Berlin — June 1941
The press room at the Ministry of Propaganda was packed. Cameras buzzed. Microphones captured every breath. On the stage, beneath the red flag bearing the black swastika, Joseph Goebbels smiled with the calm of a man who had crafted every word for weeks.
—"The Third Reich, in full cooperation with its allies, launched this morning a joint operation of defense and liberation. Operation Barbarossa is not a war of conquest, but **a continental crusade against atheistic and criminal Bolshevism."—
With each phrase, the correspondents wrote without looking up. Goebbels wasn't speaking to them. He was speaking to the world. To history.
—"The Soviet Union has broken agreements, armed its borders, protected red terrorists, and harassed free peoples for decades. Germany, along with Italy, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Finland, and the Empire of Japan, raises its voice for Europe. And more importantly—acts."—
A Swedish journalist raised his hand.
—"Why was there no official declaration of war?"
Goebbels smiled.
—"Do you warn a murderer before you defend yourself?"
London
The broadcast reached Downing Street in under an hour. Churchill listened to it in full. Not a word was spoken during the playback.
—"That man speaks in measured words… and with corpses behind every one of them," he said when it ended.
—"Do you think Europe believes him?"
—"No. But Europe no longer has a choice.Germany is not alone.And that… is what troubles me most."
The latest intelligence spoke of joint divisions in Africa, simultaneous operations in Ukraine and Finland, and naval movements in the Adriatic and Western Mediterranean.
—"They are synchronized.And that… we didn't see coming."
Washington
—"A crusade?" Roosevelt scoffed. "Since when do criminals invoke morality?"
—"They're gaining momentum. Romania and Hungary have sent troops. Finland has launched its offensive. Even Franco has committed forces—and handed Gibraltar over for Axis naval operations."
The president lit his pipe and looked at the naval report.
—"What worries me isn't that they're advancing.It's that they believe they're right."
—"And Japan?"
—"Quiet. But active.And when Tokyo is quiet… it means they've already moved."
Berlin — Night
On national radio, the deep voice of the broadcaster echoed across German households:
"German soldiers, alongside their Spanish, Italian, and Finnish comrades, march today across the eastern steppes—not as invaders, but as liberators."
"Every step east is a step toward a new Europe, free of communism."
"And the Führer… will not take a single step back."
Madrid
Serrano Suñer listened to the broadcast from the German embassy.Franco entered the room unannounced.
—"And?"
—"Goebbels has done his job. Now Europe knows who's in charge."
—"And how much more do we give?"
—"Only what's necessary, Excellence.Just enough so that when Moscow falls…our name is etched among the victors."
And while radios burned with words,engines kept humming in Ukraine.The Leibstandarte had yet to fire a shot.
But the war...had no way back.