Stalin's War of Extermination, 1941-1945: Planning, Realization and Documentation
This book is a great read. It removes once and for all any hint of legitimacy left from the Soviet propaganda of the period. Those who view Stalin`s regime as liberators will be forced to re-examine their myopic views when faced by the barbaric atrocities committed by the Soviets against the German people and even against their own Russian soldiers if they showed any restraint. Lays to rest once and for all the distorted, one sided view of war on the Eastern Front. A well documented and scholarly work- --A ReaderWhen a credentialed scholar attacks a familiar topic with abundant knowledge and, above all, fresh research, a reader, who is interested in the given topic, should take notice. This is the case with Prof. Joachim Hoffmann's latest book, which is based on new research and archive material out of both Germany and Russia. It has been customary and "boilerplated" to regard the German war against the USSR beginning in June 1941 as a purely black- and-white situation--the German side being unmitigatedly evil and aggressive, the Soviet side being by comparison innocent and defensive. However, new data indicates quite the opposite: That Stalin had his own aggressive plans against Germanywell before June 1941 and, indeed, against Europe as a whole, which he viewed as ripe for Soviet-style "revolution" (because of the strife of war and suffering) and for sovietization (in Sovietese, "liberation"). In realizing that Stalin did harbor such aggressive plans, which he planned to realize by late 1941 or in 1942, does not, of course, exonerate Hitler for his wholesale invasion of Soviet Russia of June 22, 1941. Yet, it at least puts it in a different perspective than omne gets from the usual inferences drawn by traditional histories on the war. Moreover, the totally inhuman way (even for war) in which Stalin waged his (allegedly) "defensive" war against Germany, and the Soviet expansionism that accompanied Red Army seizures and sovietization of territory in eastern, central, and southeastern Europe that it captured during World War II (thus proving Stalin's asggressiveness) are facts that are mostly ignored in run-of-the-mill histories of the period, or even in some contemporary histories (such as those of Gorodetsky, Glantz, et al.). This, in fact, is the most outstanding feature of Hoffmann's well-documented book--namely, that it is not run-of-the-mill history but is, instead, a judicious, resourceful exploration and disclosure of Stalin's aggressive war of extermination waged determinedly from 1941 to 1945. --A CustomerLet me just speak for a moment about the concept of books like this. Each time I look for a book in the genre of revisionism, which doesn't really exist in my mind anymore than reverse racism does, I see that people are polarized on the topic, particularly when it comes to WWII. In my opinion, you have to be willing to revisit topics concerning world war II. With the fall of the Soviet Union, tons of information that was previously kept from the world has come into view and should be brought to light. People always say that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, but if history is just used as propaganda and not studied with the full consideration of all the facts, then I submit that there is not much that can be learned. This book does a lot to debunk the myth of German aggressivenes and megalomania. Hitler was very fearful of a Russo-French Alliance even before the outset of the war. Even a non-aggression pact did not allay his fears and this book proves that he was right to attack Russia as a defensive means. This allowed him to choose the battlefield rather than having it chosen for him. He truly believed that the Anglo people had a lot to fear from bolshevism and the post war events (see Cold War and Iron Curtain) may have proved him right. Think what would have happened if there was no nuclear threat (see MAD), I can assure you that the Russians would no doubt have attempted to control Europe. --Darren Boggs (LSA Anaconda, Iraq)