What if?

All of us (or at least, the most of us) have encountered this question (or theory) sometimes in our lives. Oh yes, we all understand that living in the past has no use, that you cannot drive ahead by looking into the rear view mirror. Yet the fact remains, at one stage or the other in our lives, we tend to ask ourselves: what if? What would have happened if I had taken up that job instead of this one, wouldn’t I be happier? What would have happened if I had reached the station in time, and caught the correct train….? Big or small, we ask this question often. At least I do, but then I am also a daydreamer ;). I had never known that this theory had even a name, and that it had been studied extensively!

The most dramatic impact of this theory has been in the field of history. There is a whole branch of history that is dedicated to these questions, and it is called the ‘Subjunctive History’. The term subjunctive history has been put into the common language by the play (and later movie): The History Boys. Subjunctive history is also variously known as Alternative History or Counterfactual History. It deals with the eternal question “What If” in terms of history. What if some historical events had happened the other way? It seems that we always play with this question, yet the possibilities are sometimes chilling!

Subjunctive history is a hot favorite with fiction writers and movie script writers, and for fairly obvious reasons. They get a free run to play with events, to mix the real with the imagined, and produce interesting stories as a result. In fact, there are a lot of many other novels which deal with the theme of subjunctive history. One common feature of these novels is that almost all of them are based on the Second World War, or more specifically, on the hypothetical victory of Nazi Germany in that war.

One such novel is SS-GB, written by Len Deighton. The story is set in the year 1941, in London, when the United Kingdom has been conquered and occupied by Nazi Germany. It tells the story of a detective, who is torn between loyalty to his country and his sense of duty and professionalism as a police officer. An investigation into a seemingly isolated murder leads to the highest echelons of the Nazi government.

Another similar novel is 1945, which has been co-authored by Newt Gingrich (US politician and the 58^th speaker of the US Congress) and William R. Forstchen. In this novel, the US enters the Second World War only to defeat Japan. It withdraws after that, letting Nazi Germany defeat and occupy the Soviet Union. A cold war develops between the two victors, which later turns into a real war. Germany attacks the US and there is heavy fighting, with the US suffering great losses. The book ends with Rommel attacking the UK (!), and Churchill asking for US help. There was supposed to be a sequel to 1945, titled “Fortress Europa”, but it never came out.

Here I will put down a few favourite historical questions that are a part of the subjunctive history. Of course, these are now reduced to hypothetical questions, and can have no impact whatsoever on current history. Yet, it can be real fun to read, think and imagine! Can you imagine Adolf Hitler negotiating with John F Kennedy? That might have happened if Germany had won the Second World War! So well, here goes:

1) It is often said that the seeds of the Second World War had been sown in the First World War itself. If the world had collectively learned its lessons after the First War, then there wouldn’t have been a Second one, and world history would be a different one. What if the humanity had learnt its lesson from the First World War?

2) This is again going to be related to Hitler. There was an attempt in 1944 by some German Army officers, led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (played by Tom Cruise in Valkyrie) to kill Hitler. What if Adolf Hitler was indeed killed in the bombing?

3) A favourite of the conspiracy theorists is the John F Kennedy assassination. What if those bullets had missed the President?

In fact, there can be many more of these “What If” situations in history. Feel free to share them here!