The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War [Paperback]

An authoritative and accessible history of the Nazi-Soviet War - the largest and most costly conflict ever fought.The Nazi-Soviet War was the largest and most brutal theatre of the Second World War. Bringing together twenty-four of the most accomplished authors in both German and Soviet history, this study provides the most authoritative yet highly accessible guide to the conflict.The Nazi-Soviet War was the largest and most brutal theatre of the Second World War. Bringing together twenty-four of the most accomplished authors in both German and Soviet history, this study provides the most authoritative yet highly accessible guide to the conflict.The Nazi-Soviet War was the largest and most brutal theatre of the Second World War, fought between two of the most ruthless states ever to exist. Bringing together twenty-four of the most accomplished authors in both German and Soviet history, this Cambridge Companion provides the most authoritative, and yet highly accessible, guide to the conflict. Each chapter examines a key aspect of the war from war planning, the opposing forces and the campaigns to criminality and occupation, alliances, the home fronts and postwar legacies and myth-making. The authors demonstrate that the Nazi-Soviet war was both a conventional clash of arms in which millions of soldiers fought in titanic battles, but also a non-conventional war in which soldiers and security forces murdered countless non-combatants. It was a war of resources, industry, mobilisation, administration, and popular support, with implications that still drive European security debates today.List of figures; List of contributors; Introduction David Stahel; Part I. Conceptions of War: 1. German-Soviet relations and military collaboration in the inter-war period Ian Ona Johnson; 2. Political thinking and strategic planning for Hitler's lebensraum in the east Ben Shepherd; 3. Stalin's political delusions and military preparations for war with Nazi Germany Hiroaki Kuromiya; Partls'