 In Germany , on the morning of 22 June , Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels announced the invasion to the waking nation in a radio broadcast , " At this moment a march is taking place that , for its extent , compares with the greatest the world has ever seen . I have decided today to place the fate and future of the Reich and our people in the hands of our soldiers . May God aid us , especially in this fight ! " Later the same morning , Hitler proclaimed to his colleagues , " Before three months have passed , we shall witness a collapse of Russia , the like of which has never been seen in history . " 
