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Summary
The reports of the continual Soviet attacks and the hard defensive fighting on the eastern Front have filled the people [Volksgenossen] with increasing uneasiness…The recent news reports do not provide a clear picture of these events. In many cases, the description of a backwards repositioning of the front for strategic reasons originally had an enlightening effect. But since no subsequent statement has been made concerning developments on the eastern front, it is frequently feared that the withdrawal of our troops…might have taken place because of pressure from superior Russian forces …In particular, the people want an explanation why the Russians are still in the position to carry out such attacks, given the previous frequently repeated propaganda about the ‘last reserves of the Soviets…’
From a secret report by the SS security service (5 Jan. 1942)The end of the lightning war
In late November of 1941, the German eastern offensive ground to a halt. The subsequent Russian counterattack brought the lightning war to a definitive end. For the first time, but not the last, Germany was on the defensive. The Third Reich now faced more and tougher opponents. Immediately after the Japanese attack on the American naval base in Pearl Harbor, Germany brought the United States into the European hostilities by a declaration of war.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1989