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The German Invasion of Soviet Union - a background
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Which country was Germany not able to defeat in the 1940s?
In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed an agreement, a pact, in which they promised not to attack each other. It's called the Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact. This is a little strange, because for several years Hitler has been talking about the Soviet Union as Germany's great enemy. And in the Soviet Union, Stalin has declared that Hitler is the great enemy. And now they are suddenly friends?
Why? Well, an agreement not to attack each other suits both Hitler and Stalin right now. Hitler does not want to have to fight in the west against France and Britain, and at the same time in the east against the Soviet Union. He wants to avoid a two-front war. Stalin thinks the same.
The Soviet Union is threatened in the east by Japan and he does not want to risk having to fight against Germany in the west at the same time. When Germany attacks Poland in September 1939, it is in accordance with the pact and Stalin has nothing against it. Hitler really has no plans to stay in Poland. He intends to conquer the Soviet Union, but not right now. First, he must take care of his other enemies in Western Europe.
The Nazis have always had a plan to expand Germany to the east. It begins with the annexation - Anschluss - of Austria. Then - the demand to take over the part of Czechoslovakia where German is spoken... ...and continues with the invasion of Poland. The Nazis believe that Eastern Europe should belong to Germany and that the people who live there, the Slavs, are inferior to Germans. The Nazis call them subhumans - untermenschen.
The plan is that they will be removed so that German people can take their place and get more living space - Lebensraum. Germany will wage a war of extermination. The Nazis estimate that up to 30 million Slavs must be exterminated. The Slavs who are not to be exterminated will become servants and slaves to the German masters - Herrenvolk. But, it's not just extended living space that Hitler wants.
In the east, there are natural resources: oil, iron ore and bread grain that the Nazis want and need to be able to wage war. The war in Europe is going well for Germany. They conquer country after country and nothing seems to be able to stop them. Now Hitler wants to invade the Soviet Union. But in the West, one enemy remains: Britain.
To avoid a two-front war, Hitler offers Britain a peace treaty. The British are not interested. Germany then decides to put an end to the stubborn British and begins bombing Britain - day and night. But the British defend themselves well. The Nazis realize that they will not be able to defeat Britain, and in May 1941 they stop bombing.
Before Hitler attacks the Soviet Union, he wants to gain support from other countries. Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania lost a lot of land after the First World War. Now Hitler promises to get it back if they side with Germany. They join in. Yugoslavia has just got a new government, through a coup d’état, and is on the side of Britain.
Hitler, worried that Yugoslavia will help the Soviet Union, occupies the country and crushes all resistance in twelve days. At the same time, the Germans have to help their ally Italy defeat Greece. Finland lost large tracts of land to the Soviet Union during the 1939-40 Winter War, and now sees a chance to regain its territories. Finland gives its support to Germany. In the war against the Soviet Union and communism, volunteers from many countries join, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
In June 1941, Hitler and his military - the Wehrmacht - are ready to break the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. They attack the Soviet Union.