As the third year of the war in Europe began, President Roosevelt struggled to convince the American people that soon or later they must confront the dictatorships of Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor solved part of his problem, but there was still widespread resistance to the idea of joining the fight against Germany and Italy. Out of the blue, Hitler provided the solution by declaring the war on the United States. It was a critical strategic blunder which made Germany’s defeat inevitable.