World in the Balance The Tauber Institute, established by a gift to Brandéis University by Dr. Laszlo N. Tauber, is dedicated to the memory of the victims of Nazi persecutions between 1933 and 1945. The Institute seeks to set into the context of modem history the causes, nature, and consequences of the crisis of European society in the second quarter of the twentieth century with a particular focus on the origins of the European Jewish catastrophe. T A U B E R IN S T IT U T E SERIES NO. 1 World in the Balance: Behind the Scenes of World War 11 Gerhard L. Weinberg, 1981 Gerhard L. Weinberg WORLD IN TH E BALANCE Behind the Scenes of World War 11 Published for Brandéis University Press by UNIVERSITY PRESS OF NEW ENGLAND Hanover and London, 1981 University Press of New England Brandéis University Brown University Clark University Dartmouth College University of New Hampshire University of Rhode Island Tufts University University of Vermont Copyright © 1981 by Trustees Brandéis University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotation in critical articles or reviews, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For further information contact University Press of New England, Hanover, NH 03755. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 81-51606 International Standard Book Number 087451-816-6 (cloth) 087451-817-4 (paper) Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be found on the last printed page of this book. To the memory of Alistair Lloyd Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate: “To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods." Macaulay, Horatius Contents Preface ix Introduction xi World War II: The Axis, 1939-1942 1 World War II: The Allies, 1941-1945 27 Hitler’s Image of the United States 53 Germany’s Declaration of War on the United States: A New Look 75 German Colonial Plans and Policies, 1938-1942 July 20,1944: The Plot to Kill Hitler 137 Bibliography 149 Index 159 A map, The World in 1939, folds out of the back of the book.