Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany's War in the East, 1941-1945
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- Create Date：2022-09-17 06:59:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Christian Hartmann
- ISBN：0198701705
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Summary
The war between Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union that raged between 1941 and 1945 was the ultimate confrontation between the two great totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century。 Unprecedented in the scale of the destruction that it wrought and the deep historical scars that it left behind， it was a gargantuan conflict in every sense of the term: in the vast territories over which it ranged， its intensity and duration， the huge numbers of people involved， and last but by no means least， the millions of victims that it claimed。
The invasion of the Soviet Union was the conflict that Hitler had always ultimately planned for: a pitiless war of conquest and destruction in which the Fuehrer dreamed of creating his 'Thousand Year Reich'， destroying his ideological opponents， and enslaving or 'eliminating' whole peoples in the process。 It was right from the start a struggle for survival， conducted with great bitterness and savagery by opponents who knew that defeat meant the destruction of everything they stood for。
The outcome of this bitter struggle was quite as momentous as the struggle which had preceded it。 By 1945 a huge swathe of Europe between Berlin and Moscow had been reduced to a devastated wasteland in which whole societies had been erased from the face of the earth。 Over 26 million Soviets and between four and five million Germans lay dead。 The victory of the Red Army transformed the Soviet Union into one of the world's two superpowers。 It also saw the complete destruction of Hitler's megalomaniac vision for the East， the division of the German Reich， and the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe for a generation。
In Operation Barbarossa， German military historian Christian Hartmann draws upon the latest research， enriched by a wealth of eye-witness testimony from both the Soviet and the German sides， to paint a masterly overview of these momentous four years and their human consequences--one that is both gripping and at times deeply moving。
The invasion of the Soviet Union was the conflict that Hitler had always ultimately planned for: a pitiless war of conquest and destruction in which the Fuehrer dreamed of creating his 'Thousand Year Reich'， destroying his ideological opponents， and enslaving or 'eliminating' whole peoples in the process。 It was right from the start a struggle for survival， conducted with great bitterness and savagery by opponents who knew that defeat meant the destruction of everything they stood for。
The outcome of this bitter struggle was quite as momentous as the struggle which had preceded it。 By 1945 a huge swathe of Europe between Berlin and Moscow had been reduced to a devastated wasteland in which whole societies had been erased from the face of the earth。 Over 26 million Soviets and between four and five million Germans lay dead。 The victory of the Red Army transformed the Soviet Union into one of the world's two superpowers。 It also saw the complete destruction of Hitler's megalomaniac vision for the East， the division of the German Reich， and the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe for a generation。
In Operation Barbarossa， German military historian Christian Hartmann draws upon the latest research， enriched by a wealth of eye-witness testimony from both the Soviet and the German sides， to paint a masterly overview of these momentous four years and their human consequences--one that is both gripping and at times deeply moving。
Reviews
Renard
，
Really great book if you want to deep dive into the origin of Barbarossa， its chain of events， and its failure （up to the first winter）。It really well documented and the reasoning sounds fair。 I really learnt a lot of things， from the geopolitical situation to the description of the state of the red army and many others。It is hard to always follow all the tactical descriptions of army movements， but even so， you get a good understanding of the situation。Careful， the book is big: 1600 pages
Tomi
，
This book explores the reasons for the Eastern Front and for the Soviet victory。 The author does a good job of making things understandable - although I will note that just because you know a lot of big words， you don’t have to use all of them in one book！
Duncan Bennett
，
Exceptionally written book。 Not too much information to become boring， but enough to give you a clear image of what this war really entailed。
Ming Yen PHAN
，
A concise humane look at a very inhumane chapter of human history。 Strongly recommended for all humanities students and history lovers。
Carson Frazier
，
Very informative book on the Eastern front of World War II。
Wilde Sky
，
An analysis of the WWII German invasion of Soviet Union。Some of this book was interesting but it was a bit repetitive and had a poor structure / lacked detail。Reading time around two hours。
Eric
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I was expecting a narrative history of the German invasion of the Soviet Union but instead got a thoughtful and concise analysis of it。 It made for an interesting read。 I learned a ton of cool things reading this， such as:* The Nazi plan for the Soviet Union was to drive out or murder all the "undesirable" inhabitants and import "desirable" Germans to live there* Stalin's purge of virtually all the experienced Red Army officers was a huge detriment to the Red Army's cause。 * The Red Army's equip I was expecting a narrative history of the German invasion of the Soviet Union but instead got a thoughtful and concise analysis of it。 It made for an interesting read。 I learned a ton of cool things reading this， such as:* The Nazi plan for the Soviet Union was to drive out or murder all the "undesirable" inhabitants and import "desirable" Germans to live there* Stalin's purge of virtually all the experienced Red Army officers was a huge detriment to the Red Army's cause。 * The Red Army's equipment was shoddy but it had plenty of it。 The Germans had top-notch equipment but not enough of it。 In this case， quantity won out over quality。* The initial 1941 German invasion saw success as the German armies drove deep into Russia。 But those armies felt like defeats due to heavy losses and supply issues。 The invasion was doomed to fail from the start。* All the organizations within the German government - the Army， the SS， civilian departments - played a role in exterminating Jewish folks in their conquered territory* German POW camps were much different than Hogan's Heroes。 Three million Soviet soldiers died in these hellholes， out of a total of 5。7 million overall。* Soviet partisan forces were very effective in disrupting German supply lines。 The Army responded by murdering civilians by the thousands and destroying entire villages。 What I liked best about this book was the last two lines。 Won't give them away， but they were great and struck just the right sentiment。 。。。more
Alten
，
Die dünnen Bücher der "C。H。Beck Wissen"-Reihe hinterlassen bei mir regelmäßig ein Gefühl der Unsattheit。 Auf rund 100 Seiten wird versucht， etwas unterzubringen， dass viele Bände füllen könnte。 Zwar umfasst Hartmanns Buch nicht mehrere Jahrhunderte， wie Andreas Fahrmeirs "Deutsche Geschichte" （~ 10 Seiten pro 100 Jahre）， sondern nur einige Jahre - aber eben sehr ereignisreiche und dramatische。 Lobend hervorheben muss ich den Schreibstil des Autors。 Er kann schreiben und fasst komplizierte Sachve Die dünnen Bücher der "C。H。Beck Wissen"-Reihe hinterlassen bei mir regelmäßig ein Gefühl der Unsattheit。 Auf rund 100 Seiten wird versucht， etwas unterzubringen， dass viele Bände füllen könnte。 Zwar umfasst Hartmanns Buch nicht mehrere Jahrhunderte， wie Andreas Fahrmeirs "Deutsche Geschichte" （~ 10 Seiten pro 100 Jahre）， sondern nur einige Jahre - aber eben sehr ereignisreiche und dramatische。 Lobend hervorheben muss ich den Schreibstil des Autors。 Er kann schreiben und fasst komplizierte Sachverhalte sehr gelungen und eindringlich zusammen。 Der geschärfte Blick auf die Ideologien der gegeneinander kämpfenden Seiten， hat das Buch stark aufgewertet und lässt die Radikalität und den Fanatismus verstehen， mit dem Nazi-Deutschland und die Sowjetunion diesen Kampf austrugen。 Dass er den Gräueln und Leiden dieses Krieges mit der bloßen Wiedergabe der historischen Ereignisse nicht gerecht wird， erkennt der Autor schon in seinem Einleitungszitat: "The real war will never get in the books"。 Hartmann versucht jedoch auch， die psychologische Komponente des Krieges zu beleuchten。 Ein ausgezeichnet formulierter Satz bringt den wohl wichtigsten Film zum deutschen Krieg im Osten ins Spiel， um die Situation der sowjetischen Zivilbevölkerung in Hitlers Machtbereich zu beschreiben: "。。。verwandelten sich die deutschen Besatzungsbiete nun in apokalyptische Landschaften， deren Bewohner auf sich selbst zurückgeworfen waren， ohne jeden Schutz von Gesetzen oder Behörden。 Selten wurde dies so eindringlich dargestellt， wie in dem Spielfilm 'Komm und sieh'， wo der Held Fljora wie einst im Dreißigjährigen Krieg Simplicius Simplicissmus durch eine Welt taumelt， die völlig aus den Fugen geraten ist。"Was das Buch nicht leistet， ist es， denn konkreten Verlauf des Krieges nachzuzeichnen。 Aber das ist dem begrenzten Raum geschuldet und der Intention des Autors， den Fokus auf andere Bereiche zu setzen。 。。。more
Steve Scott
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An incredibly informative and compact treatment of the war on the Eastern Front during WWII。 Hartmann is able to squeeze 20 pounds of information into a five pound bag。 The work is clearly written and with an engaging prose style that makes it a pure pleasure to work through。 What's more， I learned more from this than I had from other （and longer） books on the same topic。 I thought myself fairly well read on the topic。。。and came away much better informed。 An incredibly informative and compact treatment of the war on the Eastern Front during WWII。 Hartmann is able to squeeze 20 pounds of information into a five pound bag。 The work is clearly written and with an engaging prose style that makes it a pure pleasure to work through。 What's more， I learned more from this than I had from other （and longer） books on the same topic。 I thought myself fairly well read on the topic。。。and came away much better informed。 。。。more
Timothy McNeil
，
Hartmann condenses half of the European theatre of World War II by not addressing the war itself or actually concentrating on the Nazi forces。 Not without useful or worthwhile information， but not a great read or one that is particularly insightful。
Ron Nurmi
，
a brief view of Operation Barbarossa from both sides
Daniel Kukwa
，
As a primer on the entire German/Soviet conflict， it is concise & informative， and moves along at a brisk clip。 But after a while， you crave even more detail。。。detail a short book like this can only tantalize， but never deliver。
Jim Martin
，
This is a good， short introduction to the subject written by a German historian。 The author devotes about equal space to the military aspects of the campaign and subjects that have not often been covered in more traditional accounts such as the war's diplomatic background and the German occupation。 This is a good， short introduction to the subject written by a German historian。 The author devotes about equal space to the military aspects of the campaign and subjects that have not often been covered in more traditional accounts such as the war's diplomatic background and the German occupation。 。。。more
Keith McGowan
，
Written by a German， the book gives a balanced view of the atrocities committed by both the Nazis and the Soviets。 I was looking for a more in depth exploration of this part of World War II， but this work provides a succinct summary of the conflict grouped by topic， rather than a blow by blow account。
Steven Raszewski
，
For it shortness， 170 pages it is one of the best I've read and I've read lots of books on the Eastern front。 Very well written and succinct points。 For it shortness， 170 pages it is one of the best I've read and I've read lots of books on the Eastern front。 Very well written and succinct points。 。。。more
Kieran Healy
，
A great summation and argument about how Germany came to initiate Operation Barbarossa， a war between 2 gigantic totalitarian states， and why it failed。 4 stars because to take such a massive topic and boil it down to under 200 pages is incredible。
Umberto
，
Short and to the pointlearned that soviets were not a coehesive force until the fight for survival made them soBoth sides under suppliedboth sides commit awful attrocitiesGermans tried to do too much
Kelly
，
This pace and tone of the book makes it easy to read。 Easily one of the best i've seen to present so much information in so few pages。 I like that it focuses on the political， cultural （mostly military）， and military aspects of the eastern front campaign and the decisions that lead up to it。 Its only fault might be the level of detail but again， considering its length， its very well-presented （and if you really want granular battle details， there are myriads of other books out there）。 It emphasi This pace and tone of the book makes it easy to read。 Easily one of the best i've seen to present so much information in so few pages。 I like that it focuses on the political， cultural （mostly military）， and military aspects of the eastern front campaign and the decisions that lead up to it。 Its only fault might be the level of detail but again， considering its length， its very well-presented （and if you really want granular battle details， there are myriads of other books out there）。 It emphasized some information （especially the foreign policy of Nazi Germany） in a way that made me re-think some of what i knew about the eastern front campaign （admittedly one of my weaker areas of knowledge from WWII）。 。。。more
Carl
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A quick overview of a massive part of the war in Europe spanning 4 years of untold carnage。 Hartman does a good job of covering the basic themes and mixes in individual stories of participants and victims。 whets my appetite for a more in depth multi-volume study。
Shane Amazon
，
Operation Barbarossa has many strengths to offer over its 200 plus pages。 However， for the many strengths it does have there are a few weaknesses as well。 After reading this book I was quite pleased with the historical data presented， it is thorough and well laid out。 I also enjoyed the writing as it was easy to read and at times felt a little bit like a novel。 However， the book lacks a proper linear presentation。 In most stories， whether fiction or nonfiction， there is a beginning， a middle， an Operation Barbarossa has many strengths to offer over its 200 plus pages。 However， for the many strengths it does have there are a few weaknesses as well。 After reading this book I was quite pleased with the historical data presented， it is thorough and well laid out。 I also enjoyed the writing as it was easy to read and at times felt a little bit like a novel。 However， the book lacks a proper linear presentation。 In most stories， whether fiction or nonfiction， there is a beginning， a middle， and an end。 Here in Operation Barbarossa the beginning is backed up by facts that happened years later， and events that happened near the end are mixed with events that happen in the middle。 For me， I read the book with some difficulty because events were laid out as if the author needed to prove the validity of events by other events that happened later on。 This telling takes away from enjoyment of learning what happened as it happened， and made the book more of an argument for the author's purpose for writing it。Over all the book is a good historical retelling， but in the end I didn't experience the war， but rater was educated about it。 Perhaps I would have rather been talked to rather than talked at。*I received this book in ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Historical Fiction
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