Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II

A hypothetical Axis victory in World War II is a common concept of alternate history and counterfactual history. World War II is one of the two most popular points of divergence in English language alternate history works alongside the American Civil War. Such writings express ideas of what the world would be like had the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan won World War II. Numerous examples exist in multiple languages worldwide.

The term Pax Germanica, Latin for "German peace", is sometimes used for this theoretical period. This is an analogy to similar terms for peaceful historical periods. In some cases, this term is used for a hypothetical Imperial German victory in World War I as well, having a historical precedent in Latin texts referring to the Peace of Westphalia.

The subject of Axis supremacy as a fictional dramatic device notably began in the Anglosphere even before the start of the war, with Katharine Burdekin's novel Swastika Night coming out in 1937. The topic picked up as well right after the war ended. For instance, the work Peace In Our Time explored a fascist-dominated London, authored by seminal English playwright Noël Coward (whose name appeared on a Gestapo 'death list' in the event of a ground invasion of the U.K.), and received its stage debut in 1947. Broadly speaking, critics have viewed lingering interest in the concept of Axis victory, enduring for decades on into the 21st Century, due the resonance of the related themes, particularly in how ordinary individuals must deal with the humiliation and anger of being dominated.

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