I have a serious intellectual question.

[tslust]

I believe that war between Hitler and Stalin was inevitable. In his book, Hitler outlined that he thoufht that Germany should expand to the East (through European Russia) to achieve "living space". Furthermore, while the Wehrmacht was conducting operations in the Balkans, the Soviets seized the Baltic States. Then Stalin moved the entire available army out of its defences along the borders and took up positions in the newly annexed territory. Either they were planning an invasion of Germany or perhaps they thought they could [in the advent of war] stop any German attacks inside the new territories and leave Russia untouched.