Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Nazi Ideology & Invasion of the Soviet Union

The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 has often been described as "the greatest blunder of the Second World War" and historians have long debated the relative contributions of ideology and strategy to Hitler's decision to implement Operation Barbarossa, as the invasion was known, at this particular time (Rich 204). Although the notion of lebensraum, the acquisition of 'living room' for the expansion of the Aryan peoples, had long been a major factor in Hitler's plans for the Eastern front his planning had also included a commitment to avoid involving Germany in a two-front war. Despite the inevitability of fighting on two fronts because of the unexpected continuing strength of Britain and the United States' entry into the war, however, Hitler believed that Barbarossa was necessary in practical terms. While he certainly held that it was necessary on grounds related to his ideology of race this was not the only factor involved in the timing of the invasion. The racial program -- basically the maximizing of opportunity for Aryans and the elimination or enslavement of inferior peoples -- required the expansion of the Reich far into the East. But events in 1940 and 1941 conspired, in Hitler's view, to make it necessary to hasten the invasion in order to be prepared for an expanded war in the near future.

Hitler's racist ideology was the foundation on which the idea of eventually dominating Russia was based and the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 was an operation carried out in pursuit of lebensraum, the elimination of the Jews, an end to Bolshevism, and eventual German domination of the world. These were the overall goals that Hitler had formulated two decades earlier and had pursued ever since. But the decision to take the step of invading Russia at that particular date depended on the existence of other factors that seemed to Hitler to endanger the health of his general program.

In the most basic terms ...

Page 1 of 18 Next >

More on Nazi Ideology & Invasion of the Soviet Union...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Nazi Ideology & Invasion of the Soviet Union. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:48, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1694420.html