Chapter 144 Chapter 24 "The Door to the Dark Room" (1)

1941.6.22-1942.12.19 In the early morning of June 22, leaflets from various Berlin newspapers were distributed on the streets.The news of the sudden attack on an ally created confusion, but the public felt a sense of relief.This is because only a few people understand how to sign a treaty with the red elements in the first place.Hitler told Goebbels to hurry up and explain.The Minister of Propaganda therefore announced several propaganda points to his subordinates that morning: "Now that the Führer has revealed the true face of the betrayal of the Bolshevik rulers, our National Socialists, and therefore the entire German people, are returning to drive them forward. Go on on the basis of the principles—struggle against plutocracy and Bolshevism!" He went on to say that the Führer had assured him that the war with Russia would be over in four months. "But I tell you, eight weeks is enough!"

That afternoon, at a social gathering, Goebbels was repeating his prophecy to his guests.He said to the movie star Olga Chekhova (Chekhov's niece), "You are an expert on Russia. Will we be in Moscow before Christmas?" The way the question was asked and the very nature of the question annoyed her.She replied briefly: "You know Russia, her land is vast. Even Napoleon had to retreat." Goebbels was speechless for a while, and only said: "That's right." Ten minutes later, he The adjutant said to the actress: "Ma'am, I think you are leaving, the car is already outside."

The Soviet Union was in shambles.In just a few hours, the Red Army Air Force lost 1,200 aircraft, and the infantry resistance was also very uncoordinated.Stalin did not believe the problem was so serious and ordered the Red Army not to enter German territory, and the Air Force limited its air strikes to 90 miles near the border.He believed that the Nazis entered the Soviet Union by mistake and that the war could be prevented through diplomatic channels.While maintaining radio contact with Wilhelmstrasse, he invited Japan to intervene in any political and economic differences between Germany and the Soviet Union.

The Soviet ambassador in London had no such illusions.When visiting Foreign Secretary Eden, Maisky asked bluntly whether the British government was going to reduce its war efforts to a certain extent and obey Hitler's "peace offensive", to which Eden answered firmly in the negative.That night, in a moving radio address to the nation, Churchill (who had said not so long ago: "If Hitler attacks hell, I can at least speak in the House of Commons in favor of the devil") turned it into official opinion. "We are determined to crush Hitler and remove every trace of the Nashad regime. Nothing will stop us—nothing. We will never talk, never negotiate with Hitler or any of his associates." He pledged to do his best to aid the Russians. "We will appeal to our friends and allies around the world to let us take and implement the same decision. We will faithfully and steadfastly follow through!"

George Kennan, who worked at the U.S. embassy, ​​had reservations.He put his views in writing and passed them on as a personal opinion to a friend at the State Department: "I feel that to welcome Russia as a friend in the defense of democracy would misunderstand our position and free Provide much-needed moral support to Germany's war effort. With such a policy, I don't see what we can do but show that we are in league with the Russians, destroying the Baltic states, launching an attack on Finnish independence, carve up destroyed Poland and Romania, and destroyed the religious faith in the whole of Eastern Europe, thereby agreeing to the domestic policy of Soviet Russia-a regime that arouses fear and hatred widely in the country, and its methods of governance are extremely undemocratic." But this should not be prohibited" Expand material assistance, if our own interests so require. However, it should exclude anything that might lead to a perception that we are politically and ideologically aligned with the Russian war effort."

Roosevelt was aware of Stalin's dictatorship and his secret territorial greed, but he was more afraid of Hitler.He immediately approved a State Department statement declaring that aiding communism was good for America's security."Of course we will try to help Russia as much as we can," he told reporters -- without saying when or how. The attitude of the Pope is not ambiguous at all.Although he did not explicitly support the German invasion, he also made it clear that he supported the Nazi struggle against Bolshevism, calling it "a noble act of heroism in defense of the foundations of Christian culture."Predictably, many German priests supported the attack.Some people even called it "Europe's Crusade", which was almost the same as the actions of the Teutonic warriors.The Pope called on all Catholics to fight for "a victory that will enable Europe to breathe freely again and bring a new future to all nations."

Within 24 hours, the German public's interest began to wane.After the first panic-buying of newspapers (carrying only general reports from the front), the townspeople went about their lives as if it were just another Hitler feat. At 17:30 on June 23, Hitler and his entourage left the capital by the head of state train. "Wolf's Lair," the new command headquarters in a forest just a few miles from Rastenburg in East Prussia.In the command headquarters, everyone is confident that a quick victory will be achieved (the command headquarters is a wooden house or a reinforced concrete bungalow).Hitler had mixed feelings. "We just have to kick the door and the whole ruined building will collapse," he told Yoddle.Moments later, he said to an adjutant: "Every time a campaign starts, we push a door that leads to a dark room. We don't know what's inside."

The early victories seemed to justify lofty hopes.Two days later, a large number of prisoners of war were captured, and the bridge was intact.German tanks broke through the Soviet defenses and ran amok without much organized resistance.Authorities have not released details to the German public for a week. On Sunday, the 29th, ten special campaigns prepared by Hitler himself were broadcast on the radio—one broadcast every hour.Goebbels had objected to this sudden rush of news, but Hitler was complacent about it.Later in the day, however, Hitler heard many complaints that the authorities were playing tricks and showing off the war.When Otto Dietrich reflected to him that people who listen to the radio at home on Sundays find it annoying, saying that the weather is so good, but they have to stay in the house to listen to the radio.He retorted that he understood the thoughts and feelings of the masses better than Dietrich and "all the intellectuals put together".

The German army was in full swing, and the Soviet army frequently surrendered collectively-to date, the number of surrenders has reached nearly 500,000. On July 3, Halder wrote in his diary: "It is not too much to say that the war against Russia was won within two weeks." The head of state also said to his entourage, "Russia has actually lost the war." ’” He said cheerfully, how lucky, “We wiped out the Russian armored forces and air force from the very beginning!” Russia, he said, would never be able to replenish.Many military experts in the West also agree with this statement.The talk in the Pentagon was that the Red Army would collapse in a month or so.