In the fall of 1940 there were talks of the Soviets joining the Axis, many seemed to be fairly optimistic about the possibility, however Hitler had already decided in the summer of 1940 that he would eventually end up invading the USSR and had start some small preparations. If Hitler had died, leaving a more pragmatic heir, would it have been in German and Russian best interests to join such an arrangement and could it have happened even temporarily? The Soviets appear to have been very eager for such an arrangement, and many German ambassadors seemed optimistic about the possibility.