What was Operation Barbarossa designed to achieve?

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, launched on June 22, 1941. It was designed to achieve several strategic and ideological objectives:1

• Acquisition of Lebensraum: Central to the invasion was the Nazi policy of Lebensraum ("living space"), which sought to expand German territory into Eastern Europe. Hitler intended to seize the agricultural riches of Ukraine and the raw materials of the Urals and Siberia to support the German people.2
• Destruction of Bolshevism: Driven by a profound ideological hatred of Bolshevism, Hitler aimed to overthrow the Soviet regime, which he viewed as being in league with the Jews.34
• Elimination of a Strategic Threat: Hitler became increasingly suspicious of Joseph Stalin following Soviet territorial gains in the Baltic states and Romania. He believed he could not afford to wait to complete the war in the West before neutralizing the Soviet Union, which he viewed as a menace to Germany's vital oil supplies.35
• Rapid Military Victory: German leadership planned to crush the Red Army in a quick campaign, aiming to conquer the European portion of the Soviet Union west of a line from Arkhangelsk to Astrakhan within a few months.45