Stalin trusted and believed in Hitler; war was not expected

The Soviet leadership had no confidence in Hitler. The Nazi plans to advance to the East and the inevitability of war with Germany were clear already in the early 1930s after studying the book “My Struggle”. Moscow believed that a German attack on the USSR was possible only after the defeat of England or the conclusion of peace with it, since a war on two fronts seemed extremely dangerous for the Germans. At the same time, Stalin and his circle treated Germany and England with equal suspicion.

Much attention was paid to tracking possible secret contacts between Germany, England and the USA. That is why the flight of Rudolf Hess in 1941 caused serious concern among the Soviet leadership for a long time, until 1943. Stalin pursued a balancing policy: on the one hand, he demonstrated his peacefulness and readiness to expand economic ties with Germany, and on the other, he actively prepared the country for war. The construction of fortifications (Stalin Line) began in 1928 after the military alarm of 1927. Stalin spoke clearly about this on February 4, 1931, at a conference of socialist industry workers: “We are 50–100 years behind the advanced countries. We must cover this distance in ten years. Either we do this or we will be crushed.”