Stalin-Hitler seperate peace 1941/42

Apparently, during the course of 1941-42, during the siege of Leningrad, Stalin sent out peace feelers to Hitler offering to allow the Nazis to annex the Ukraine, if a separate peace was made. At the same time, Stalin utilised his propaganda machine to convey himself as the steadfast defender of Mother Russia who'd never give in, during the course of the fighting at Leningrad. In the end, Hitler rebuffed these secret overtures, so the Soviets continued to fight to the death.

WI a separate peace had been arranged between Hitler and Stalin somehow during that point ? Wider ramifications on WWII ? Or WI Stalin's secret political manouvering had somehow been leaked- would he have been branded a coward and traitor by his fellow Communists and overthrown ?

Hitler would never have made peace with Stalin while total victory still looked possible, which means never before February 1943. By that point the Soviets would have accepted nothing less than pre-war borders, which Hitler still wouldn't be willing to consider. This is why thee pre-Kursk negotiations failed.

Moreover, it would have been clear that the USSR could never permanently accept the loss of the Ukraine, so from a German point of view all such a peace treaty would do in late 41 would have been to give a collapsing Soviet Union time to regroup and recover. Hard to see any rational ground for accepting such overtures.

Agree and Disagree

I agree that it wouldn't be likely for both sides to agree to an armistice and the same armistice at line.

I also think that, especially after December 1941, it would have been stupid for Stalin to ever accept any armistice - even with significant restoration of its territories, because continuing the war enabled the Soviets to destroy the German military and not let it slink away to maybe try again later.


Hitler on the other hand, could have benefitted from any armistice that gave him halfway decent buffer space for Romania - Why? Because it screws up the Allied coalition. It gives the USSR time to regroup - but if the USSR drops out, it gives you an opportunity to deal with the west - and the West will probably never give Lend-Lease to the Russians again. That lack of synergy makes the potential power of all 3 shrink.

Sowing that kind of disruption in Allied ranks was probably worth giving up 200 miles of territorial- worth it if you can get the deal by only retreating from the Don to the Dnepr