Description

Nazi Germany vs. Soviet Russia – 1941-1945: This course will cover the titanic struggle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. The first session will cover the events leading up to the war tracing all
the way back to traditional German views of “drang nach osten” and to Hitler’s racialist policies and geo-political ambitions. The strategies and preparations of both sides will be considered along with the context of this event to the
totality of World War II. Then the initial clash of the armies to the fall of 1941 will be discussed. The second session will cover the balance of the 1941 campaign up to the German reversal before Moscow in December. The second part of the session will show how the Germans recovered and resumed the offensive in 1942 and reached Stalingrad and the Caucasus and conclude with the German defeat at Stalingrad. The third session will deal with the strategies employed for 1943 by both the Germans and Soviets including the Battle of Kursk and subsequent German retreats to the spring of 1944. The final session of the course will cover the Soviet summer offensive of 1944 and the 1945 drive on Berlin leading to the German surrender. A review of the total campaign will include the reasons for the Soviet victory and German defeat and the implications for the postwar world. Please register for this class if you plan to join us in person. Please register for this for Zoom only access. You must have a tablet/phone/computer with audio and video capability.