 With the German invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, German prisoners of war began to fall into Soviet hands.Several attempts to establish an anti-Nazi organization from those POWs were made with little success since most of them still believed in the final victory of the Wehrmacht.With the German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, the number of German POWs rose and their belief in a victorious Germany was damaged, hence they were more open to the idea of a membership in an anti-Nazi organization.