“Operation Barbarossa”

Hitler launches the invasion of the Soviet Union

Two of Hitler’s key foreign policy goals – the destruction of “Jewish Bolshevism” and the acquisition of living space for the “Aryan master race” – both necessitated the invasion and defeat of the Soviet Union. Hitler spied the opportunity to do so in 1941. Operation Barbarossa, the code name given to the military invasion of the Soviet Union, was to be followed by the implementation of “General Plan East” to reorganize the conquered territories. Whilst the invasion was to be accompanied by the murder of the leadership caste of Central and Eastern Europe in order to prevent the organization of resistance, certain population groups such as the Jews were to be killed in the short term, followed by a general long-term reduction in the civilian population by millions through starvation. Many of those remaining were to be expelled, to be replaced by German settlers.

By invading the Soviet Union, Hitler had essentially betrayed an ally – on paper at least. Hitler and Stalin had shocked the world in 1939 by signing what became known as the “Hitler–Stalin Pact”: a non-aggression agreement with a secret addendum, according to which the two dictators then divided up Poland. Whilst Hitler never intended to keep his word, Stalin was flabbergasted when told of German treachery and initially refused to believe that it was true. He was only convinced when the true scale of the operation became known: the advance of three million German soldiers across a broad front had to be taken seriously. The invaders made quick gains, but were halted just outside Moscow by the end of the year. Three years later, the largest and bloodiest military campaign ever fought had cost the lives of more than three-and-a-half million German soldiers and between 25 and 40 million Soviet citizens, half of whom were civilians.