The Holocaust in the Soviet Union

It may also refer to the Holocaust in the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), recently annexed by the Soviet Union before the start of Operation Barbarossa, as well as other groups murdered in the invasion (such as Roma, Soviet POWs, and others).

[4][5] The launch of Germany's "war of extermination" against the Soviet Union in June 1941 marked a turning point in the country's anti-Jewish policy from expulsion to mass murder; as a result, it is sometimes seen as marking the beginning of the Holocaust.

[12][13] Approximately 300,000 to 500,000 Soviet Jews served in the Red Army during the conflict.

[14] The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, established in 1941, was active in propagandising for the Soviet war effort but was treated with suspicion.

The Soviet press, tightly censored, often deliberately obscured the particular anti-Jewish motivation of the Holocaust.