Why did they do it? Especially right after the failure of Barbarossa. No answer ever makes sense.>It was because Japan attacked.But Japan never declared on the USSR when Germany attacked, so why did Germany ever owe Japan anything?>It was because they needed to stop Lend-LeaseBut a war delcaration only accelerated aid to Britain and Russia since now the entire US economy could be mobilized.Surely Germany knew that the US had like 50% of the entires worlds industry.Declaring war on US meant they could now invade continental Europe and bomb German cities.>It was because Hitler was simply crazyNot buying it.Hiler may have been insane but insane people can still be intelligent.And if you're insane to the point of being irrational then no one will follow you, plus there's more people than just Hitler in the cabinet and military, and no one protested.
>>18699516Without war the US would be sending aid to Britain non-stop, even if it was less than with war.With war Germany could stop all aid to Britain entirely without restraint.Because they believed they could win.
>>18699516>Surely Germany knew that the US had like 50% of the entires worlds industry.who carez we wuz aryan n shiet we beat everyone
>>18699516I haven't read too much about it but Hitler made the decision after consulting a small group of the top advisors.Ribbentrop and Göring were dismissive of American industry.Keitel and Raeder said they should attack now when America would be weakest, to allow the lend-lease convoys to be attacked and because they thought war was inevitable. A few days prior an American war plan to raise an army and land it by 1943, called Rainbow Five, was leaked by the press and was causing a stir in the US.
>>18699516Literally because they thought they could easily win against 'a bunch of cowboys'. I remember hearing an anecdotal story from a former German refugee after the war who sailed to New York and began a train journey to California. After they passed chicago his wife remarked, 'surely we must be almost in california.'
>>18700594>"america is a nation of razor-blade makers">forgot that razors are deadly
