Operation Barbarossa and its Aftermath

The 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, remains one of Nazi Germany’s most significant military campaigns. Executed by Hitler’s Wehrmacht army, this event saw troops from all over Europe defeat the Red Army and temporarily colonize large swathes of Eastern Europe, ultimately laying the groundwork for the Holocaust. In this illuminating re-examination of this multifaceted event, Operation Barbarossa and its Aftermath refocuses our attention on the multiethnic nature of the campaign, shedding light on the role of soldiers from Slovakia, Italy, Romania, and Spain as well as other important issues. This volume highlights how viewing Operation Barbarossa as a multiethnic campaign, rather than a strictly German-Russian conflict, offers new ways of understanding the Holocaust, World War II and the history of European collaboration.

Dr. Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe is Alfred Landecker Lecturer at the Freie Universität Berlin. He has published several books and articles and has edited three volumes about the Holocaust in East Central Europe, transnational fascism in Western and Eastern Europe, and the history of multiethnic cities. He was a fellow of the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Gerda Henkel Stiftung, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, the Jewish Claims Conference, the Zentrum für Holocaust-Studien, the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah, and the Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocaust Research.