In 1941, with the dark star of Nazi conquest in the ascendant over Europe, German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler continued seeking fresh ways to expand the Third Reich's domains. Two strategic issues occupied Hitler's immediate attention: dealing with Britain and the Soviet Union. Hitler and Goering disagreed fundamentally on the next steps to be taken, and Hitler's ideas naturally won out over the Reichsmarshal's objections.

Goering favored a direct attack on England and conquest of the British Isles as the next step to ensure the security of Europe. After conquering the English, the Germans would deprive the Americans of a European base from which to counterattack when they entered the war. The Third Reich could spend several years building up and creating new weaponry before tackling the Soviet Union.

Hitler, on the other hand, wished to leave the British at least quasi-independent, and strike at their peripheral holdings, such as remaining portions of the British Empire, to induce them to sue for peace before the United States joined the conflict. Hitler always planned a treacherous attack against the Soviet Union, his ally in 1939, 1940 and early 1941 thanks to the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, but Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's actions induced the Fuhrer to move up his timetable for anti-Soviet action drastically.

The Third Reich and USSR cooperated in conquering, dismembering, and plundering democratic Poland. The Soviet Union also negotiated for some time to become the fourth Axis member, alongside Germany, Italy, and Japan. However, Stalin launched unilateral aggression against Finland and seized Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, plus part of Bulgaria.