“We should never have entered the war against Germany. The Germans were no threat to us. We had been attacked by Japan and that's who we should have gone after, no matter what!”
The following lines give a backdrop of the statement.
This is a statement thought by many Americans after the Second World War. The Americans initially maintained neutrality in the war. The war started in the year 1939 with the attack of Poland. The main powers fighting in the war were –Axis power and the Allied power. Axis power consisted of Germany, Italy and Japan. The Allied powers were Soviet Union, British and France. The Axis powers were in a dominating position at the start. But the entry of US into the war changed the scenario. US joined the Allied forces. Once US joined the war, the Allied forces suppressed the Axis forces with their might. Japan lured US into the war. US entered the war in the year 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. So America had to retaliate. Not retaliating would have only encouraged Japan to inflict more damage. But it was a very popular feeling among the Americans then that, America could have fought only Japan. Moreover, Germany was not considered a great threat to the US as it was busy fighting its neighbors. Many feel they unnecessarily wasted resources in fighting Germany. ‘The situation of US in world politics would have been much better had US not Germany’ is a common notion .
My Opinion:
No I do not agree to the statement given. I feel, US did the right thing by attacking Germany. Germany was not a direct threat. But eventually, it could have become a dangerous enemy for the US. Hitler, dictator of Germany inflicted cruelty and injustice on the people. As a world leader, it becomes responsibility of US to stop him. Moreover, it was not US that declared war on Germany. It was Germany who declared war on US given the fact that, US declared war on Japan. It would have been an attractive proposition for the US to not enter the war and be a spectator to the events. US initially did not join the war for this reason. The United States knew well that, if they were to join the war, they would be wasting a lot of resources- economic as well human resources. It would be pushed back in time in terms of progress. It itself experienced the disastrous effects of World War I, despite emerging as a victor. So, it was reluctant to join the war.
Moreover, as said earlier, the Allied forces were at the receiving end of the German rampage. The German army unleashed deadly attacks on the opponents. They were unstoppable. Though England have been their long time ally, they had issues Soviet Union even before World War I. Harry.S.Truman once said that it did not matter to him if a German or a Russian died. This is an evidence of the hostility between US and Soviet Union. Being a spectator would have given US the advantage that, the global powers – Soviet Union and British would have faced economic downturn and loss of resources. Also, Germany, in spite of winning, would face the same problems as the Allied forces. In face of this, US could have easily emerged as the Uno supremo after the war. In fact, even the cold war situation would not have ensued between US and Russia after the World War. Russia, in no sense, would have been an opponent for US. So, some believe that it was pointless to wage a war against Germans. But, there could have been more damage had US not fought the Germans.
Japan, an ally of Germany attacked the US base at Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941. This compelled the Americans to declare a war on Japan. The war was declared on 8th December. Once US declared a war, Germany also declared a war against US. There were many reasons to this.
The events which happen, do not primarily hinge on the immediate causes. There are a lot of factors from the past which influence those events. In this case, it was from the previous World War. US were in the side of the victors and it was US who inflicted a huge defeat on Germany in World War I. The Germans were subjected to a 14 point condition by then president Woodrow Wilson. They were humiliated by the defeat and faced an economic downfall. But in World War II, they were in a formidable position. They were led by Hitler, whose army terrorized the Allied forces. Moreover, German engineers and scientists put in their efforts to develop technologies that could be deployed in warfare against their enemies. The Germans were waiting for a chance to get the better of US for all they had suffered in World War I. This seemed like a perfect chance for them.
In addition to this, Roosevelt, the then president of US attacked Nazism. Hitler hated anyone who went against Nazism. Hitler also had a notion that Japan had grown out to be a very powerful nation. Attacking US to help Japan would also ensure that Japan helps Germany in war against Russia was what Hitler thought. Germany and Italy had signed tripartite pact with Japan on 27th September 1940. According to the pact, if any one of the nation attacked, the other two had to support. When the foreign minister of Japan, Oshima called on the foreign minister of Japan, Von Ribbenport to seek support, Ribbenport was skeptical about drawing US into the fray of war. He also realized that, Germany need not abide by the pact, as Japan was the aggressor in this case. But, Hitler was fully convinced to attack US. So, banking on their military might and technological advancement, in the guise of supporting Japan, they declared a war against US on 11th December 1941.
US had been waiting for this opportunity. There were great debates going in the Parliament as to take part in the war or not. After receiving an open invitation from Germany, US decided to put an end to the debate and take part in the war. Though Japan attacked US, rather than attacking Japan, US preferred to attack Germany first. The reason was that Japan, at on stage, was a formidable power. They had opposition from China in Asia. China was at the receiving end. Had Roosevelt decided to attack Japan, they would have received tremendous losses. At the same time, Germany was being attacked by England and Soviet Union. England was a long time ally of US. Moreover, Germany had a full control over Atlantic Ocean which was a threat to US. So, if US supports England, there would be two benefits, the mighty German empire would be crushed and it would receive support of Allied forces to fight Japan. Berlin is 4000 miles from New York while Tokyo is 5500 miles from New York. So, it was easy to attack Germany than Japan. This was a very calculated wise decision taken by Roosevelt. Also, had US not taken part in the war, Germany would emerged as a victor which would have been a perilous threat for the US. In fact, Hitler sent 8 men from Germany to Florida coast via U-boats. The 8 men were supposed to wreck havoc in US. They had a well planned sabotage in place. But before they could do any harm, they were caught and the plan was foiled. They were tried in US court and they were sentenced to death. In wake of all these attempts to foil the country’s peace and prosperity, I believe it was a right decision to go to war against Germany. US entering the war has ended the evil intentions of Hitler –“to rule the world”.
References
- Dunn,Dennis.J Caught Between Roosevelt & Stalin: America's Ambassadors to Moscow. Lexington, KY
- Davidson,Eugene(1999) The Death and Life of Germany: An Account of the American Occupation. Uni-
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- British Bombing Unit(1998). The Strategic Air War Against Germany, 1939–1945. London and Portland,
OR: Frank Cass Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7146-4722-7.
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Expansion. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-00802-9
