To give the devil his due, Hitler was no coward and won the Iron Cross during the First World War. He always proudly displayed this. It’s been documented, on the other hand, that Stalin was cowardly and even during World War II was afraid to get too close to the front, despite the propaganda he published for popular consumption about being “with the troops.” He was rejected for service in the war because he was deemed physically “unfit.” This was because one arm was shorter than the other due to being run over by a carriage when young. To me, this only goes to show that maniacs can be physically courageous or cowardly - like all humanity!
I’ve read, I think in one of Beavor’s books, that Stalin didn’t even come out of his room to speak with anyone for over 10 days after Operation Barbarossa began.
The country had no leadership. It’s amazing the whole thing didn’t collapse as Hitler predicted it would.