Hitler didn't underestimate the United States

Hitler did NOT underestimate the United States. Additionally, in the 1920ies and 1930ies, he was very positive about the United States. He saw it as a role model, but also as a threat. His views changed quite substantially during or maybe even before the war.
This video features Dr. Klaus Schmider from the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst who researched this topics over the last few years.

Cover Design: MHV & vonKickass

Cover Images:
Created by jacobolus using Adobe Illustrator., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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Schmider, Klaus: Hitler’s Fatal Miscalculation: Why Germany declared War on the United States. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2021.

Hitler, Adolf: Hitler, Mein Kampf: Eine kritische Edition. hg. von Hartmann, Christian u. a. Institut für Zeitgeschichte: München, 2016.

Hitler, Adolf: Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen: Februar 1925 bis Januar 1933. hg. von Hartmann, Christian; Lankheit, Klaus Albrecht. K. G. Saur: München.

Hitler, Adolf; Heim, Heinrich: Monologe im Führerhauptquartier 1941-1944. hg. von Jochmann, Werner. Sonderausgabe, Orbis: München, 2000.

Jacobsen, H.A.: 1939-1945. Der Zweite Weltkrieg in Chronik und Dokumenten. Dritte durchgesehene und ergänzte Auflage. Wehr und Wissen Verlagsgesellschaft: Darmstadt, 1960.

Fischer, Klaus: Hitler and America. University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 2011.

00:00 Intro
00:35 “Second Book”
01:08 Schmider about “Second Book”
04:18 Quotes about the US from the “Second Book”
05:07 Hitler about US Economy
07:02 Hitler about US “Racial Quality”
10:01 Hitler about American Social Aspects
10:25 Hitler’s Wartime Statements
10:58 Schmider about the Changes of Hitler’s Views about the USA?
14:43 Hitler January / March 1941
15:58 Declaration of War 1941
17:13 Table Talks / Monologues
19:10 Conclusion

#hitler #usa #ww2 #unitedstates

[michaelthayer]

The anxiety European Nations felt about America and her rise from the late 19th Century on is something that I feel is often overlooked when discussing European Affairs.
It was very clear to Western Europeans that they had missed their chance to adequately contain America and it was only America's self-imposed restraint and isolationist bent that was enabling Europe's Empires to more or less ignore the US in their planning.
The reason why America along with Russia became the Superpowers of the 20th Century was because both of them possessed large populations and industrial capacity combined with domestic resources that need not be imported and therefore could not be disrupted. Germany had men and factories, but lacked resources.

[trickydicky]

America’s explosion of logistical economic capability, surprised even itself.

[ReclinedPhysicist]

US planners estimated Japan's production capacity at the beginning of the war to be 30% that of the United States. Turned out to be a whole lot less than that. In 1944 US war production was greater than the rest of the world combined.

[hydroplaneing]

Hitler overlooked the fact that
America was already ramping up production of military equipment for almost 2 years: supplying England and Russia. It was a smaller step than expected to ramp up to a full scale military economy.

[mt_baldwin]

Hmm, maybe it's taught differently now, but as a teenager learning this back in the 1990s, this was almost exactly what I was taught. That he admired certain parts of the US, it's economy and technology especially and knew it was a threat and later as the war began and dragged on he began to down talk it in public and to ramp up his negative views on the US's ethnic make up. The three things he actually underestimated that cost him the war was how tenacious the UK would be, how long/hard conquering the USSR would be and how fast the US (or any democracy) could get ready for total war.

[robdgaming]

I'd say there might not have been a shift in late 1941 in what Hitler was thinking to himself, but rather a shift in what he needed to tell others. In 1928 he had little real power and his influence only went so far, so what he wrote then probably reflected his personal thoughts, especially since the document was never edited for publication. By late 1941, and especially after declaring war on the US, Hitler could not admit to others any admiration for the US (let alone an expectation of US success), but rather was essentially compelled to deliver anti-US wartime propaganda, even when addressing small high-level audiences. Also, Hitler was not well-known for admitting to his own mistakes to others.

[brucewilliams]

This was a very interesting video. i am surprised by the views on Hitler presented. Thank you for having the fortitude to air this video in light of YouTube censorship.

[ew]

What a deadly presentation. This is one that I will be coming back to for years like your interview with the Australian staff officer about what staff officers actually do.

[AFGuidesHD]

Allies: Germany started WW2 because of its collapsing economy
Germany: no u
Allies: no u

[vladimpaler]

Everything was going to plan, except for that part where the USSR would collapse and save them a whole lot of problems. He was probably thinking that with the resources and farmland west of the Urals, throw in a few million untermench slaves, and the USA does not look that tough.

[robdgaming]

Thanks for using manually created English closed captioning. Auto-generated English captioning is usually poor.

[philiphumphrey]

By the end of 1941 Hitler almost certainly felt the USA was hostile anyway. There was little doubt that Roosevelt was actively helping the British, particularly in the Atlantic, reporting on the movements of German surface ships etc. Hitler probably thought (wrongly) that war with the USA was inevitable, so he made the gesture of declaring first.

[evanhughes]

The phrase "Cramp his style" made me grin. Thanks for the content and have a good day.

[pRahvi]

It's not the US economy that gets underestimated. It's just their ability to use it for a common goal that surprises us every time. Probably because there are times when it seems a miracle they get anything done at all.

[OpusDogi]

The impression I got from the Second Book was that Hitler understood that a hegemonic clash with the U.S. was next to inevitable. The open question was what kind of clash, and this means asking whether the United States could become the dominant world power if Germany dominated Europe. Having dissected Hitler's thoughts, it would be interesting to dissect Roosevelt's.

[_MC]

This is why I love this channel. Not a single second was filled with personal opinion or bias. Just pure documentation and research.
Chapeau. Hut ab!🎉

[buggerall]

This channel just keeps on being relevant. year after year after year...

[alanshackelford]

Japan's window of opportunity was never as open as assumed by SOME Japanese on the eve of war. Significant leaders within the Japanese navy and foreign service believed the war was lost before it even started.

[whyandaccount]

Fitting I guess to have Ike's bust in the background.

[raxit]

Was just thinking about this today! Always happy to see your videos. Hope you are well MHV :)