1. Hitler’s Dream and Folly
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler’s Dream and Folly

2. OVERVIEW In this lesson, you will examine:
Hitler’s reasons for invading the USSR
Factors leading to initial success
Stalin’s response
Hitler’s miscalculations

3. “Lebensraum”
Despite the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, Hitler had long planned to invade Russia for various reasons:
Slavic people were seen as inferior and therefore should be slaves of the Aryans
The Nazi war machine needed the wheat fields of Ukraine and the oil of the Caucasus mountains

4. Success
Operation Barbarossa was a complete surprise to Soviet forces when it launched in June By October 1941…
Soviets tanks and aircraft were completely destroyed or captured in Western Russia
Over 2 million prisoners had been captured
German armies were about to capture the cities of Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad
Stalin ignored intelligence reports about the coming invasion.

6. Stalin’s response
After the initial shock of the invasion, Stalin and the Soviet leadership acted swiftly and pragmatically. The Soviets…
Used “scorched earth” tactics
Moved their factories to eastern Russia
Promoted the war as a nationalist struggle

7. Grave miscalculations
Based on their early success, the Germans believed victory was imminent. As a result, German forces had…
Issued no winter clothing
Stretched out their supply lines – no local resources
Spread out across great distances and had too many goals
Underestimated the total number of Soviet forces

8. SUMMARY QUESTIONS
Why did Hitler invade Russia even though Britain had not been defeated?
What were the early results of Operation Barbarossa?
How did the Soviets respond to the invasion?
In what ways were the German forces over-confident about defeating the Soviet Union?