The morning announcement came at 5:30 with a proclamation from Hitler stating "...the task of this front is thus no longer the protection of individual countries but the safeguarding of Europe and the salvation of all."

Public reaction to the outbreak of war with the Soviet Union was mixed. The official response from Berlin was enduring with people having complete trust in the military. However, the reality was quite different with many people in complete shock. One German remembers,

the announcement about the entry into war with the Soviet Union hit us like a bolt from the blue and we thought with dread back to Napoleon's Russian campaign. The critics among them, my father in law said "now we have lost the war."

There was also a sense of liberation among many people as the rumors and speculation were over. Most Germans believed that the Soviet Union was the true enemy and they could at last defeat them. An American journalist living in Berlin wrote

for the first time since the war began there was momentary enthusiasm among the German populace. The war against Russia was the first popular campaign that had been launched...for the first time they were excited about war. "Now we are fighting our real enemy", they said.

Barbarossa Unleashed Craig Luther