Book description
On June 22, 1941, Germany launched the greatest land assault in history
on the Soviet Union, an attack that Adolf Hitler deemed crucial to
ensure German economic and political survival. As the key theater of the
war for the Germans, the eastern front consumed enormous levels of
resources and accounted for 75 percent of all German casualties. Despite
the significance of this campaign to Germany and to the war as a whole,
few English-language publications of the last thirty-five years have
addressed these pivotal events. In Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of
Extermination in the East, Stephen G. Fritz bridges the gap in
scholarship by incorporating historical research from the last several
decades into an accessible, comprehensive, and coherent narrative. His
analysis of the Russo-German War from a German perspective covers all
aspects of the eastern front, demonstrating the interrelation of
military events, economic policy, resource exploitation, and racial
policy that first motivated the invasion. This in-depth account
challenges accepted notions about World War II and promotes greater
understanding of a topic that has been neglected by historians.
Stephen G. Fritz, professor of history at East Tennessee State
University, is the author of Frontsoldaten: The German Soldier in World
War II and Endkampf: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Death of the Third
Reich. He lives in Johnson City, Tennessee.
