Directive № 21 — Operation Barbarossa: The Attempt of Historical Reconsideration

У статті розглядаються питання військово-стратегічного планування нацистської Німеччини і підготовки її до агресивних дій в Європі. Автори з’ясовують особливу роль плану «Барбаросса» в глобальних проектах Третього Рейху. Доведено, що нацистський план блискавичної війни від початку був агресивним, наступальним, злочинним. Він не передбачав ніяких превентивних заходів, а був спрямований на повний розгром військ противника, знищення державності країн — жертв агресії, захоплення і колонізацію їх територій, використання всіх ресурсів окупованих країн, фізичне знищення своїх політичних опонентів, етнічні чистки.The start of the Soviet-German war in historical reflections continues to be a topical and a debating issue. The day of June 22nd,1941 fundamentally changed not only the character of World War II, but the whole course of military and political confrontation in the world. The article covers the aspects of military strategic planning of Nazi Germany and its preparation for aggressive actions in Europe. The authors recognize a special role of the Operation Barbarossa in the global projects of the Third Reich. The step-by-step preparation of the Nazi General Staff of the war in the East is shown. The strengths and weaknesses of the blitzkrieg plan are analyzed. Possibilities of the Soviet alternative response to the Operation Barbarossa are considered. Using a considerable amount of literature provided by Anglo-American, German authors, publications of foreign and Ukrainian researchers, the authors tried to reconsider controversial pages in the history of World War II.It was proven that the Nazi plan for the blitzkrieg was aggressive, offensive, and criminal from its beginning. It aimed at defeating the enemy troops, destruction of the statehood, capturing and colonization of the territories, exploiting the resources on the occupied countries, physical destruction of the political opponents, and ethnic cleansing. The article reveals the political, economic, and military aspirations of Nazi Germany. The authors believe that various activities of German intelligence and propaganda apparatus aimed at large-scale misinformation of the enemy, therefore, concealment of invaders’ true intentions and plans, and psychological pressure on society are worth exploration. Given the multifaceted nature of the topic for the analysis of events and processes, the authors used a set of historical and political science methods. The authors’ research is based on the principles of historicism, scientism, and objectivism. The conclusions and reflections of the authors take into account the immense historical narrative, indisputable facts, and experiences of many generations of scholars. The authors put forward a prior task — to remind the contemporary generation of scholars of the most tragic events in the twentieth century, as well as to promote understanding of the birth of the mechanisms of war in order to prevent wars and aggression in the futur