In Antony Beever’s ‘Stalingrad - The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943’ he writes, “As early as the autumn of 1941, German Army Intelligence had come to the conclusion that the Wehrmacht could not possibly win in Russia unless it turned the invasion into another civil war.” Is this confirmed by any direct source or is the author supposing this?
I read this excerpt last night and was intrigued as I have never seen any reference to this before. Is this true? Was this conclusion passed on to the OBK? How was it received? I imagine the very nature of the idea conflicted with Hitler’s beliefs on the Slavs designated as sub-human and the idea of fighting alongside them was not what he envisioned as the goal of the ostfront.
Are there any references to that claim in the book? I mean, the Germans probably did consider starting a civilwar or an uprising or whatever to gain a strategic advantage, but to conclude that this was the only way of winning is absurd. I think by that time, Fall Blau, Hitler’s plan to secure the necessary oil hadn’t even commenced yet.