Declarations of War
A letter writer (Oct. 28) asserts that “President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Germany on Dec. 11, 1941.” In fact it was the other way around. Germany declared war on the U.S. as a treaty obligation to its Axis partner Japan, which had entered a state of war with the U.S. after Pearl Harbor.
Had Hitler reneged on this obligation, it is unclear when, if ever, the U.S. would have entered the war in Europe.
And, incidentally, it was Britain and France that declared war on Germany in 1939.
Dick Jackson
Arroyo Grande
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