German declaration of war on the Soviet Union

A Russian translation of Schulenburg's declaration dated 5:30 a.m., 22 June 1941. The text reads: "In view of the intolerable threat that arose at the German eastern border as a result of the massive buildup and preparedness of all armed forces of the Red Army, the German government considers itself compelled to immediately take military countermeasures. The corresponding note will be presented to Dekanozov in Berlin at the same time".

The German declaration of war on the Soviet Union, officially Note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany to the Soviet government from 21 June 1941 (German: Note des Auswärtigen Amtes an die Sowjetregierung vom 21. Juni 1941), is a diplomatic note presented by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop to Soviet ambassador Vladimir Dekanozov in Berlin on 22 June 1941 at 4 a.m. local time (5 a.m. MSK), informing him about the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II and preceding casus belli. Later in the morning of that day German ambassador to the Soviet Union Friedrich-Werner Graf von der Schulenburg presented the note to Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov in Moscow.[1] On the same day The New York Times published an abridged English translation of the declaration.[2]

The existence of the German declaration of war on the Soviet Union had long been concealed by Soviet authorities, because it mentions the secret protocol to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact which was revealed only in 1989.[1] In the Soviet press, the German note was first published in 1991 in the Journal of Military History, although the journal denied the allegation that "in the 1930s and immediately before the war" the Soviet government "ceased all ideological struggle against fascism in order to appease Hitler".[3] The declaration is presently kept in the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation.

  1. ^ a b Dmitrij Chmelnizki (January 2007). "Единственное поражение Сталина". Великая Отечественная катастрофа (in Russian). Academia.edu. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Text of the Statement on the War by Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop of Germany". The New York Times. June 23, 1941. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Нота министерства иностранных дел Германии советскому правительству от 21 июня 1941 года". Военно-исторический журнал (in Russian) (6): 32–33. 1991. ISSN 0321-0626.