 According to a 1978 essay by German historian Andreas Hillgruber , the invasion plans drawn up by the German military elite were coloured by hubris stemming from the rapid defeat of France at the hands of the " invincible " Wehrmacht and by ignorance tempered by traditional German stereotypes of Russia as a primitive , backward " Asiatic " country . Red Army soldiers were considered brave and tough , but the officer corps was held in contempt . The leadership of the Wehrmacht paid little attention to politics , culture and the considerable industrial capacity of the Soviet Union , in favour of a very narrow military view . Hillgruber argued that because these assumptions were shared by the entire military elite , Hitler was able to push through with a " war of annihilation " that would be waged in the most inhumane fashion possible with the complicity of " several military leaders " , even though it was quite clear that this would be in violation of all accepted norms of warfare . 
