I'm going to go. He's

a-a-ra-s-s-s-s-a-s-s-a-s-a-s- Welcome to the Russian rulers history podcast. Episode 82, Operation Barbarossa, Stalin's worst nightmare.

Last time, we recounted the day leading up to the Nazis invasion of the Soviet Union and

Stalin's insistence that Germany was not invading really provoking the Russians.

We also learned that Stalin had plans to invade Germany first, but was beaten to the punch.

Stalin was pretty stunned when he learned of the invasion.

At first he thought it was a provocation by a rogue general of the German army.

The boss was quoted as saying, Hitler does not know about it. He didn't want to retaliate until he heard from Berlin.

Stalin was just sure that the Germans weren't so foolish as to start the campaign in late June

because of the brutal Russian winters. But Hitler was so sure of

himself and his army that they could sweep their way all the way to Moscow in just a couple months. Stalin had the ambassador from Germany summoned

to the Kremlin. Schulenburg went to Molotov's office or remumbled words to the effect that

Soviet concentration of forces caused the attack.

Of course, this was sheer nonsense, as the attack had been planned by the Germans from almost the first day of the signing of the peace

treaty in 1939. The invasion was supposed to happen in May of 1941, but it was

delayed because of events in Yugoslavia. The Germans invaded the

small Adriatic nation which diverted troops needed for the Russian campaign.

It is this invasion that provided the opportunity for my German father to meet

by Yugoslavian slash Russian mother.

Interestingly enough, as a little side note here, just a few weeks ago while talking to my older brother, I learned that my mother, who came from a wealthy Russian family was a noted partisan who helped fight the Nazi occupation of

Yugoslavia. She was wanted by the Soviets because of her sorist heritage but she

became a hero in her town of Belgrade because of her anti-Nazi underground

...