...Hitler had been assasinated during the first year of WW2?

[Sista Soldjah]

What if Hitler had been assasinated during the first year of WW2?...

Would the war have ended sooner?

Who would have replaced him?

What would have been the consequences?

How would Germany have reacted?

I look forward to your thoughts...

Cheers
Sis

[Sam H.]

That's a good question. Say Hitler is dead ... plane crash or other type of accident (not assasinated).

I imagine that Goring, as his named heir/successor would take over. I hate imagine the progress of the war with him at the reins. He would most likely favour campaigns that would add to the Luftwaffe's luarels. Can't see him invading Russia ... but I could see him concentrating on the Med. and working closely with Italy.

So, the question is, would Stalin attack Germany? If they do, the war is shorter by at least a year, perhaps two. If not, they reach some solution in which Russia stays out of the war. The war could last considerably longer ... we would probaly see jet fighters sooner - say in late '43 to early '44.

[Tom Houlihan]

Sorry, but I see the war ending a lot sooner with Hermann at the helm. My personal feelings about him by that time are rather less than charitable. He may well have kept things going against England, but I don't think he would have made a push against Russia any time soon. I think he would have been more prone to listen to the generals and admirals who didn't want the war to start until around 1945! Besides, he wouldn't want to risk his art collections.

[Sam H.]

tom

So how do things end earlier if Germany does not war with Russia and he listens to the generals/admirals and does not prosecute the war until 1945?

It sounds like the war is going to last longer?

[Tom Houlihan]

Nah, the generals didn't really want the war at all, until they felt they were ready. Goering didn't have the drive that Hitler did. The war with England would have degenerated into a pissing contest across the Channel. I envision consolidation, and continued looting, plundering and exploitation of Europe. There would have been a conflict with Russia eventually, but it would have waited a few years. Thus, the original war ends shortly, to be followed later by the German-Russian war. Hell, I was working late when I wrote the first one! It made sense then!

[Thomhasj]

I think that if Adolf Hitler died, a struggle for power errupted: Bormann, Goering, Goebbels and Himmler would all have participated in this struggle and the Reich will fall apart.

For example -> just look at the situation of the Dutch party LPF, when Pim Fortuyn died.

[Henrik Krog]

Goering was not the no 2 man until 1941. Until then, that role fell to Rudolf Hess.

You say "during the first year of the war", but that leaves up a number of options:
- Before Poland was defeated (granted, short period, but still)
- Between the defeat of Poland and the invasion of Denmark and Norway
- During the fighting in Norway, but before the invasion of France
- During the invasion of Western Europe
- After the defeat of France

Hess comes over as a more peace-lovig guy than Hitler, so if he gets into power, I can very well see him allying himself with the generals and what peaceloving elements there are in the NSDAP and strike a deal with the western Allies.

These would not make peace with Adolf, but perhaps with Rudolf. Who knows, perhaps Germany would even get some territorial concessions, following plebiscites of course - Danzig and some border areas go to Germany, everyone goes hom and is happy.

Henrik