34. Hitler Invaded the Soviet Union to Preempt a Soviet Invasion of Germany?
Some conspiracy theorists and fringe scholars of the Eastern Front peddle the notion that Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 as a preemptive strike. Supposedly, Stalin was about to invade the Third Reich, so the Fuhrer simply beat him to the punch.
The theory originated with a Soviet military intelligence officer, Viktor Suvorov, who defected to Britain in 1978. He contended that Stalin had lowered the conscription age to ramp up the Red Army’s manpower, and issued maps of Germany to soldiers in the field, as a prelude to an imminent invasion. Most historians dismiss Suvorov’s thesis outright, for lack of any historic support.