What is Lebensraum and why does it matter?
The concept of Lebensraum —or “living space”—served as a critical component in the Nazi worldview that drove both its military conquests and racial policy. Renowned German geographer Friedrich Ratzel coined the term in 1901.
Who invented the concept of Lebensraum?
The concept of Lebensraum (“living space”) originated with German geographer and ethnographer Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904).
What is Lebensraum in Mein Kampf?
In Nazi ideology, Lebensraum meant the expansion of Germany to the east in search of a unity between the German Volk and the land (the Nazi concept of Blood and Soil). The Nazi-modified theory of Lebensraum became Germany’s foreign policy during the Third Reich. 1. Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971) 646.
What was the Nazi concept of Lebensraum?
In Nazi ideology, Lebensraum meant the expansion of Germany to the east in search of a unity between the German Volk and the land (the Nazi concept of Blood and Soil). The Nazi-modified theory of Lebensraum became Germany’s foreign policy during the Third Reich. Who Came up With the Idea of Lebensraum?
Jeremy Noakes traces the origins of Lebensraum, identifying why Hitler looked to the east to expand. Between 1921 and 1925 Adolf Hitler developed the belief that Germany required Lebensraum (‘living space’) in order to survive.
What is Ratzel’s Lebensraum?
In 1901, Ratzel published an essay called “Der Lebensraum” (“The Living Space”), in which he posited that all peoples (as well as animals and plants) needed to expand their living space in order to survive.
What was Lebensraum im Osten?
The early stages of Lebensraum im Osten (Lebensraum in the East) featured the ethnic-cleansing of Russians and other Slavs (Galicians, Karelians, Ukrainians, et al.) from their lands, and the consolidation of their countries into the Reichskommissariat administration that extended to the Ural Mountains, the geographic frontier of Europe and Asia.