Essays provide current interpretations of Germany's military, economic, racial, and diplomatic policies in 1941. Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 and events on the Eastern Front that same year were pivotal to the history of World War II. It was during this year that the radicalization of Nazi policy -- through both anall-encompassing approach to warfare and the application of genocidal practices -- became most obvious. Germany's military aggression and overtly ideological conduct, culminating in genocide against Soviet Jewry and the decimation of the Soviet population through planned starvation and brutal antipartisan policies, distinguished Operation Barbarossa-the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union-from all previous military campaigns in modern European history. This collection of essays, written by young scholars of seven different nationalities, provides readers with the most current interpretations of Germany's military, economic, racial, and diplomatic policies in 1941. With its breadth and its thematic focus on total war, genocide, and radicalization, this volume fills a considerable gap in English-language literature on Germany's war of annihilation against the Soviet Union and theradicalization of World War II during this critical year. Alex J. Kay is the author of Exploitation, Resettlement, Mass Murder: Political and Economic Planning for German Occupation Policy in the Soviet Union, 1940-1941 and is an independent contractor for the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on War Consequences. Jeff Rutherford is assistant professor of history at Wheeling Jesuit University, where he teaches modern European history. David Stahel is the author of Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East and Kiev 1941: Hitler's Battle for Supremacy in the East.

"Valuable reading for anyone with a serious interest in the Second World War." - WWW.HISTORYOFWAR.ORG

"This amazing book is a valuable gift to all those interested in the history of Nazi warfare in the east.... It not only updates English-language readers on the most recent developments in German and post-Soviet historiography but also introduces new archival materials and makes important statements bound to produce a powerful impact in various fields." - CANADIAN JOURNAL OF HISTORY

"The volume contains groundbreaking new contributions and valuable overviews of topics that have already been researched. It also has the special advantage of making primary and secondary sources from other countries, especially Russia and Germany, accessible to the English-speaking world." - WAR IN HISTORY

"A superb collection that materially enhances our understanding of the broader Nazi effort in the East; anyone interested in the Soviet-German conflict or the Holocaust will profit from it." - JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY

"It is most useful to have such expertise bound together in one volume. This is a major work of scholarship." - ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW