeat or a gesture of solidarity with Japan, but as an opportunistic gamble by the German leader. This move may have appeared an excellent bet at the time, but would ultimately doom the Third Reich.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108834919
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/28/2021
Series:	Cambridge Military Histories
Pages:	610
Sales rank:	1,121,857
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Klaus H. Schmider has been with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst since May 1999. He is the co-author of Volume 8 of the official German history of World War II, Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg (2007).

Table of Contents

List of Figures; List of Maps; Preface; Acknowledgments; List of Abbreviations and German Terms; Introduction; 1. Hitler's Pre-war Assessment of the United States and Japan; 2. Hitler's Physical Health in Autumn 1941; 3. 'All measures short of war': the German Assessment of American Strategy, 1940/41; 4. Forging an Unlikely Alliance: Germany and Japan, 1933–1941; 5. Facing the Same Dilemma: The US and German Quest for Rubber; 6. The Crisis of the German War Economy, 1940/41; 7. The End of Blitzkrieg? Barbarossa and the Impact of Lend-Lease; 8. The Battle of the Atlantic; 9. The Luftwaffe on the Eve of Global War; 10. The Holocaust; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

‘Historians have argued for decades over the question of why Hitler chose to declare war on the United States. Klaus Schmider has now written the first full authoritative history of the decision, setting it firmly in the context of German domestic and military policy. This will become the definitive account.' Richard Overy, author of The Bombing War: Europe 1939-1945

'Hitler's suicidal declaration of war on the United States in December 1941 has long seemed a quixotic even nihilistic move. In his brilliant new book, which is based on a broad range of records, Klaus Schmider restores a sense of strategy and rationality to the 'Fuehrer's' decision.' Brendan Simms, author of Hitler: Only the World Was Enough

‘In a must-read, ground-breaking book, Schmider analyzes the factors that influenced a shift in Hitler's policy from one of restraint to a declaration of war on the United States. Woven into this complicated narrative are Germany's uncertain relationship with Japan, the war with the Soviet Union, synthetic rubber, and the impact of Lend-Lease and the United States' modification of its neutrality on Hitler's decision.' Mary Kathryn Barbier, author of Spies, Lies, and Citizenship: The Hunt for Nazi Criminals

‘A masterly reassessment that harnesses the latest scholarship to situate Hitler's fateful choice in a complex of ideological obsessions, economics, strategic ambition, flawed technology and operational overstretch, challenging long-held assumptions of nihilistic or deranged decision-making at the heart of the Third Reich.' Andrew Lambert, author of Seapower States: Maritime Culture, Continental Empires, and the Conflict That Made the Modern World

‘Schmider’s Hitler’s Fatal Miscalculation is … groundbreaking, and a must read for anyone interested in the Second World War, Nazi Germany, strategic decision-making, and the ideology and strategic thinking of the 'Mad Corporal' Adolf Hitler.’ Russell A. Hart, Journal of Military History

'Schmider should be congratulated on an impressive work that adds much to our discussion of German strategy. It deserves widespread attention.' Jeremy Black, Strategy Page

'This meticulously researched tome provides a unique interpretation of Hitler's decision to declare war on the US ... This is diplomatic and military history at its best as Schmider (Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK) examines the entire context in which Hitler carefully reached his decision ... Highly recommended.' M. A. Mengerink, Choice

‘… divining Hitler’s thinking is often an exercise in speculation. Schmider recognizes the challenge and has therefore dug deeply into the extant sources. He compares the Führer’s more commonly quoted remarks to other contemporaneous comments found in less frequented records. For those who seek to plumb the Führer’s mind, Schmider has given us much to consider.’ Zachary Shore, Journal of Modern History

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