That classic historical question will be the title of a new SciFi Channel series in the works.
One blogger suggested several what ifs that could be asked for episodes including "What if the Germans won WWII?" or what if John F. Kennedy hadn't been murdered.
I am currently reading a book about the Battle of Britain by one of the British fighter pilots who fought in it, "Duel of Eagles" by Peter Townsend. This Townsend should not be confused with the guitar smashing Peter Townshend of The Who. For one thing, The Who's Pete would probably never have dated Princess Margaret.
After much of the reading I've done and documentaries of WWII I've seen this Summer, as well as reading "Why The Allies Won," I am of the conclusion that there was no way the Germans would have been the victors. Granted, this is all in hindsight. During 1939 to probably 1943, the Allies were indeed losing but there were so many variables that worked in the favor if The Allies that the outcome was pretty much certain.
Better what if questions would be:
- What if Great Britain decided to side with Germany against France and Russia (something Hitler and others on his staff hoped for and were surprised didn't happen)?
- What if Hitler had committed suicide before he was arrested and thrown in jail (where he wrote Mein Kampf)? Germany's rebuilding of its military was going on before Hitler started the Nazi party, he just ensured the build up went through.
- What if Hitler didn't survive the attempt to kill him by some other German generals in 1944?
The better What if is that one about John F. Kennedy. If he survived or the bullets missed, he probably would have been reelected, forcing Johnson not to run because he was too old and, provided things went well in the second term, Robert F. Kennedy would have run and potentially cancel out a Nixon presidency.
What if the Wright brothers failed at Kitty Hawk and we only started to fly many, many years later?
What if America remained isolationist during WWII?
The list goes on.
