Brett’s Question: When Hitler launched his attacks did he anticipate the US getting involved? I’m guessing he knew there was a chance and wasn’t taken totally off-guard by it.
Justin’s answer:
Generally speaking, not really. Hitler often felt superior to the US; calling Americans a bunch of miscegenated idiots dominated by the Jews. He was not impressed with the US Army, since it was even smaller than Portugal’s at one time. He failed to take into account our massive industrial and manpower potential, something that the Japanese Navy did realize by contrast. Hitler did understand our isolationist policy – our hands off approach to European troubles in the 1920s and 1930s. Even after the loss of American lives in the Atlantic in 1939-41 did not change the US Congress’s approach.
What no one counted on was that policy changing after Pearl Harbor.
In fact, it was Hitler / Germany that declared war on America on Dec 11, 1941, not the other way around.
amicusveritae 