Hitler launched a plan ("Operation Barbarossa") to
conquer the Soviet Union and to control its vast oil deposits. He thought he would be successful. Indeed, his troops penetrated deeper into Russian territory than any other invader, including Napoleon. (Be patient with this terrific animated map from Szeged University in Hungary. It is worth the wait.)
But Hitler failed to consider the psychological impact of a German invasion. He did not count on
the will of the Soviet people to
resist him and his military might. He did not count on the misery of his own
soldiers as they endured the brutal Russian winters.
Contemporary Soviet posters depict how much Hitler and his Third Reich were hated. Without understanding a word of Russian, it’s easy to grasp the message:
- "Kill the German Beast"
- "That’s Enough, Fascist Beast!"
- "Death to the Fascist Monster"
The battle for Stalin’s city was originally code-named "Operation Blue." It wasn’t long before
German soldiers called it Rattenkrieg (translated:
War of the Rats). Doing what they (and Hitler) never wanted, German troops were forced to
fight man-to-man where rats lived: in
the streets, in the cellars, in the ditches.
