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.
""The thesis set forth by Stephen Fritz in Ostkrieg is
so simple and compelling that it merits consideration even by those
who have studied the topic for years."--New York Journal of
Books" --
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.
