Geopolitik is the branch of uniquely German geostrategy. It developed as a distinct strain of thought after Otto von Bismarck's unification of the German states, but only began its development in earnest under Emperor Wilhelm II. Central concepts concerning the German race, and regarding economic space, demonstrate continuity from the German Imperial time up through Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. However, Imperial geostrategist, German geopoliticians, and Nazi strategists did not have extensive contacts with one another, suggesting that German geopolitik was not copied or passed on to successive generations, but perhaps reflected the more permanent aspects of German geography, political geography, and cultural geography. Geostrategy is a subfield of geopolitics. ... Bismarck redirects here. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I   Capital Berlin Language(s) German (official) Polish (Posen, Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871-1888 William I  - 1888 Frederick... German Emperor Wilhelm (born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht, Prince of Prussia 27 January 1859–4 June 1941), was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (de: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Germans. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I   Capital Berlin Language(s) German (official) Polish (Posen, Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871-1888 William I  - 1888 Frederick... Hitler redirects here. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... This article describes the geography of Germany. ... Political geography is a field of human geography that is concerned with politics. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Geopolitik developed from widely varied sources, including the writings of Oswald Spengler, Alexander Humboldt, Karl Ritter, Friedrich Ratzel, Rudolf Kjellén, and General Karl Haushofer. It was eventually distorted to accommodate the ideology of Adolf Hitler. Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (Blankenburg am Harz May 29, 1880 – May 8, 1936, Munich) was a German historian and philosopher, although his studies ranged throughout mathematics, science, philosophy, history, and art. ... Friedrich Heinrich Alexander, Baron von Humboldt, (September 14, 1769, Berlin–May 6, 1859, Berlin), was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt. ... Carl Ritter (in German: Karl Ritter) (August 7, 1779, Quedlinburg – September 28, 1859, Berlin) was, along with his fellow German Alexander von Humboldt, one of the founders of modern geography (and of the Berlin Geographical Society). ... Friedrich Ratzels photograph from the University of Leipzig Friedrich Ratzel (August 30, 1844, Karlsruhe, Baden – August 9, 1904, Ammerland) was a German geographer and ethnographer, notable for coining the term Lebensraum (living space). // Ratzels Life Ratzels father was the head of the household staff of the Grand... Johan Rudolf Kjellén Johan Rudolf Kjellén (13 June 1864, Torsö – 14 November 1922, Uppsala) was a Swedish political scientist and politician who first coined the term geopolitics. His work was influenced by Friedrich Ratzel. ... General Karl Haushofer General Karl Haushofer (August 27, 1869-March 13, 1946) popularised German geopolitics, notably during Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. ... Hitler redirects here. ...

Its defining charcteristic is the inclusion of organic state theory, informed by Social Darwinism. It was characterized by clash of civilizations-style theorizing. It is perhaps the closest of any school of geostrategy to a purely nationalistic conception of geostrategy, which ended up masking other more universal elements. Organic describes forms, methods and patterns found in living systems such as organisation of cells, to populations, communities, and ecosystems. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Cover of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order The Clash of Civilizations is a controversial theory that peoples cultural/religious identity will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolizing French nationalism during the July Revolution. ... In philosophy, a proposition is said to have universality if it can be conceived as being true in all possible contexts without creating a contradiction. ...

Germany acted as a revisionist state within the international system during both World Wars, attempting to overthrow British domination, and counter what it saw as rising American and Russian hegemony. As a latecomer to nationhood proper, lacking colonies or markets for industrial output, but also experiencing rapid population growth, Germany desired a more equitable distribution of wealth and territory within the international system. Modern scholars have begun to treat the two World Wars caused by Germany as one single war, in which the revisionist Germany attempted to bid for hegemonic control with which to reorder the international system.¹⁶¹ While the overt motivations were racial, as was the case with most conflicts in this time period, German foreign policy was largely consistent in both wars. The Nazi foreign policy was unique insofar as it learned from what it saw as past imperial mistakes, but essentially followed the very same designs laid out by German geopolitik and the historical record of the empire. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Hegemony (pronounced or ) (Greek: ) is the dominance of one group over other groups, with or without the threat of force, to the extent that, for instance, the dominant party can dictate the terms of trade to its advantage; more broadly, cultural perspectives become skewed to favor the dominant group. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... It has been suggested that Colonisation be merged into this article or section. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Human population increase from 10,000 BC – 2000 AD. Population growth is change in population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population per unit time. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Wilhemine geopolitics

German Empire, 1871-1918

The origins of much of the policy later advocated by geopoliticians and implemented by the National Socialists would come out of the pre-WWI German imperial ambitions. They crafted the idea of Mitteleuropa which would provide the foundation for later conceptions of lebensraum and economic domination which would later inform geopolitician's theories on pan-regions. Download high resolution version (1200x1015, 27 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1200x1015, 27 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Mitteleuropa (Middle-Europe) is a German term approximately equal to Central Europe. ... Lebensraum is the German term for habitat; used both in ecological and sociological contexts, it literally means living room. ...

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany

The accession of Wilhelm II to power released much of the German desire for "a place in the sun," demanding a policy of annexation to increase Germany's resources and prestige in Europe. Having come late to proper nationhood, Germany perceived itself as in a vulnerable position compared to the older and more established colonial nation-states. An anti-liberal and anti-socialist campaign was led to mobilize the petty bourgeois, those who lost the most to industrialization's fluctuations. This movement was linked to anti-Semitism, first on a religious basis, then racial, then fused into a new racial nationalism.¹³² The effort to create a Central European customs union was justified as an attempt to save German culture from the British, American, Russian and possibly Chinese domination. Not simply economic in motivation, it was had a cultural, will to power dimension.¹³³ Wilhelm himself saw Germany's struggle as a conflict for existence against the races that feared German growth. He fully expected the "Anglo-Saxons" to side with the "Gauls and Slavs" in what he thought would be the last great war between the "Teuton and the Slav."¹³⁴ He saw no hope in diplomacy—this struggle was not a question of politics but of race.¹³⁵ The racial mobilization of the petty bourgeois into a racially nationalist movement for expansionism, the conception of international politics as a struggle to save racial culture and values, and Germany's racial conflict being against the Slavs primarily, informed Germany's perception of its own place in Europe. The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Look up liberal on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Liberal may refer to: Politics: Liberalism American liberalism, a political trend in the USA Political progressivism, a political ideology that is for change, often associated with liberal movements Liberty, the condition of being free from control or restrictions Liberal Party, members of... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... Petit-bourgeois or Anglicised petty bourgeois is a French term that reffered to the members of the lower middle social-classes. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolizing French nationalism during the July Revolution. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... A customs union is a free trade area with a Common External Tariff. ... German culture (German: Deutsche Kultur) is a term that refers to the heritage and weltanschauung of the people from the German-speaking world, or Deutschsprechende Welt. ... Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Distribution of Slavic peoples by language Countries inhabited predominantly by Slavic peoples The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe. ... The term Germanic peoples may refer to: the Germanic tribes that in the first millennium were seen as a barbarian threat by the Roman Empire and its successors; the Germanic Christianity that in the second millennium came to dominate much of Northern Europe, politically organized in the Holy Roman Empire... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... International relations (IR) is an academic and public policy field, a branch of political science, dealing with the foreign policy of states within the international system, including the roles of international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... Value is a term that expresses the concept of worth in general, and it is thought to be connected to reasons for certain practices, policies or actions. ...

This map of Europe on the eve of World War I shows the two allies camps and neutral countries. Germany and her allies are shown in puce as the Central Powers, the Allied Powers are shown in grey "encircling" Germany, and the neutral countries are labeled yellow.

Germany's justification for seeking world power was based on being a young nation with high population growth, a low average national age, significant immigration and urban expansion. Germany was thus stirred to begin pushing for greater lebensraum and markets to accommodate their industrial expansion. Its borders were perceived to be too small to sustain its rapid growth, leading to a desire to split the entente that was encircling it and preventing expansion.¹³⁶ The most prominent German academic thought, including that of Friedrich Ratzel, declared dead peaceful competition between European states. Not top-down influences on the population, the academics were serving more as mouthpieces for larger societal forces.¹³⁷ Mitteleuropa emerged as a concept in an attempt to reassert German power in the European system, and in a sense undo the decision to fall under Prussia's small-Germany solution rather than Austro-Hungary's big-Germany plan.¹³⁸ To secure Germany's place in Europe, many German people viewed WWI as simply defensive action against the victimization of encirclement and assault waged by the European Great Powers, pushing until the end for safeguards and guarantees for the future of the German Empire.¹³⁹ Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1198x863, 140 KB) Description: Europe 1914 Source: www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1198x863, 140 KB) Description: Europe 1914 Source: www. ... The city of Los Angeles is an example of urbanization. ... European military alliances in 1915. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the six inhabited continents of the Earth. ... Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Polish: ; Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... A Great power is a nation or state that, through its great economic, political and military strength, is able to exert power over world diplomacy. ...

Walter Rathenau, Foreign Minister of Germany

German nationalist sentiments were roused in the pre-WWI years by books like General Friedrich von Bernhardi's Deutschland und der nächste Krieg clamoring for the elimination of France, the establishment of a Central European federation, and the assumption of world power through colonial acquisitions.¹⁴⁰ The core of the Second Reich's program was to create a Mitteleuropa of economic domination under German hegemony safe from France and Russia. This would be augmented by colonies chiefly in Central Africa.¹⁴¹ Not only would fear of French and Russian power drive German imperialism, but growing American power was a further cause to unite Mitteleuropa under Germany, according to Walther Rathenau's 1912 report, augmented by the resources from Mittelafrika and Asia Minor after the disarmament of Britain.¹⁴² This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This page lists State Secretaries for Foreign Affairs under the German Empire (1873-1918), and Ministers of Foreign Affairs under succeeding governments thereafter. ... Friedrich von Bernhardi (1849–1930) was a German soldier and military writer, perhaps best known for his bellicose book Deutschland und der Nächste Krieg (Germany and the Next War). ... A map displaying todays federations. ... This article or section should include material from German Monarchy The term German Empire (the translation from German of Deutsches Reich) commonly refers to Germany, from its consolidation as a unified nation-state on January 18, 1871, until the abdication of Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918. ... Walter Rathenau Walther Rathenau (September 29, 1867–June 24, 1922) was a German industrialist and politician who served as Foreign Minister of Germany. ... Approximate location of Mittelafrika in light blue, with pre-existing German colonies in dark blue Mittelafrika is the name created for a geostrategic region in central and east Africa. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to...

Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, Chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. Controversial historian Fritz Fischer labeled him the "Hitler of 1914."

Germany would display a consistent policy of annexation toward Mitteleuropa, attempting to establish a core comprised of a customs union with Austro-Hungary, to which smaller states would have to adhere. Conceived by Rathenau and Arthur von Gwinner, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg would later adopt it, followed by Hans Delbrück and Johannes Bell under the orders of the Chancellor.¹⁴³ Mitteleuropa was pushed over the protests of the industrialists for essentially political reasons. Germany needed to be able to effectively compete with larger trading nations, so that this Austro-Hungarian Germany would not be dependent on imports, with the additional benefit that Germany would have a claim to successor status if Austro-Hungary were to disintegrate. This would allow Germany to move away from protectionism in their internal markets, toward aggression in the international markets, according to Delbrück.¹⁴⁴ Further, German leaders had a desire to spread their values and cultural cohesion, in effect establishing something like the Anglo-Saxon world, whose culture was viewed as a more important force than their unrivalled fleet.¹⁴⁵ What was essentially being pursued was autarky, free from dependence on imports, with political and cultural rather than economic goals. From [1], in the public domain This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... From [1], in the public domain This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Chancellor of the German Empire, in German Reichskanzler, meaning Imperial Chancellor was the title of the head of the German gouvernment from 1871 till 1934. ... This article is about the German historian. ... Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg (November 29, 1856–January 1, 1921) was a German politician and statesman who served as Chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. ... Hans Delbrück, 1848-1929 Hans Delbrück (November 11, 1848 - July 14, 1929), German historian, was born at Bergen on the island of Rügen, and studied at the universities of Heidelberg and Bonn. ... The Chancellor of the German Empire, in German Reichskanzler, meaning Imperial Chancellor was the title of the head of the German gouvernment from 1871 till 1934. ... A successor function is the label in the literature for what is actually an operation. ... Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between nations, through methods such as high tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, a variety of restrictive government regulations designed to discourage imports, and anti-dumping laws in an attempt to protect domestic industries in a particular nation from foreign take-over... The word Anglosphere describes a certain group of anglophone (English-speaking) nations which share historical, political, and ethnocultural characteristics rooted in or attributed to the historical experience of the British people. ... The Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. ... An autarky is an economy that does no trade with the outside world, or an ecosystem not affected by influences from its outside, and relies entirely on its own resources. ...

Poland

Poland was the strategic linchpin to German imperial designs in Eastern Europe, much like Belgium in plans in the West.¹⁴⁶ Even by 1917, Poland as a German satellite was an undiminished goal, even surpassing the desire for an Austro-Hungary dependent on the German economy.¹⁴⁷ Hollweg would bring the frontier-strip policy toward Poland into the political arena by 1914. Poland would become Germany's strategic focus against Russia, serving as a front-line defense against the Slavs once settled with Germanic peoples. More than strategic, the Germans has a Völkish mission to settle the land with German nationalists, and deport the Poles and Jews from the land, as a direct continuation of the historical Prusso-German Ostmark policy.¹⁴⁸ Eastern Europe is the eastern region of Europe variably defined. ... The völkisch movement is the German interpretation of the Populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the organic. ... Ostmark (Eastern March) is a modern German term to translate the term Ostarrîchi a vernacular for marcia orientalis that appears in a single later 10th century document. ...

When no solution to the Polish question could be reached with Austria after the Brest-Litovsk treaty, Germany essentially dropped a pure Mitteleuropa plan in favor of a policy of Ostraum, because Poland was still the key to the Ukraine, Russia and Southeast European states that were the goal of German economic domination.¹⁴⁹ When total annexation of the East was denied Germany by Russia, Germany accepted the idea of small, autonomous middle-tier states, free from Russian troops, but associated with Germany economically.¹⁵⁰ The Austro-Hungarian problem was solved with a long-term close political, military and economic alliance.¹⁵¹ Instead of a formal Mitteleuropa, Germany pushed for control over resource rich areas on its borders, which would push France, Belgium, Poland and Austro-Hungary into de facto dependency.¹⁵² Thus, the central piece of Germany's Mitteleuropa was the desire for economic domination of the Eastern Slavic countries, with a central focus on Poland as the strategic key. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk, between Russia and the Central Powers, marking Russias exit from World War I. The treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year but is significant as a chief... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ...

Economics

Economically, Imperial Germany would vary between a focus on internal land-based markets, and international trade based on colonialism. Bismarck, from 1867 to 1878 would abandon free trade in favor of nationalist tariff protectionism for heavy industry and large-scale agriculture.¹⁵³ However, the center of Wilhelm's policy would be the construction of a new fleet—sea power being the key to Great Power status—with a revisionist eye toward existing colonial possessions around the world.¹⁵⁴ Still, Germany would pursue a mercantilist economic policy with state support for large industry, intervention into markets, and the nationalization of public goods.¹⁵⁵ Rudolph Kjellén would call for an economic federation in Central Europe for the purpose of extending German colonial possessions, a sentiment endorsed by many Germans before 1914.¹⁵⁶ Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ... A tariff is a tax on foreign goods. ... Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning compared to light industry. ... Naval warfare is combat in and on seas and oceans. ... A painting of a French seaport from 1638, at the height of mercantilism. ... In economics, a public good is a good that is hard or even impossible to produce for private profit, because the market fails to account for its large beneficial externalities. ...

However, economic growth would increasingly bring Germany into conflict with England, with two distinct paths open to the empire: naval conflict with England; or land expansion within Europe.¹⁵⁷ German industry demanded political independence from British hegemony in world politics, the shattering of Russian influence, and the annexation of weak states on Germany's border for their resources.¹⁵⁸ But to break dependency on Britain, Germany required a formidable merchant marine force, which it would not have despite Wilhelm's aims.¹⁵⁹ As a kind of half-measure, Germany realized that it should pursue alliance with Italy, and encourage the strengthening of its naval presence in the Mediterranean in order to counter what British influence they could.¹⁶⁰ Accumulated GDP growth for various countries. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...

Geopolitik rises

German geopolitik contributed to Nazi foreign policy chiefly in the strategy and justifications for lebensraum. Geopolitik contributed five ideas to German foreign policy in the interwar period: the organic state; lebensraum; autarky; pan-regions; and the land power/sea power dichotomy. A dichotomy is a division into two non-overlapping or mutually exclusive and jointly exhaustive parts. ...

Geostrategy as a political science is both descriptive and analytical like Political Geography, but adds a normative element in its strategic prescriptions for national policy.⁶⁸ While it stems from earlier American and British geostrategy, German geopolitik adopts an essentialist outlook toward the national interest, oversimplifying issues and representing itself as a panacea.⁶⁹ As a new and essentialist ideology, geopolitik found itself in a position to prey upon the post-WWI insecurity of the populace.⁷⁰ Political science is the field of the social sciences concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... In philosophy, normative is usually contrasted with positive, descriptive or explanatory when describing types of theories, beliefs, or statements. ... In Greek mythology, Panaceia, or Πανάκεια (Latin Panacea), was the goddess of healing. ... An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler...

General Karl Haushofer

In 1919, General Karl Haushofer would become professor of geography at the University of Munich. This would serve as a platform for the spread of his geopolitical ideas, magazine articles and books. By 1924, as the leader of the German geopolitik school of thought, Haushofer would establish the Zeitschrift für Geopolitik monthly devoted to geopolitik. His ideas would reach a wider audience with the publication of Volk ohne Raum by Hans Grimm in 1926, popularizing his concept of lebensraum.⁷³ Haushofer exercised influence both through his academic teachings, urging his students to think in terms of continents and emphasizing motion in international politics, and through his political activities.⁷⁴ While Hitler's speeches would attract the masses, Haushofer's works served to bring the remaining intellectuals into the fold.⁷⁵ Image File history File links General Karl Haushofer. ... Image File history File links General Karl Haushofer. ... With approximately 48,000 students, the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (German: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München or LMU) is one of the largest universities in Germany. ... Hans Grimm (1875-1959) was a German author, perhaps best know as the writer of the weighty two volume work, Volk Ohne Raum. He is often thought to have contributed to popularising the phrase which is also the title of the book A folk without room in the era preceeding... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, speculate on, or ask and answer questions with regard to a variety of different ideas. ...

Geopolitik was in essence a consolidation and codification of older ideas, given a scientific gloss:

• Lebensraum was a revised colonial imperialism;
• Autarky a new expression of tariff protectionism;
• Strategic control of key geographic territories exhibiting the same thought behind earlier designs on the Suez and Panama canals; and
• Pan-regions based upon the British Empire, and the American Monroe Doctrine, Pan-American Union and hemispheric defense.⁸⁸

The key reorientation in each dyad is that the focus is on land-based empire rather than naval imperialism. Ships moored at El Ballah during transit The Suez Canal (Arabic: ‎, translit: , French: ), is a large artificial maritime canal in Egypt west of the Sinai Peninsula. ... The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... U.S. President James Monroe The Monroe Doctrine is a U.S. doctrine which, on December 2, 1823, proclaimed that European powers should no longer colonize or interfere with the affairs of, the nations of the Americas. ... The Organization of American States (OAS; OEA in the other three official languages) is an international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA. Its members are the 35 independent nations of the Americas. ... Etymology: Late Latin dyad-, dyas, from Greek, from dyo The word dyad has a number of uses: A dyad (general) pair, consisting of two parts. ... What exactly constitutes an Empire (from the Latin imperium, denoting military command within the ancient Roman government) is a topic of intense debate within the scholarly community. ...

Ostensibly based upon the geopolitical theory of American naval officer Alfred Thayer Mahan, and British geographer Halford J. Mackinder, German geopolitik adds older German ideas. Enunciated most forcefully by Friedrich Ratzel and his Swedish student Rudolf Kjellén, they include an organic or anthropomorphized conception of the state, and the need for self-sufficiency through the top-down organization of society.⁸⁹ The root of uniquely German geopolitik rests in the writings of Karl Ritter who first developed the organic conception of the state that would later by elaborated upon by Ratzel and accepted by Hausfhofer. He justified lebensraum, even at the cost of other nation's existence because conquest was a biological necessity for a state's growth.⁹⁰ USN redirects here. ... Alfred Thayer Mahan Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (September 27, 1840 - December 1, 1914) was a United States Navy officer, geostrategist, and educator. ... Halford John Mackinder Sir Halford John Mackinder PC (February 15, 1861 - March 6, 1947), was an English geographer. ... This dog has been dressed in human accessories for humorous effect. ...

Friedrich Ratzel

Friedrich Ratzel

Ratzel's writings coincided with the growth of German industrialism after the Franco-Prussian war and the subsequent search for markets that brought it into competition with England. His writings served as welcome justification for imperial expansion.⁹¹ Influenced by Mahan, Ratzel wrote of aspirations for German naval reach, agreeing that sea power was self-sustaining, as the profit from trade would pay for the merchant marine, unlike land power.⁹² Haushofer was exposed to Ratzel, who was friends with Haushofer's father, a teacher of economic geography,⁹³ and would integrate Ratzel's ideas on the division between sea and land powers into his theories, saying that only a country with both could overcome this conflict.⁹⁴ Here, Hitler diverged with Haushofer's writings, in consigning Germany to sole pursuit of landpower. Image File history File links Friedrich_Ratzel. ... Image File history File links Friedrich_Ratzel. ... The Second Industrial Revolution (1871–1914) involved significant developments for society and the world. ... Combatants Second French Empire North German Confederation allied with south German states (later German Empire) Commanders Napoleon III Helmuth von Moltke Strength 500,000[citation needed] 550,000[citation needed] Casualties 150,000 dead or wounded 284,000 captured 350,000 civilian [citation needed] 100,000 dead or wounded 200... Economic geography is the study of the loon, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the Earth. ...

Ratzel's key contribution was the expansion on the biological conception of geography, without a static conception of borders. States are instead organic and growing, with borders representing only a temporary stop in their movement.⁹⁵ It is not the state proper that is the organism, but the land in its spiritual bond with the people who draw sustenance from it.⁹⁶ The expanse of a state's borders is a reflection of the health of the nation.⁹⁷ Haushofer adopts the view that borders are largely insignificant in his writings, especially as the nation ought to be in a frequent state of struggle with those around it.⁹⁸ Border stone at Passo San Giacomo between Val Formazza in Italy and Val Bedretto in Switzerland Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnational administrative divisions. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ...

Ratzel's idea of Raum would grow out of his organic state conception. This early lebensraum was not political or economic, but spiritual and racial nationalist expansion.⁹⁹ The Raum-motiv is a historically driving force, pushing peoples with great Kultur to naturally expand.¹⁰⁰ Space for Ratzel was a vague concept, theoretically unbounded just as was Hitler's. Raum was defined by where German peoples live, where other inferior states could serve to support German peoples economically, and where German culture could fertilize other cultures.¹⁰¹ Haushofer would adopt this conception of Raum as the central program for German geopolitik, while Hitler's policy would reflect the spiritual and cultural drive to expansion. A stereotypical German The Germans (German: die Deutschen), or the German people, are a nation in the meaning an ethnos (in German: Volk), defined more by a sense of sharing a common German culture and having a German mother tongue, than by citizenship or by being subjects to any particular...

Rudolph Kjellén

Rudolf Kjellén

Rudolph Kjellén was Ratzel's Swedish student who would further elaborate on organic state theory and first coined the term "geopolitics."¹⁰² Kjellén's State as a Form of Life would outline five key concepts that would shape German geopolitik.¹⁰³ Image File history File links Rudolf_Kjellen. ... Image File history File links Rudolf_Kjellen. ...

• Reich was a territorial concept that was comprised of Raum, Lebensraum, and strategic military shape.¹⁰⁴
• Volk was a racial conception of the state.¹⁰⁵
• Haushalt was a call for autarky based on land, formulated in reaction to the vicissitudes of international markets.¹⁰⁶
• Geselleschaft was the social aspect of a nation's organization and cultural appeal,¹⁰⁷ Kjellén going further than Ratzel in his anthropomorphic view of states relative to each other.¹⁰⁸ And finally,
• Regierung was the form of government whose bureaucracy and army would contribute to the people's pacification and coordination.¹⁰⁹

Kjellén disputed the solely legalistic characterization of states, arguing that state and society are not opposites, but rather a synthesis of the two elements. The state did have a responsibility for law and order, but also for social welfare/progress, and economic welfare/progress.¹¹⁰ Volk is a German (and Dutch) word meaning people or folk. It is commonly used as prefix in words such as Volksentscheid (plebiscite) or Völkerbund (League of Nations), or the car manufacturer Volkswagen (literally, peoples car). A number of völkisch movements were set up in Germany after... Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules is socially organized. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Legalism has several meanings. ... Human relationships within an ethnically diverse society. ... Synthesis (from the ancient Greek σύν (with) and θεσις (placing), is commonly understood to be an integration of two or more pre-existing elements which results in a new creation. ... In politics, law and order refers to a political platform which supports a strict criminal justice system, especially in relation to violent crime and property crimes, through harsher criminal penalties. ... ... Social progress is defined as a progress of society, which makes the society better in the general view of its members. ... Welfare economics is a branch of economics that uses microeconomic techniques to simultaneously determine the allocational efficiency of a macroeconomy and the income distribution consequences associated with it. ...

Autarky, for Kjellén, was a solution to a political problem, not an economic policy proper. Dependence on imports would mean that a country would never be independent. Territory would provide for internal production. For Germany, Central and Southeastern Europe were key, along with the Near East and Africa. Haushofer was not interested in economic policy, but advocated autarky as well; a nation constantly in struggle would demand self-sufficiency.¹¹¹ Economic policy refers to the actions that governments take in the economic field. ... The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing the Levant (modern Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Turkey, Mesopotamia (Iraq and eastern Syria). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ...

Haushofer's contribution

Haushofer's geopolitik expands upon that of Ratzel and Kjellén. While the latter two conceive of geopolitik as the state as an organism in space put to the service of a leader, Haushofer's Munich school specifically studies geography as it relates to war and designs for empire.¹¹³ The behavioral rules of previous geopoliticians were thus turned into dynamic normative doctrines for action on lebensraum and world power.¹¹⁴ War is an excellent way of political leaders to let off some steam. ... Doctrine, from Latin doctrina, (compare doctor), means a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system. ...

Haushofer defined geopolitik in 1935 as "the duty to safeguard the right to the soil, to the land in the widest sense, not only the land within the frontiers of the Reich, but the right to the more extensive Volk and cultural lands."¹¹⁵ Culture itself was seen as the most conducive element to dynamic special expansion. It provided a guide as to the best areas for expansion, and could make expansion safe, whereas projected military or commercial power could not.¹¹⁶ Haushofer even held that urbanization was a symptom of a nation's decline, evidencing a decreasing soil mastery, birthrate and effectiveness of centralized rule.¹¹⁷   (IPA: ; German: IPA: ), is the German word for realm or empire, cognate with Scandinavian rike/rige, Dutch rijk and English ric as found in bishopric. ... Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply for Germans living outside of the German Empire. ... In demography, the crude birth rate of a population is the number of childbirths per 1000 persons per year. ...

To Haushofer, the existence of a state depended on living space, the pursuit of which must serve as the basis for all policies. Germany had a high population density, whereas the old colonial powers had a much lower density, a virtual mandate for German expansion into resource-rich areas.¹¹⁸ Space was seen as military protection against initial assaults from hostile neighbors with long-range weaponry. A buffer zone of territories or insignificant states on one's borders would serve to protect Germany.¹¹⁹ Closely linked to this need, was Haushofer's assertion that the existence of small states was evidence of political regression and disorder in the international system. The small states surrounding Germany ought to be brought into the vital German order.¹²⁰ These states were seen as being too small to maintain practical autonomy, even if they maintained large colonial possessions, and would be better served by protection and organization within Germany. In Europe, he saw Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece and the "mutilated alliance" of Austro-Hungary as supporting his assertion.¹²¹ Mandate can mean: An obligation handed down by an inter-governmental body; see mandate (international law) The power granted by an electorate; see mandate (politics) A League of Nations mandate To some Christians, an order from God; see mandate (theology) The decision of an appeals court; see mandate (law) The...

Haushofer's version of autarky was based on the quasi-Malthusian idea that the earth would become saturated with people and no longer able to provide food for all. There would essentially be no increases in productivity.¹²² The Rev. ...

Haushofer and the Munich school of geopolitik would eventually expand their conception of lebensraum and autarky well past the borders of 1914 and "a place in the sun" to a New European Order, then to a New Afro-European Order, and eventually to a Eurasian Order.¹²⁵ This concept became known as a pan-region, taken from the American Monroe Doctrine, and the idea of national and continental self-sufficiency.¹²⁶ This was a forward-looking refashioning of the drive for colonies, something that geopoliticians did not see as an economic necessity, but more as a matter of prestige, and putting pressure on older colonial powers. The fundamental motivating force would not be economic, but cultural and spiritual.¹²⁸ Eurasia African-Eurasian aspect of Earth Eurasia is the landmass composed of Europe and Asia. ...

Beyond being an economic concept, pan-regions were a strategic concept as well. Haushofer acknowledges the strategic concept of the Heartland put forward by the British geopolitician Halford Mackinder.¹²⁹ If Germany could control Eastern Europe and subsequently Russian territory, it could control a strategic area to which hostile seapower could be denied.¹³⁰ Allying with Italy and Japan would further augment German strategic control of Eurasia, with those states becoming the naval arms protecting Germany's insular position.¹³¹ Heartland is a most often a geopolitical term, often used to refer to a central area of Eurasia that is remote and inaccessible from the periphery. ...

Contacts with Nazi leadership

Evidence points to a disconnect between geopoliticians and the Nazi leadership, although their practical tactical goals were nearly indistinguishable.⁷²

Rudolf Hess

Rudolph Hess, Hitler's secretary who would assist in the writing of Mein Kampf, was a close student of Haushofer's. While Hess and Hitler were imprisoned after the Munich Putsch in 1923, Haushofer spent six hours visiting the two, bringing along a copy of Friedrich Ratzel's Political Geography and Carl von Clausewitz's Vom Kriege.⁷⁶ After World War II, Haushofer would deny that he had taught Hitler, and claimed that the National Socialist party perverted Hess's study of geopolitik. He viewed Hitler as a half-educated man who never correctly understood the principles of geopolitik passed onto him by Hess, and Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop as the principle distorter of geopolitik in Hitler's mind.⁷⁷ While Haushofer accompanies Hess on numerous propaganda missions, and participated in consultations between Nazis and Japanese leaders, he claimed that Hitler and the Nazis only seized upon half-developed ideas and catchwords.⁷⁸ Furthermore, the Nazi party and government lacked any official organ that was receptive to geopolitik, leading to selective adoption and poor interpretation of Haushofer's theories. Ultimately, Hess and Von Neurath, Nazi Minister of Foreign Affairs, were the only officials Haushofer would admit had a proper understanding of geopolitik.⁷⁹ Picture of Rudolph Hess The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... Picture of Rudolph Hess The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... Rudolf Hess Rudolf Hess should not be confused with the other prominent Nazi, Rudolf Höß (also spelled Höss or Hoess. ... Cover of Mein Kampf (First Edition) Mein Kampf (English translation: My Struggle, My Battle or My Fight) is the signature work of Adolf Hitler, combining elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitlers political ideology of Nazism. ... The Hitler Putsch (also commonly referred to in English as the Beer Hall Putsch) occurred in the evening of Thursday, November 8 to early afternoon of Friday, November 9, 1923 when the nascent Nazi partys Führer Adolf Hitler, the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, and other... A young Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz (June 1, 1780 – November 16, 1831) was a Prussian general and influential military theorist. ... On War (Ger. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Joachim von Ribbentrop Joachim von Ribbentrop (born Joachim Ribbentrop) (April 30, 1893–October 16, 1946) was the Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany from 1938 until 1945. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation directly aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ... 1. ...

Father Edmund A. Walsh S.J., professor of geopolitics and dean at Georgetown University, who interviewed Haushofer after the allied victory in preparation for the Nuremberg trials, disagreed with Haushofer's assessment that geopolitik was terribly distorted by Hitler and the Nazis.⁸⁰ He cites Hitler's speeches declaring that small states have no right to exist, and the Nazi use of Haushofer's maps, language and arguments. Even if distorted somewhat, Fr. Walsh felt that was enough to implicate Haushofer's geopolitik.⁸¹ Father Walsh with General Douglas MacArthur in Tokyo, 1948 Edmund Aloysius Walsh S.J. (1885 - 1956) was a Jesuit professor of geopolitics and founder of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. ... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ... Geopolitics is the study which analyses geography, history and social science with reference to international politics. ... In an educational setting, a dean is a person with significant authority . ... Georgetown University, formally the The President and Directors of Georgetown University, is a private university in the United States, located in Georgetown, a historic neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded on January 23, 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll, it is both the oldest Roman Catholic and oldest Jesuit university in... Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) was May 8, 1945, the date when the Allies during the Second World War formally celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitlers Reich. ... The Süddeutsche Zeitung announces The Verdict in Nuremberg. ...

Haushofer also denied assisting Hitler in writing Mein Kampf, saying that he only knew of it once it was in print, and never read it.⁸² Fr. Walsh found that even if Haushofer did not directly assist Hitler, discernible new elements appeared in Mein Kampf, as compared to previous speeches made by Hitler. Geopolitical ideas of lebensraum, space for depth of defense, appeals for natural frontiers, balancing land and seapower, and geographic analysis of military strategy entered Hitler's thought between his imprisonment and publishing of Mein Kampf.⁸³ Chapter XIV, on German policy in Eastern Europe, in particular displays the influence of the materials Haushofer brought Hitler and Hess while they were imprisoned.⁸⁴

Haushofer was never an ardent Nazi, and did voice disagreements with the party, leading to his brief imprisonment. He did profess loyalty to the Führer and make anti-Semitic remarks on occasion. However, his emphasis was always on space over race.⁸⁵ He refused to associate himself with anti-Semitism as a policy, especially because his wife was half-Jewish.⁸⁶ Haushofer admits that after 1933 much of what he wrote was distorted under duress: his wife had to be protected by Hess's influence; his son was murdered by the Gestapo; he himself was imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp for eight months; and his son and grandson were imprisoned for two-and-a-half months.⁸⁷   (Fuehrer when an umlaut is not used) is a proper noun meaning leader or guide in the German language. ... The Deaths Head emblem similar to skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The   (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; Secret State Police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... Memorial at the camp, 1997. ...

Hitler's geostrategy

The name "National Socialism" itself describes the fundamental orientation of Hitler's foreign policy. The nation, as a concept, was historically used almost interchangeably with race or ethnicity. Even under the League of Nations' legalistic framework for European state relations, states had been drawn upon ethnically determined boundaries, following the tenets of Wilson's Fourteen Points speech.² The first priority of the National Socialists was to focus on the racial aspects of foreign policy. Socialism, on the other hand, is focused on the equitable distribution and redistribution of material goods within an economic system. As a latecomer to nationhood proper and industrialization, Germany was far behind other older colonial powers in the acquisition of territory abroad. Burdened with a burgeoning population, Germany had lagging ability to raise agricultural production to meet food demands, compete in markets for industrial goods, obtain cheap sources of raw materials, and find an acceptable outlet for emigration. National Socialist foreign policy thus focused on what they perceived as a more equitable international redistribution of material resources and markets.³ This article or section should be merged with ethnic group Ethnicity is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular group or groups of people to each other. ... The League of Nations was a international organization founded after the Paris Peace Conference, 1919. ... As a surname, Wilson is derived from William, an old Germanic name. ... United States President Woodrow Wilson listed the Fourteen Points in a speech that he delivered to the United States Congress on January 8, 1918. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Immigration. ...

Hitler's foreign policy strategy can be divided into two main concepts: race and space. In 1928, Hitler dictated the text of a follow-up text to Mein Kampf focused on the elaboration of the foreign policy concepts he had previously set forth.⁴ Unedited and unpublished it allows a clearer picture of Hitler's thoughts than the edited and revised Mein Kampf, or his populist and over-simplified speeches. There is a lack of development or major shifts in his worldview between the 1926 volume and his assumption of power in 1933, supporting the idea that Hitler was not a foreign policy opportunist, but that his ideas were specific and formed before he had the power to implement his designs.⁵ Populism is a political philosophy or rhetorical style that holds that the common persons interests are oppressed or hindered by the elite in society, and that the instruments of the state need to be grasped from this self-serving elite and used for the benefit and advancement of the... Worldview is Chicago Public Radios daily international-affairs radio show, hosted by Jerome McDonnell. ...

Hitler outlined eight principles and four goals that were to guide his foreign policy. The principles were concerned with the German military, the League of Nations, and the situation with France. Hitler's first concern was the reinvigoration of the German military, without which all other aims could not be achieved. The League of Nations was a prohibitive factor in the development and change of Germany, because those with influence in the League were the very same states that had demanded Germany's crippling.⁶ Germany could not hope for allies found outside the League, but only discontent states that would be willing to break away. Those states would not be willing to leave unless Germany established a clear and articulated foreign policy, with clear costs and consequences, which the others could then follow. He cautions, however, that Germany cannot rely upon inferior allies (undesirable either by dint of their race or past military weakness).⁷ France, and the containment alliance it led against Germany, could not be challenged without the strong military Hitler envisioned and a decisive preemptive strike.⁸ He recognized that no matter what path Germany takes to regain its strength, France would always assist or even lead a coalition against it.⁹ Preemption as used with respect to operating systems means the ability of the operating system to preempt or stop a currently scheduled task in favour of a higher priority task. ... A coalition is an alliance among entities, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest. ...

Hitler's goals for Nazi foreign policy were more straightforward, focusing on German space, rather than the strictly racial aspects of his policy. His designs are meant to give Germany the focus that it lacked in the previous thirty-five years of "aimlessness."¹⁰ He calls for a clear foreign policy of space, not international trade or industry. The concept of lebensraum in the East overrided any perceived need for naval power, which would only bring Germany into conflict with England and Italy. Industrial exports and trade would require a merchant marine force, meeting most directly with the enmity of England, and France its willing ally. Therefore, land expansion was Hitler's primary goal, eschewing the borders of 1914, calling them nationally inadequate, militarily unsatisfactory, ethnically impossible, and insane when considered in light of Germany's opposition in Europe.¹¹ International trade is the exchange of goods and services across international boundaries or territories. ...

Race

While the goals and principles Hitler enunciated were primarily focused on the redistribution of space, they grew out of his focus on race. By 1923, Hitler had outlined his basic ideas on race. The Jews had betrayed Germany in WWI, a fact that necessitated a domestic revolution to remove them from power. He saw history as governed by the racial aspects of society, both internal and national. In his mind, a vulgarized sort of Social Darwinism determined the rise and fall of civilizations.¹² The world was composed not of states, but of competing races of different values,¹³ and politics was fundamentally a struggle led by those with the greatest capacity for organization, a characteristic held by Germanic peoples more than any other.¹⁴ Nations of pure and strong racial makeup would eventually prosper over those with ideas of racial equality—France was condemned in this regard because of its acceptance of blacks, and the use of black units in WWI against German troops. Acceptance of inferior races was intimately connected to the Jewish menace, and its threat to the strength of the Germanic race.¹⁵ It has been suggested that Revolutionary be merged into this article or section. ... The term vulgar originally meant of the common people, from the Latin vulgus. ... Look up black in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The vital strength of a race and its will to survive were the most important conditions which would lead to a resurgence of Germany, despite its lack of resources and materiel.¹⁶ The reestablishment of a truly nationalist German army, free from the hired mercenaries of the imperial era, was Hitler's first goal.¹⁷ With the threat or use of force, Germany would be able to move forward in achieving its goals for space. Thus, he implemented the Four Year Plan in order to overcome internal obstacles to military growth. A German army of considerable size would push its neighbors into conciliation and negotiation without the need for actual military adventures.¹⁸ In justifying the need for decisive military action, Hitler cites a lesson from WWI: those who are neutral gain a little in trade, but lose their seat at the victor's table, and thus their right to decide the structure of the peace to follow. He thus renounced neutrality, and committed his country to taking vital risks that would lead to greater gains.¹⁹ Materiel (from the French for material) is the equipment and supplies in Military and commercial supply chain management. ... Mercenary (disambiguation). ... The Four Year Plan was a program put forth by the Nazi Party, tinkering with the economic policy of Germany, especially in the area of synthetic production. ... A neutral country takes no side in a war between other parties, and in return hopes to avoid being attacked by either of them. ...

Space

Hitler's racial ideas were indirectly expressed in his concept of space for German foreign policy.²⁰ Space was not a global concept in the same way that older imperial states conceived of it, with their massive colonial empires carving up the world abroad. Hitler saw only value in adjacent and agriculturally viable land, not in trade and industry outlets that required a maritime orientation. He had no faith in increasing productivity, thus leading to the need to expand within Europe.²¹ Lebensraum for Germany required moving beyond the "arbitrary" goal of the border of 1914, expanding into the East, and adopting policies toward the Western European nations, Great Powers, and treaty arrangements, which would facilitate this land redistribution. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. ... Single European Act A treaty is a binding agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. ...

A lack of space for a race's growth would lead to its decay through degenerate population control methods and dependence upon other nations' imports.²² Expansion is directly correlated to the race's vitality, space allowing for larger families that would repopulate the nation from the losses it incurs fighting wars for territory. Where Hitler's expansionism differed greatly from that of imperial nations was his idea of racial purity, which required driving out or exterminating the native populations of any conquered territory.²³ Industry and trade were only transient solutions, subject to the vicissitudes of the market, and likely leading to war as economic competition escalates.²⁴ Lebensraum was thus the only permanent solution for securing the German race's vitality.²⁵ Colonies would take far too long to solve the Reich's agriculture and space problem; furthermore, they constitute a naval and industrial policy rather than a land-based agricultural policy, which is where Germany's strength lies.²⁶ Thus, Hitler committed Germany to a role as a land power rather than a sea power, and focused his foreign policy on attaining the highest possible concentration of land power resources for a future that lay in Europe.²⁷ The word degeneracy has more than one meaning: In general, degeneracy means reverting to an earlier, simpler, state In mathematics, a limiting case in which a class of object changes its nature so as to belong to another, usually simpler, class. ... Population control is the practice of limiting population increase, usually by reducing the birth rate. ...

The racial struggle for space envisioned by Hitler was essentially unlimited, a policy that could only have two results: total defeat or total conquest. Rudolph Hess discovered in 1927, while the two were imprisoned at Landsberg prison, that Hitler believed only one race with total hegemony could bring about world peace.²⁸ Hitler confirmed this attitude, regarding Europe specifically, in August 1943 speaking to his naval advisors, declaring, "Only if all of Europe is united under a strong central power can there be any security for Europe from now on. Small sovereign states no longer have a right to exist."²⁹

Lebensraum as a foreign policy concept was based upon domestic considerations, especially that of population growth and the pressure it placed upon existing German resources. War for lebensraum was justified by this need to reestablish an acceptable ratio between land and people.³⁰ Whereas the Weimar foreign policy was based on borders, the National Socialist foreign policy would be based on space and expansionism, pointing to fundamentally different conceptions of world order—the bourgeois saw in terms of states and law, whereas Hitler maintained an image of ethnic or racially defined nationhood.³¹ Lebensraum served to create the economic condition of autarky, in which the German people would be self-sufficient, no longer dependent on imports, or subject to demand shifts in international markets, which had been forcing industry to struggle against other nations.³² To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

To achieve lebensraum, Hitler cautioned against what he saw as a dangerous Weimar policy of demanding a return to the 1914 borders. Foremost, and inexcusable in his mind, those borders would not unite all ethnic Germans under the Reich.³³ In order to commit to a nation of all German-speaking peoples, the borders of 1914 must be abandoned as incompatible with racial unity and their arbitrary nature.³⁴ Open advocacy of border restoration would only urge a coalition to form against Germany before it could raise an army to achieve its ends.³⁵ Further, he believed that empty saber-rattling on this issue would shift public opinion against Germany, in support of France's anti-German measures, and even if achieved would only guarantee instability without achieving the racial goals he sees as so central to German vitality.³⁶

This doctrine of space focused on Eastern Europe, taking territory from the ethnically inferior Slavs.³⁷ While Western European nations were despised for allowing racial impurity, they were still essentially Aryan nations, but the small and weak Slavic nations to the East were legitimate targets. In talking to the Associated Press, Hitler commented that if Germany acquired the Ukraine, Urals and territory into the heartland of Siberia it would be able to have surplus prosperity.³⁸ Thus, Germany would have to be concerned about the newly independent states to the East, sitting between Germany and its goal of Russian territory. These states, especially the reconstituted Poland, were viewed as Saisonstaat, or states that exist for no enduring reason.³⁹ No alliance with Russia would be possible either, because of German designs on Eastern territory.⁴⁰ Still, Hitler maintained faith that if Germany were to make clear its aspirations for space in the inferior East, the Great Powers in Europe would not intervene, with the possible exception of France.⁴¹ // Aryan () is an English language word derived from the Iranian and Sanskrit terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. Beyond its use as the ethnic self-designation of the Proto-Indo-Iranians, the meaning noble/spiritual has been attached to it in Persian and Sanskrit. ... The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... The Ural Mountains, (Russian: Ура́льские го́ры = Ура́л) also known simply as the Urals, are a mountain range that run roughly north and south through western Russia. ... Siberian Federal District (dark red) and the broadest definition of Siberia (red) Udachnaya pipe Siberia (Russian: , Sibir; Tatar: ) is a vast region of Russia constituting almost all of Northern Asia. ...

Great Power relationships

Because of French opposition, it was crucial for Germany's plans to defeat France before moving against the states in the East and Russia.⁴² As an ally of Poland and Yugoslavia, a supporter of racial equality, and a constant opponent of German designs, action against France was deemed the highest priority in allowing those designs to come to fruition. By allying with states hostile to France and its coalition, Germany's military first-strike would be quickly successful.⁴³ Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in South Slavic languages, Југославија (Serbian, Macedonian Cyrillic): Land of the South Slavs) describes three separate political entities that existed on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ...

England was supposed to be Germany's natural ally, according to Hitler. It maintained good relations with Italy, while sharing key German interests, foremost of which was that neither country desired a French continental hegemon.⁴⁴ Since Hitler had decided to abandon Germany's naval power, trade and colonial ambitions, he believed that they would be likely to ally with Germany against France, which still maintained conflicting interests with England. And because Russia threatened English interests in Middle Eastern oil and India, action against Russia ought to also find German and England on the same side.⁴⁵ Continental may refer to: The adjective of continent, such as in continental Europe, continental breakfast, or continental climate, or Continental Glacier; The culture of the continental nation states of Europe, inasmuch as it contrasts with the culture of Anglo-Saxon England; The Lincoln Continental, a car made by Lincoln division... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Natural olive oil Synthetic motor oil Oil, in a general sense, is a [[great thing it produces cheese ]] that is not miscible with water, and is in a liquid state at ambient temperatures. ...

Italy would serve as Germany's other natural ally. Hitler perceived their interests as being far enough apart that they would not come into conflict.⁴⁶ Germany was concerned primarily with Eastern Europe, while Italy's natural domain was the Mediterranean. Still, their divergent interests both led them into conflict with France. Ideological ties were supposed to ease their relations, providing something more than simply shared interests to bind them together.⁴⁷ The major sticking point between the two countries was the South Tyrol. Hitler believed (incorrectly in retrospect) that if he were to cede this territory, then Italy would drop its objections to the Anschluss.⁴⁸ South Tyrol-Alto Adige (Italian: Alto Adige, German and Ladin: Südtirol; official in Italian: Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano - Alto Adige, official in German: Autonome Provinz Bozen - Südtirol, official in Ladin: Provinzia Autonòma de Balsan - Südtirol) is an autonomous province of Italy that belongs to the region... German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ...

Hitler repeatedly stressed another long-term fear, apparently driving his desire for German economic domination of European resources, which was the rise of America as a Great Power. Underlining his lack of faith in the ability to increase agricultural or industrial productivity, he cites America's vast size as the reason that economic policy will fail and expansionism can be the only route for Germany.⁴⁹ He rejects popular conceptions of a Pan-European economic union designed to counter American economic power, saying that life is not measured by quantity of material goods, but by the quality of a nation's race and organization.⁵⁰ Instead of this Pan-Europe, Hitler desires a free association of superior nations bound by their shared interest in challenging America's domination of the world. In his mind, American economic power is more threatening than English domination of the world.⁵¹ Only after defeating France and Russia could Germany establish its Eurasian empire that would lead nations against America, whose power he saw as undermined by its acceptance of Jews and Blacks.⁵²

Bases for Hitler's strategies

In constructing these designs for Europe, Hitler realized that treaties would only serve him as short-term measures. They could be used for immediate space-gaining instruments, partitioning third countries between Germany and another power. Or they could function as a means of delaying a problem until it could be dealt with safely. Treaties of alliance were only regarded as viable if both parties clearly gained; otherwise, they could legitimately be dropped. Multilateral treaties were to be strenuously avoided.⁵³ Even among countries that shared interests, alliances could never be planned on being permanent, as the allied state could become the enemy at short notice.⁵⁴ Still, Hitler realized that Germany would need allies in order to successfully leave the League of Nations and pursue its goals.⁵⁵

Hitler had not traveled abroad, nor read extensively, and as such his foreign policy grew out of his domestic concerns.⁵⁶ Foreign policy's ultimate goal was the sustenance of its people, and so domestic concerns were tightly connected and complimentary to foreign policy initiatives.⁵⁷ Thus, the traditional separation of domestic and foreign policy do not apply in the same way to German policy under the National Socialists. The domestic situation informed foreign policy goals, and foreign policy requirements demanded certain domestic organization and mobilization.⁵⁸ It is clear, however, that what appears as opportunism in the conduct of Nazi foreign policy was actually the result of plans conceived well before Hitler assumed power, and in line with his long-term theories of political vitality based on historical experience.⁵⁹

Hitler idolized Germany in the times of Bismarck's Prussia, before the democratic Reich botched treaties and alliances, ultimately undermining German ethnic goals.⁶⁰ Bismarck succeeded in giving Germany a suitably "organic" state, such that the German race could realize its "right to life."⁶¹ He achieved prestige for Germany by uniting the varied German states into the Reich, but was unable to unite the whole German nation or pursue a truly ethnic foreign policy.⁶² Hitler perceived the Reich's rallying cry of peace as giving it no goal, consistency or stability in foreign policy, and allowing it no options to take aggressive steps to realize those goals.⁶³ He cites the warning of the Pan-German League against the "disastrous" policy of the Wilheminian period.⁶⁴ The borders of the Reich were inherently unstable in his opinion, allowing for easy avenues of attack by hostile powers, with no natural geographic barriers for protection, and incapable of feeding the German people.⁶⁵ His central criticism of the Reich was that it too failed to unify the German people, and failed to pursue a policy that would solve the agricultural problem, in lieu of policies aimed at attaining international prestige and recognition.⁶⁶ Democracy (literally rule by the people, from the Greek demos, people, and kratos, rule) is a form of government for a nation state, or for an organization in which all the citizens have an equal vote or voice in shaping policy. ...

The Weimar government, which could do no good in Hitler's eyes, was centrally responsible for the treasonous act of signing the peace at Versailles, which he held crippled Germany and placed it at the mercy of hostile powers. In fact, Versailles had not significantly weakened Germany, as it still had the largest population in Europe, with skilled workers and substantial resources. Russia, which Bismarck had feared and allied with Austro-Hungary against, had been defeated in WWI and then underwent a destabilizing revolution. Austro-Hungary itself had been divided into a number of small weak states. If not absolutely, Germany was in a relatively better position than most states after WWI.⁶⁷ The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Central Powers and the German Empire. ...

Overview

Hitler's National Socialist foreign policy contained four broad goals: racial unification, agricultural autarky, lebensraum in the East, culminating in a Eurasian land-based empire. Not justified by strategic or realpolitik considerations, Hitler's ideas stemmed almost exclusively from his conception of racial struggle and the natural consequences of the need for German expansion. The historical record shows that German geopoliticians, chief among them General Karl Haushofer, were in contact with and taught Nazi officials, including Adolph Hitler, Rudolph Hess and Konstantin von Neurath. Furthermore, Nazi leaders used the language of geopolitik, along with Haushofer's maps, and reasoning in their public propaganda. How receptive they were to the true intent of Haushofer's geopolitik, and what that intent was exactly, is unclear. The ideas of racial organic states, lebensraum, and autarky clearly found their way into Hitler's thinking, whereas pan-regions and the landpower-seapower dichotomy did not appear prominently, much less correctly, in National Socialist strategy. Examination of Germany's pre-WWI imperial aims demonstrates that many of the ideas which would later surface in Nazi thought were not novel, but simply continuations of the same revisionist strategic aims. Racially motivated autarky, achieved by annexation, especially in the East, found its way into National Socialist policy as a continuous and coherent whole. However, Hitler along with the geopoliticians would drop the imperial focus on industry, trade and naval power. The practical outcomes of Imperial, geostrategic, and Nazi foreign policy plans were all largely the same. Realpolitik (German: real (realistic, practical or actual) and Politik (politics)) is a term used to describe politics based on strictly practical rather than idealistic notions, and practiced without any sentimental illusions. ... Konstantin von Neurath Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath (February 2, 1873 – August 14, 1956) was a German diplomat, Foreign Minister of Germany (1932-1938) and Reichsprotektor (nazi representative in the Czech puppet state) of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1943). ...

See also

• Geojurisprudence
• Mitteleuropa
• Mittelafrika

Geojurisprudence is a systemic approach to the connections of legal science to geography and geopolitics (Manfred Langhans-Ratzeburg - Begriff und Aufgaben der Geographischen Rechtswissenshaft (Geojurisprudenz) published by Kurt Vowinkel in 1928 as a companion volume to Karl Haushofers Zeitschrift für Geopolitik (ZfG). ... Mitteleuropa (Middle-Europe) is a German term approximately equal to Central Europe. ... Approximate location of Mittelafrika in light blue, with pre-existing German colonies in dark blue Mittelafrika is the name created for a geostrategic region in central and east Africa. ...

References

• Beukema, Col. Herman. "Introduction." The World of General Haushofer. Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., New York: 1984.
• Dorpalen, Andreas. The World of General Haushofer. Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., New York: 1984.
• Fischer, Fritz. Germany's Aims in the First World War. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York: 1967.
• Gilpin, Robert. War and Change in World Politics. Cambridge University Press, New York: 1981.
• Hitler, Adolph. ed. Gerhard Weinberg. trans. Krista Smith. Hitler's Second Book: The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf. Enigma Books, New York: 2003.
• Oskar Krejčí: "Geopolitics of the Central European Region. The view from Prague and Bratislava" Bratislava: Veda, 2005. 494 p. (Free download)
• Knutsen, Torbjørn L. The Rise and Fall of World Orders. Manchester University Press, New York: 1999.
• Krejčí, Oskar: "Geopolitics of the Central European Region. The view from Prague and Bratislava" Bratislava: Veda, 2005. 494 p. (Free download)
• Mackinder, Halford J. Democratic Ideals and Reality: A Study in the Politics of Reconstruction. National Defense University Press, Washington D.C.: 1942.
• Mattern, Johannes. Geopolitik: Doctrine of National Self-Sufficiency and Empire. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore: 1942.
• Rasler Karen & William R. Thompson. The Great Powers and Global Struggle: 1490-1990. The University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky: 1994.
• Tammem, Ronald L. et al. Power Transitions: Strategies for the 21st Century. Chatham House Publishers, New York: 2000.
• Walsh, S.J., Edmund A. Total Power: A Footnote to History. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York: 1949.
• Weinberg, Gerhard L. "Introduction." Hitler's Second Book: The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf. Enigma Books, New York: 2003.
• Weinberg, Gerhard L. The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany: Diplomatic Revolution in Europe 1933-36. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago: 1970.
• Wilson, Woodrow. "The Fourteen Points Speech." 8 January 1918. http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/51.htm

This article is about the German historian. ... Robert Gilpin is a scholar of international political economy and the professor emeritus of Politics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. ... Oskar Krejčí (born 13 Jul 1948 in Prague) is Czech political scientist. ...

Notes

Further reading

• Carr, William. Arms, Autarky and Aggression: A Study in German Foreign Policy, 1933-1939. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York: 1972.
• Dickenson, Robert E. The German Lebensraum. Penguin Books, New York: 1943.
• Herb, Guntram Henrik. Under the Map of Germany: Nationalism & Propaganda, 1918-1945. Routledge, New York: 1997.
• Hitler, Adolph. Mein Kampf. Munich, Germany: 1927.
• Hoetzsch, Otto. Germany's Domestic and Foreign Policies. Yale University Press, New Haven, Massachusetts: 1929.
• Maull, Otto. " Das Wesen der Geopolitik" B.G. Taubner,Leipzig: 1941.
• Murphy, David Thomas. The Heroic Earth: Geopolitical Thought in Weimar Germany, 1918-1933. The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio: 1997.
• Sheenan, James J. et al. Imperial Germany. New Viewpoints, New York: 1976.