Why did Germany invade the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa?

Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, known as Operation Barbarossa, was driven by Adolf Hitler’s long-standing ideological goals and strategic concerns.

• Ideological Ambition: Hitler’s foreign policy was rooted in the concept of Lebensraum, or "living space." He sought to expand German territory into Eastern Europe to secure agricultural resources, raw materials, and land for the German people, while systematically eliminating those he deemed "subhuman," including Slavic and Jewish populations.
• Anti-Bolshevism: Hitler held a profound, emotional conviction against Bolshevism, viewing the Soviet regime as an existential threat and a primary enemy to be overthrown.
• Strategic Suspicion: Although the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939 was initially a matter of expediency, Hitler became increasingly suspicious of Joseph Stalin’s intentions. Soviet occupations of the Baltic states, Bessarabia, and northern Bukovina in 1940 brought Soviet forces dangerously close to the Ploiești oil fields, which were vital to the German war effort.

Ultimately, Hitler concluded he could not wait to finish the war in the West before neutralizing the Soviet threat, leading him to launch the invasion in June 1941.123