DOI: 10.20535/2307-5244.50.2020.210143
National Technical University of Ukraine «Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute»
Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University
The start of the Soviet-German war in historical reflections
continues to be a topical and a debating issue. The day of June 22nd,1941
fundamentally changed not only the character of World War II, but the whole
course of military and political confrontation in the world.
The article covers the aspects of military strategic
planning of Nazi Germany and
its preparation for aggressive actions in Europe.
The authors recognize a special role of the Operation Barbarossa in the global
projects of the Third Reich. The step-by-step preparation of the Nazi General
Staff of the war in the East is shown. The strengths and weaknesses of the
blitzkrieg plan are analyzed. Possibilities of the Soviet alternative response
to the Operation Barbarossa are considered. Using a considerable amount of literature
provided by Anglo-American, German authors, publications of foreign and
Ukrainian researchers, the authors tried to reconsider controversial pages in the
history of World War II.
It was proven that the Nazi plan for the blitzkrieg
was aggressive, offensive, and criminal from its beginning. It aimed at defeating
the enemy troops, destruction of the statehood, capturing and colonization of
the territories, exploiting the resources on the occupied countries, physical
destruction of the political opponents, and ethnic cleansing. The article reveals
the political, economic, and military aspirations of Nazi Germany. The
authors believe that various activities of German intelligence and propaganda
apparatus aimed at large-scale misinformation of the enemy, therefore, concealment
of invaders’ true intentions and plans, and psychological pressure on society
are worth exploration.
Given the multifaceted nature of the topic for the analysis of events and processes, the authors used a set of historical and political science methods. The authors’ research is based on the principles of historicism, scientism, and objectivism. The conclusions and reflections of the authors take into account the immense historical narrative, indisputable facts, and experiences of many generations of scholars. The authors put forward a prior task — to remind the contemporary generation of scholars of the most tragic events in the twentieth century, as well as to promote understanding of the birth of the mechanisms of war in order to prevent wars and aggression in the future.
Keywords: World War II, Third Reich, Operation Barbarossa, Nazism, aggression, «Blitzkrieg».
