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Thank you. It's June 21st, 1941, near Poland's eastern border, nine months into World War II.

Under the cover of night, German soldiered Alfred Lyskov flees his military unit and heads for Soviet territory.

A communist sympathizer, Alfred is determined to warn the Soviets that a German invasion of the Soviet Union is imminent,

so he bounds towards a nearby river that separates Poland from the Ukraine.

Without hesitation, Alfred jumps into the water and swims toward the Soviet Union. On the other side, he emerges dripping wet and exhausted, but still takes off in a run.

Soon he sees a flashlight shining in the distance.

As Alfred hurries toward the light, he finds himself mere feet away from a pair of Soviet soldiers. Spotting Alfred's German uniform, the soldiers reach for their guns.

Immediately, Alfred raises his hands in surrender and issues a series of protestations in German.

Cautiously, the soldiers grab Alfred by the arms and march into their truck.

Almost two years prior, Adolf Hitler launched his invasion of Poland and plunged the world into war.

And since the conflict's inception, the Soviet Union has flirted with the idea of joining the Axis powers.

But unbeknownst to the Soviets, Hitler has been planning to enact a war of annihilation on the Soviet Union,

a plan the German dictator was set into motion during the summer of 1941.

Alfred Liskov's warning will come too late for the Soviets.

Throughout the Germans' invasion, the Soviet Union will suffer heavy casualties and numerous defeats.

But contrary to the Nazi's expectations,

the Soviets will not collapse under the pressure. Instead, four years after their entry into the war,

the Red Army will descend on Berlin, victorious, bringing the war in Europe to an end on what

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