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In the summer of 1941 Adolf Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, his invasion of the Soviet Union. Often described as an epic strategic blunder, the invasion was supposed to reach Moscow in weeks. Instead, four years later, Soviet troops would take Berlin and destroy Nazi Germany.

But was the move really a mistake? In this video we’ll examine why, in the mind of Hitler at least, Germany had to invade the USSR. And how Hitler’s genocidal enterprise in the east might have claimed the lives of many millions more.

NOTES
The graph at 3:23 should read 'United Kingdom' rather than 'British Empire'.
The map at 10:04 should include Norway as occupied.

Find out more about the Operation Barbarossa: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/whatw...

Why Operation Barbarossa Failed: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/operat...

Explore and licence the film clips used in this video from IWM Film:
https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/co...

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Attributions:
Herbert Backe / Bundesarchiv, Bild 183J02034 / CCBYSA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...