Did the Wehrmacht conduct a systematic war of extermination against the civilian population, captured Red Army soldiers, and the Jewish population in 1941/42? Were generals and ordinary soldiers involved in Nazi crimes on their own initiative? What circumstances contributed to their involvement in criminal politics? The author addresses these questions by examining the central aspects of German occupation policy in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union: exploitation policies, treatment of prisoners of war, anti-partisan measures, and participation in the murder of Soviet Jews. The occupation policy during Operation Barbarossa was the result of a continuous radicalization that became the catalyst for the crimes of the Nazi regime. The Wehrmacht's involvement was influenced by the unexpected development of military operations, which deteriorated.