WhenHitlerlaunchedhisinvasionofUkrainein1941,theGermansoldierswerepleasantlysurprisedtofindthattheywereregardedbytheUkrainiansasliberatorsfromthecommunistyokeofMoscow,andwerewelcomedwithflowersorthetraditionalUkrainianbreadandsaltofhospitality.
ProofoftheUkrainian'sabhorrenceofcommunismisthefactthatinthe1941BattleofKievatotalof665,000soldierswerecapturedbytheGermansoutofaSovietRedArmyof677,085.Unfortunatelyforthesemen,whosurrenderedsowillingly,NaziGermanracistplanscalledfortheirdestruction,sotheywerestarvedtodeathordiedofexposureinopen-airconcentrationcampsinthewinterof1941-42.TotheNazis,theUkrainians,liketheJews,were"subhumans".
一九四一年希特勒進侵烏克蘭，烏克蘭人視德軍為打破莫斯科共產枷鎖的解放之師，或奉以鮮花，或奉以烏克蘭傳統上象徵歡迎佳客的麵包和鹽，令德軍既感意外，也覺高興。
烏克蘭人對共產黨之痛恨，見於一九四一年基輔之役：一支六十七萬七千零八十五人的蘇聯紅軍，有六十六萬五千人為德軍俘虜。這些人都樂意投降，可惜納粹德國的種族計劃卻要他們滅亡，於是有些被活活餓死，有些則被囚露天集中營，在一九四一到四二年的冬天。避寒無所，活活凍死。對納粹黨來說，烏克蘭人和猶太人一樣，是「下等人類」。