Could Hitler have won World War II?
I'm no expert on World War 2 but I find it to be highly fascinating. From what I've gathered, Hitler made 2 critical mistakes. 1. Hitler did not take over Great Britain when he had the chance - I believe in 1940, Hitler had a strong advantage in Europe and Great Britain was the only remaining adversary. Had Hitler focused on Great Britain, he could have eliminated a major ally to the USA and, simultaneously, removed a landing area for the USA. D-Day would have not been feasible had Hitler taken over Great Britain. 2. Hitler did not make the USSR an ally but instead attacked them - Everybody on the planet (except Hitler apparently) knew that the USSR was an extremely difficult country to take over due to its sheer size, tremendous amount of people, and most importantly, the Russian winter. Had Hitler made the USSR an ally, the USA would have been the only major adversary. Even if the USSR refused to ally with Germany, Germany still could have overtaken Great Britain and prevented the USA from effectively fighting a land war against Germany in Europe. This would have insulated Germany to a great extent and allowed Germany to focus on the USSR. If Germany overtook the USSR, the combined efforts of Germany from the East and the Japanese from the West would have caused the USA to fall. This is all my opinion and, luckily, Hitler made these 2 critical mistakes (otherwise we'd all be speaking German right now). What do you all think? 10 points for the most informative response or critique. Thanks!
If Hitler had been assassinated, would the Germans have won the war, you think?
One needs to keep in mind the objectives of the plotters (of all the 15 attempts). It was not that Hitler was running the war badly-it was that he started a war that any sane strategist could see, would only result in Germany's defeat. The plan of every plot was to kill/try Hitler, and immediately open negotiations with the Allies. Such a move would've thrown the "unconditional surrender" statement-which wasn't strategy it was an offhand reply to a reporter's question btw-into chaos. Certainly an assassination, would've started the dismantling of the Nazi regime-a stated Allied war aim. Such a surrender would've kept the Soviets out of eastern Europe, and saved literally millions of lives. One also cannot discount the personal motives of those who wished to kill him, and there were A LOT more German officers who wanted him dead than Allied propaganda would like one to believe: the idea that not all Germans were supporters of Hitler, and had the strength of conscience to do something about it. EDIT: For those who insist about "Barbarossa" destroying the Third Reich, I point you to do documented evidence in the Russian, Swedish, Bulgarian and German archives that Stalin tried to surrender to Germany in late 1941: ceding essentially the same territory Lenin did in 1918. He also tried to cut a deal with the Finns, returning territory captured during the Winter War if they would drop out of the war (only fears of German occupations kept the Finns from accepting this offer). Stalin tried AGAIN in spring 1942 when it looked like the Germans were about to cut the USSR in two at the Volga.
Who won the Battle of Britain?
Arguably it was the Royal Air Force, by denying the Luftwaffe control of British airspace. The battle was the attempt by Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe to gain air superiority over Britain, so that a sea-borne invasion could take place (Operation Seeloewe aka Sealion). Any such invasion would be very vulnerable to attack from the air, so clearing British airspace of RAF 'planes would be essential. The British side had the advantage of RADAR and a well-coordinated command and control system, where squadrons could be scrambled and directed to waves of incoming aircraft. However, the sheer weight of numbers of the Luftwaffe still made it very difficult. German bombers attacked RAF airfields and created big problems for the defenders, who found it hard to replace pilots quickly enough. The breakthrough came when the Luftwaffe began to attack cities, allowing the RAF a space to get back to strength. By September 1940 the RAF was in a position to direct large numbers of fighters ("Big Wings") against each incoming wave of bombers, and the escorting Luftwaffe fighters only had fuel for a short stay. The bomber squadrons took mounting losses, lowering morale greatly, so the operation was called off. The Battle of Britain was over, and Britain remained in control of its airspace.
What would the world be like if Nazi Germany had never lost the war?
Berlin would have looked like this :"Democracy" would have disappeared in Europe :Italy, Germany and Japan would have been regarded as the world's liberators from the evils of "Judeo-Bolschevism" and "Judeo-Capitalism" :The Jews would have been held responsible for WW2 :Europeans would all be remembering Bloody Sunday and the Katyn massacre instead of the suffering of the Jews :National-Socialism would have become the dominant ideology across the globe :Hitler would have become the most popular political leader of the 20th century :Jewish culture would be regarded as the embodiment of evil throughout the world :American culture would have about the same reputation it has today :The German American Bund would have become a strong force in the US :Seggregation would not have been replaced by integration but by the split of the US in a White nation and a Black nation :Malcolm X would have become one of the founders of the Black nation :Islam would be the dominant religion in the new Black nation :The Hitler youth would replace the Boy Scouts and similar youth movements globallyPorn wouldn't become mainstream :Homosexuality would not have become mainstream :Hippies would have looked something like this :Family would have been considered the cornerstone of civilisation :Sending people to forced labor camps for re-education would be morally acceptable :This would be the general perception of "democracy" :Eugenics would be generally accepted :Europe would look a lot more "White" than it does today :Women would be encouraged to stay home as mothers :Having a large family would be encouraged :Divorce would remain taboo :Interracial relationships would remain taboo :The banking system would have undergone major revisions :Circumcision would be illegal :"Mein Kampf", the manga would have been a worldwide bestseller, with sales approaching those of the 1924 original :These women would be considered mentally ill :These men would be considered mentally ill :People would spend more time outside :This would be considered healthy education :Many countries would compete with Korea in games like these :