The city, then known as Lwów, was annexed by the Soviet Union and today is part of Ukraine. The invasion was the largest German military operation of World War II. The Soviet Union did not recognize Imperial Russia's signing of the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 as binding, and as a result, it refused to recognize them until 1955. This created a situation in which war crimes by the Soviet armed forces could eventually be rationalized. LAURENCE REES: To what extent should we see the invasion of the Soviet Union also as a crucial point in the decision making process that leads to the 'Final Solution'? Seven days before the invasion, a Soviet spy in Berlin, part of the Rote Kapelle (Red Orchestra) spy network, warned Stalin that the movement of German divisions to the … Under his leadership, the Soviet Union played a major role in the defeat of Hitler's Germany during World War II. Several years into World War II, Russian dictator Joseph Stalin demanded the immediate assistance of the Allied nations, believing—rightly so—that his nation bore the brunt of … The German Invasion of the Soviet Union Hitler had always regarded the German-Soviet nonaggression pact as a tactical and temporary maneuver. On December 18, 1940, he signed Directive 21 (code-named Operation Barbarossa), the first operational order for the invasion of the Soviet Union. Soviet cavalry on parade in Lviv, after the city’s surrender to the Red Army during 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Start studying WWII - Germany's Invasion of the Soviet Union. Battle victories came quickly throughout the rest of 1941, as Germany conquered Soviet-controlled Poland, the Baltic states, and Ukraine. A month after the invasion began, Hitler described his vision for the lands Germany would conquer from the Soviet Union: Invasion of the Soviet Union Adolf Hitler had long dreamt of acquiring 'living space' in the East Just before dawn on 22 June 1941 the largest land invasion in the history of the world began. Background.