Topitsch argues that Stalin was the "chief strategist" of the war, intentionally manipulating Adolf Hitler and Western democracies into a self-destructive conflict. Key pillars of his theory include:
, to support arguments regarding Stalin's aggressive pre-war aims. ernst topitsch stalins warpdf
Due to the nature of his arguments, Topitsch's later work sometimes appeared in publications associated with right-wing revisionism, leading to further criticism from the academic community. Topitsch argues that Stalin was the "chief strategist"