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The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 remains etched in public memory as the turning point of WW2. But in fact, it was Hitler\u2019s declaration of war on the United States \u2013 four days later on December 11, 1941 \u2013 that changed everything. 

In this episode, Professor of International Relations at Cambridge University Brendan Simms tells Dan the story of those five unsettling days. Churchill did not sleep \u201cthe sleep of the saved and thankful\u201d after the attack, as he later claimed. Japan\u2019s leaders were unsure whether Hitler would honour a private commitment to declare war. Roosevelt knew that many Americans didn\u2019t want their country to entangle itself in a conflict with the Third Reich as well as Japan. In the end, it was Hitler\u2019s decision that ended the uncertainty, bringing the US into the European war and transforming world history. You can read more in 'Hitler's American Gamble', the new book by Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman. 

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