Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union: Operation Barbarossa (1/2) | DW Documentary

Key Concepts:

• Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
• Wehrmacht: The unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.
• Red Army: The army and the air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after 1922, the Soviet Union.
• Einsatzgruppen: Nazi death squads responsible for mass killings, primarily through shootings.
• Commissar Order: A Nazi directive to execute captured Soviet political commissars.
• Lebensraum: "Living space," a Nazi ideology advocating for German expansion into Eastern Europe.
• Babi Yar: A ravine in Kiev, Ukraine, where a mass murder of Jews took place in September 1941.
• Great Patriotic War: The term used in the Soviet Union and Russia to describe the conflict fought during the period from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945 along the many fronts of the Eastern Front of World War II between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany and its allies.

1. Initial German Offensive and Confidence (June 1941)

• Nazi Germany, emboldened by victories in Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, launches Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941, aiming for a swift defeat of the Soviet Union.
• The German army anticipates being home by Christmas.
• Hans Roth, a German soldier, anticipates intense warfare.
• A 17-year-old tank crewman expresses excitement rather than fear.
• The Luftwaffe targets Soviet airfields to clear the path for tanks.
• Hitler views the Soviet Union as Nazi Germany’s arch enemy, calling for a "battle of annihilation."
• The invasion violates the German-Soviet non-aggression pact.
• The attack is unexpected by the Soviets.
• A German lieutenant predicts the swastika will fly over Moscow in 4-5 weeks.
• Hitler and General Franz Halder view the Soviet Union as a "colossus with feet of clay," believing a swift kick will cause its collapse.
• Four million soldiers, including axis allies, are deployed in a three-pronged attack towards Kiev/Ukraine, Moscow, and Leningrad.

2. Early German Successes and Local Reactions

• The Germans quickly advance, reaching Vilnius (Lithuania) by June 24 and Riga (Latvia) in early July.
• In the Baltic states, the German troops are greeted positively, with locals hoping to regain independence after Soviet annexation.
• Military doctor Heinrich Haape describes Lithuanians offering the German soldiers cigarettes, water, and bread, with Lithuanian flags symbolizing a new, free Lithuania.
• In western Ukraine, the Germans are also met with jubilation, as the population oppressed by Stalin believes their ordeal is over.
• Sergeant Major Wilhelm Prüller describes triumphal arches and banners thanking the "brave German army" and praising Adolf Hitler.

3. Soviet Disarray and Initial Response

• Stalin initially refuses to believe the Nazis would invade, leading to wasted time and hasty, poorly organized transport operations.
• A young soldier describes the officers as seeming like they are returning from vacation.
• A reporter notes that on the day of the attack, many Soviet armored units were replacing engines, artillery units lacked ammunition, and the air force lacked fuel.
• The Red Army lacks capable personnel due to Stalinist purges in 1937.
• Many newly promoted officers are communists with rudimentary knowledge of military tactics.
• Soldiers at the front report shortages of tanks and planes, and commanders fleeing while ordering them to fight.
• Red Army commanders apply the "Moscow doctrine," favoring forward attacks over defense, leading to heavy losses.

4. The Battle of Minsk and Hitler's Overconfidence

• Nazi cannons target Minsk, Belarus, a week after the offensive begins.
• 700,000 soldiers encircle Red Army troops, leading to the capture of Minsk on June 28.
• Almost 300,000 Soviet soldiers are taken prisoner.
• A German soldier describes the column of prisoners as emitting a terrible stench.
• Hitler visits the headquarters of Army Group Center and glorifies the victory in Minsk, believing the war is as good as won.

5. Resistance in Ukraine and the Commissar Order

• The situation on the southern front in Ukraine is not under control, with the Germans facing strong Soviet resistance and high losses.
• Nazi propaganda portrays the "Jewish-Bolshevik clique" as inciting the Soviet people against Germany.
• The Commissar Order mandates the systematic execution of captured Soviet Communist Party officials.

6. Massacres by Einsatzgruppen and Local Collaborators

• Across Lithuania, the Special Units Einsatzgruppen, supported by the Wehrmacht, massacre the Jewish population.
• Initially, only men are killed, or local militias are encouraged to conduct pogroms.
• 30,000 Jews are shot in the first week of the German invasion.
• A young girl recounts a conversation where a Jewish neighbor refuses to believe the Germans would lie to them, insisting they are people with a great culture.

7. Fear and Propaganda in Soviet Cities

• In Kiev, fear spreads as the Wehrmacht approaches.
• Irina Khoroshunova describes the population's desire to escape and the panic caused by party members evacuating with their possessions.
• Archives are burned.
• Fear also grows in Moscow, with rumors circulating about Stalin's whereabouts.
• On July 3, Stalin addresses the people as "Comrades! Citizens! Brothers and sisters!" for the first time, appealing to national pride and mobilizing them for a "Great Patriotic War."
• Sixteen-year-old Georgi Efron, despite his family's persecution by the Soviet state, believes his place is behind Stalin.
• Soviet propaganda glorifies the Red Army soldier and workers on the home front, all under the watchful gaze of Comrade Stalin.

8. Slowing German Advance and Growing Attrition

• New Soviet tanks and units slow down the Nazi advance.
• On July 24, Joseph Goebbels acknowledges that the campaign in Eastern Europe is "not a stroll to Moscow."
• Operation Barbarossa has not achieved its ultimate goals, with the Bolshevik regime not collapsing and the Red Army putting up strong resistance.
• General Gotthard Heinrici notes that even if Moscow were occupied, the war would continue.
• German ground soldiers face harsh conditions, including long marches, heat, and constant threat of attack.
• Small German units are repeatedly ambushed by Red Army soldiers who have escaped encirclements.

9. Brutality and Terror on Both Sides

• The Criminal Orders issued in 1941 allow for collective retaliation against the Soviet civilian population and guarantee amnesty for soldiers who commit war crimes.
• The army is ordered to work with the Einsatzgruppen.
• Terror is also rife within the Red Army, with political commissars encouraged to report suspicious behavior and Order 270 declaring any soldier taken prisoner a traitor, with their family subject to arrest.
• Thousands of informers for the NKVD hunt for saboteurs, alarmists, and defeatists.

10. The Battle of Kiev and the Babi Yar Massacre

• In August 1941, Hitler visits the headquarters of Army Group Center, with Operation Barbarossa at a standstill.
• Hitler decides to encircle Soviet troops in the south, east of Kiev.
• On September 16, Army Group Centre meets with Army Groups South on the outskirts of Kiev.
• The battle of Kiev results in an unprecedented defeat for the Red Army, with around 600,000 prisoners taken.
• On September 19, the Wehrmacht occupies Kiev, but Soviet explosives cause extensive damage.
• The Nazis blame the city’s Jewish population for the explosions.
• On September 29, Major General Kurt Eberhardt orders all members of the Jewish community to gather near the Jewish cemetery, supposedly for resettlement.
• Wehrmacht soldiers and Ukrainian auxiliary police lead the prisoners to the Babi Yar ravine.
• German soldier Hans Roth witnesses the massacre, horrified by the scene.
• Within two days, more than 33,000 Jews are murdered by members of the Waffen-SS and Einsatzgruppen with the help of Wehrmacht soldiers and the Ukrainian auxiliary police.
• Irina Khoroshunova expresses her despair and the need for the world to know about the terrible crime being committed.

11. Conclusion

• The Babi Yar massacre marks a turning point in the radicalization of the Nazis’ policy of extermination.
• With the Nazis in control of Kiev, Operation Barbarossa regains its momentum, with nothing seemingly standing in the way of the capture of Moscow before winter.