Insights into the German way of thinking during 1941?

[DerFreiKorpMann]

Their way of thinking, how they thought of food, the war, letting go of their fathers, sons, and brothers for them to go to the war, how they had fun, how they reacted to guys checking out girls, etc, etc. Since our current way of thinking is very different from when our opa was in the war and Operation Barbarossa was still underway.

Doing this for a book,
Danke schön, Kameraden

[Wordsworth]

I don't have any personal anecdotes, but I have read that the Germans were somewhat wary when the war broke out. Germany had huge casualties during the Great War, as well. But the early successes of the German Army in western Europe did give them hope that this would be a quick war. In 1941, they were concerned about the addition of the USSR to the war because this naturally opened up a 2-front war and because they'd fought the Russians in the last one, too. But, again, early successes lulled into a belief that this was manageable as well.

Young people were more enthusiastic due to they're not remembering the last war, being naturally idealistic as the young tend to be, as well as having been indoctrinated in Nazi ideology.