Lebensraum
The Treaty of Versailles was devastating to the Germans in many aspects, but one of the largest losses was probably the disintegration of national pride in the loss of its military and territory. Hitler used this national sentiment to his advantage and adopted this in his foreign policy ideology – ‘Lebensraum’, or living space. Nazi Germany was a strong advocate of Racial Darwinism and expansionism, linking the two together to create a belief that racially superior nations rightfully must take over other racially inferior in order to provide the racially superior with the necessary territory, resources and manpower.
The idea of Lebensraum was not always enthusiastically taken up by Nazi officials, but was a fundamental driving force in Nazi Germany’s foreign policies. It would have a significant impact on Hitler’s method of dealing territorial disputes, mostly involving the mobilization of the military to overpower the opposition.
Below are the major historical events that took place under Hitler's Lebensraum policies:
The Treaty of Versailles was devastating to the Germans in many aspects, but one of the largest losses was probably the disintegration of national pride in the loss of its military and territory. Hitler used this national sentiment to his advantage and adopted this in his foreign policy ideology – ‘Lebensraum’, or living space. Nazi Germany was a strong advocate of Racial Darwinism and expansionism, linking the two together to create a belief that racially superior nations rightfully must take over other racially inferior in order to provide the racially superior with the necessary territory, resources and manpower.
The idea of Lebensraum was not always enthusiastically taken up by Nazi officials, but was a fundamental driving force in Nazi Germany’s foreign policies. It would have a significant impact on Hitler’s method of dealing territorial disputes, mostly involving the mobilization of the military to overpower the opposition.
Below are the major historical events that took place under Hitler's Lebensraum policies:
SAAR PLEBISCITE
The Saar basin was a previously German-region that had been occupied by the British and the French after World War 1 and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. After the Nazi Regime took control of the German State, most of the anti-Nazi political parties and activist groups had moved to the Saar, as it was one of the only German region occupied by foreign powers. To Hitler, the Saar was not only necessary to restrict the anti-Nazism movements that continued after Hitler's rise to chancellor, but also to reclaim what was rightfully German and continue his Lebensraum policy.
In January 1935, a plebiscite - a vote on the final territorial status of the Saar - was held, according to the Treaty of Versailles. The people of the Saar had three choices: Reunite with France, stay with the status quo or unite with France. Hitler was afraid that this plebiscite may play against his aims and ordered Propaganda Minster Goebbels to rage an intense propaganda campaign that promoted reunification with Germany. The results of the plebiscite showed that more than 90% of the population had voted to reunify with Germany. By 1936, the territory had been returned to German control with the agreement of the British and the reluctant French. (SAAR PLEBISCITE)
To Hitler, this was an important win for two reasons - first, he had regained territory that was lost after World War 1, something that Hitler was obsessed with. Second, the Saar plebiscite that territories with a German majority could work favorably with Hitler's Lebensraum policy - also giving him a legitimate claim over the territory for the German population. This would infleunce Germany's Lebensraum policies in the Rhineland and the Sudetenland. (Giblin)
The Saar basin was a previously German-region that had been occupied by the British and the French after World War 1 and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. After the Nazi Regime took control of the German State, most of the anti-Nazi political parties and activist groups had moved to the Saar, as it was one of the only German region occupied by foreign powers. To Hitler, the Saar was not only necessary to restrict the anti-Nazism movements that continued after Hitler's rise to chancellor, but also to reclaim what was rightfully German and continue his Lebensraum policy.
In January 1935, a plebiscite - a vote on the final territorial status of the Saar - was held, according to the Treaty of Versailles. The people of the Saar had three choices: Reunite with France, stay with the status quo or unite with France. Hitler was afraid that this plebiscite may play against his aims and ordered Propaganda Minster Goebbels to rage an intense propaganda campaign that promoted reunification with Germany. The results of the plebiscite showed that more than 90% of the population had voted to reunify with Germany. By 1936, the territory had been returned to German control with the agreement of the British and the reluctant French. (SAAR PLEBISCITE)
To Hitler, this was an important win for two reasons - first, he had regained territory that was lost after World War 1, something that Hitler was obsessed with. Second, the Saar plebiscite that territories with a German majority could work favorably with Hitler's Lebensraum policy - also giving him a legitimate claim over the territory for the German population. This would infleunce Germany's Lebensraum policies in the Rhineland and the Sudetenland. (Giblin)
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
In 1936, Hitler was commanding a Germany army of roughly 550,000 men. With enough military support behind him, Hitler decided to take back the Rhineland, a strip of demilitarized territory under Allied control under the Treaty of Versailles. The move to remilitarize the Rhineland was a clever move by Hitler: Hitler understood that Britain and the United States were just recovering from the Great Depression and would pose no real threat should the Rhineland be retaken by Germany. France was the only nation that would provide any type of resistance, and Hitler knew that France would not want to risk another military conflict with a Germany that had grown an army of a considerable size. Nonetheless, Hitler suffered from stomach cramps and lack of sleep from nervousness, and on the day, ordered his battalions leaving for the Rhineland to withdraw should they face French resistance. However, Hitler’s assumptions turned out to be true and the French offered no resistance other than scrambling defense forces to the Maginot line. On March 7th, seven German battalions promptly took control of the area and within a week, Germany had stationed 25,000 troops there to reinforce control. (The National Archives)
The remilitarization of the Rhineland was an extremely important event in the course of Nazi History. Hitler learnt two valuable lessons from the remilitarization of the Rhineland that would dictate his future decisions in foreign policies and negotiations. First, the League of Nations had no real power to stop Germany from achieving Lebensraum – it was an iconic organization more than a practical one, one Hitler did not need worry about. Second and most important, Great Britain and France would be ready to back off from any sizable conflict if that meant they could preserve the ‘peace’ and prevent another war. (Giblin) The latter would especially change Germany’s diplomatic attitude towards Britain and France, with Nazi Germany threatening ‘war’ or ‘armed conflict’ of such a scale that Britain and France always would take a step back. They would use this to much effect against the British and French in the next phase of Lebensraum - the Anschuluss.
In 1936, Hitler was commanding a Germany army of roughly 550,000 men. With enough military support behind him, Hitler decided to take back the Rhineland, a strip of demilitarized territory under Allied control under the Treaty of Versailles. The move to remilitarize the Rhineland was a clever move by Hitler: Hitler understood that Britain and the United States were just recovering from the Great Depression and would pose no real threat should the Rhineland be retaken by Germany. France was the only nation that would provide any type of resistance, and Hitler knew that France would not want to risk another military conflict with a Germany that had grown an army of a considerable size. Nonetheless, Hitler suffered from stomach cramps and lack of sleep from nervousness, and on the day, ordered his battalions leaving for the Rhineland to withdraw should they face French resistance. However, Hitler’s assumptions turned out to be true and the French offered no resistance other than scrambling defense forces to the Maginot line. On March 7th, seven German battalions promptly took control of the area and within a week, Germany had stationed 25,000 troops there to reinforce control. (The National Archives)
The remilitarization of the Rhineland was an extremely important event in the course of Nazi History. Hitler learnt two valuable lessons from the remilitarization of the Rhineland that would dictate his future decisions in foreign policies and negotiations. First, the League of Nations had no real power to stop Germany from achieving Lebensraum – it was an iconic organization more than a practical one, one Hitler did not need worry about. Second and most important, Great Britain and France would be ready to back off from any sizable conflict if that meant they could preserve the ‘peace’ and prevent another war. (Giblin) The latter would especially change Germany’s diplomatic attitude towards Britain and France, with Nazi Germany threatening ‘war’ or ‘armed conflict’ of such a scale that Britain and France always would take a step back. They would use this to much effect against the British and French in the next phase of Lebensraum - the Anschuluss.
Anschluss – Annexation of Austria
March 12, 1938 was a significant diplomatic win for Nazi Germany. Austria was suffering from the Great Depression – although it had recovered from the worst, its economy was fairing badly, and its political situation was not much better. Hitler was originally of Austrian descent, and regarded Austria as a part of Nazi Germany for racial and personal reasons. Austria was Aryan by race, and Hitler believed that in order to create a completely unified Germany, any Germanic race and German speaking nations had to be part of his plans for his future empire. Austria was also his birthplace - although Hitler was clear to tell people that he was German, he was of Austrian descent, and he wished to incorporate Austria into the glory of his future Germany.
It is important to understand the close connection Hitler and the German Nazi party maintained with those abroad. Surprising as it is, the largest Nazi party outside of Germany was in Britain and headed by a knighted British Sir Oswald Mosley. Goebbels invited Mosley on his wedding to celebrate the event in Germany and Hitler gave him a signed portrait of himself as a gift - all a means to keep a close tie with foreign Nazi/Facist organizations. This way Hitler was able, to some extent, to exert his influence abroad in other nations. The annexation of Austria was a great example in which Nazi parties abroad played a critical role in assisting Hitler's plans for Lebensraum.
March 12, 1938 was a significant diplomatic win for Nazi Germany. Austria was suffering from the Great Depression – although it had recovered from the worst, its economy was fairing badly, and its political situation was not much better. Hitler was originally of Austrian descent, and regarded Austria as a part of Nazi Germany for racial and personal reasons. Austria was Aryan by race, and Hitler believed that in order to create a completely unified Germany, any Germanic race and German speaking nations had to be part of his plans for his future empire. Austria was also his birthplace - although Hitler was clear to tell people that he was German, he was of Austrian descent, and he wished to incorporate Austria into the glory of his future Germany.
It is important to understand the close connection Hitler and the German Nazi party maintained with those abroad. Surprising as it is, the largest Nazi party outside of Germany was in Britain and headed by a knighted British Sir Oswald Mosley. Goebbels invited Mosley on his wedding to celebrate the event in Germany and Hitler gave him a signed portrait of himself as a gift - all a means to keep a close tie with foreign Nazi/Facist organizations. This way Hitler was able, to some extent, to exert his influence abroad in other nations. The annexation of Austria was a great example in which Nazi parties abroad played a critical role in assisting Hitler's plans for Lebensraum.
The Annexation of Austria - known and the Anschluss - began with Hitler ordering the Austrian Nazi Party to start a coup in 1934. This was a response to the constant crackdown and the eventual ban of the Nazi party in Germany by Austrian Chancellor Dolfuss. The coup partially succeeded as Chancellor Dolfuss was assassinated but the Austrian military eliminated most threats before the Austrian Nazi Party could make any further progress. The newly appointed chancellor Schuschnigg was aware of Hitler's intentions and hoped to protect Austrian autonomy by appeasing Hitler and accepting most of his demands which included lifting the ban of the Nazi party and instating Nazi members into the Austrian government. Hitler, however, was wary of the Austrian-Italian treaty of 1934 in which Italy pledged to assist Austria should her independence be threatened by other nations. This prevented Hitler from using military force to take over Austria. (BBC)
The problem that hindered Hitler's progress resolved itself easily as Germany and Italy joined forces to assist rebel leader General Francisco Franco in the Spanish civil war in 1936. As a result, the Germans and Italians signed the Rome-Beriln Axis and promised close . To further trouble the unstable political situation in Austria, Hitler asked the Austrian Nazi party to continue spreading violence in Austria. Hitler hoped that by making the Austrian government look seemingly incapable of enforcing law and justice, Germany could move in to help 'calm' the situation. (Giblin)
Schuschnigg, in one desperate move in 1938, attempted to put the annexation of Austria to vote. Hitler was furious and called him back to his private ' ' and threatened military action if the vote was not called off. Eventually, Schuschnigg gave into pressure and called off the vote, resigning at the same time. The political vacancy led the Foreign Minister of Austria (who conveniently was a Nazi party member) to ask Germany for assistance with national security, and Hitler promptly responded by mobilizing a force of 23,000 men into Austria, with him at the helm of the army in his motorcade.
The Anschluss was a significant victory for Hitler in preparation for his future plans following Lebensraum - the annexation of Austria also added 100,000 military personnel and various artillery/weaponry to his already expanding Wehrmacht, increasing the overall size of the Wehrmacht. Hitler also gained access to Southern/Eastern Europe, giving him influence over the Balkans while drastically expanding territory (BBC). It was also another victory, or so the Germans felt, over the traditional European powers Britain and France - the truth was the political situation in France was extremely dire, and the British had developed the idea that intervention was not necessary as it was natural for two Aryan nations to join forces, hence the decision not to intervene. But Hitler took this more personally - he had overcome the British and the French, and already he began planning the next phase of Lebensraum - Czechoslovakia.
The problem that hindered Hitler's progress resolved itself easily as Germany and Italy joined forces to assist rebel leader General Francisco Franco in the Spanish civil war in 1936. As a result, the Germans and Italians signed the Rome-Beriln Axis and promised close . To further trouble the unstable political situation in Austria, Hitler asked the Austrian Nazi party to continue spreading violence in Austria. Hitler hoped that by making the Austrian government look seemingly incapable of enforcing law and justice, Germany could move in to help 'calm' the situation. (Giblin)
Schuschnigg, in one desperate move in 1938, attempted to put the annexation of Austria to vote. Hitler was furious and called him back to his private ' ' and threatened military action if the vote was not called off. Eventually, Schuschnigg gave into pressure and called off the vote, resigning at the same time. The political vacancy led the Foreign Minister of Austria (who conveniently was a Nazi party member) to ask Germany for assistance with national security, and Hitler promptly responded by mobilizing a force of 23,000 men into Austria, with him at the helm of the army in his motorcade.
The Anschluss was a significant victory for Hitler in preparation for his future plans following Lebensraum - the annexation of Austria also added 100,000 military personnel and various artillery/weaponry to his already expanding Wehrmacht, increasing the overall size of the Wehrmacht. Hitler also gained access to Southern/Eastern Europe, giving him influence over the Balkans while drastically expanding territory (BBC). It was also another victory, or so the Germans felt, over the traditional European powers Britain and France - the truth was the political situation in France was extremely dire, and the British had developed the idea that intervention was not necessary as it was natural for two Aryan nations to join forces, hence the decision not to intervene. But Hitler took this more personally - he had overcome the British and the French, and already he began planning the next phase of Lebensraum - Czechoslovakia.
The Sudetenland
By 1939, Hitler had more than enough expertise in dealing with nations to look at the Sudetenland. As being on a strategically important sieging point in central Europe bordering Germany, Austria, Poland, the Soviet Union and Hungary, as well as being one of the most industrialized nations filled with rich resources, Czechoslovakia was a goldmine - and Hitler was determined to be the one to lay claim to the riches it provided.
Hitler used the Sudetenland - Czech territory where 3.5 million Germans lived as a minority - as an excuse to lay partial claim to a considerable section of Czechoslovakian territory. However, the Czechs had signed a mutual alliance agreement with France, and was on good terms with the British and the Soviets - any forceful takeover may cause the three nations to ally and interfere with German plans of Lebensraum. Using his alliance with Italy to have Mussolini support him behind the scenes, Hitler then went on to speak in favor of the Sudeten Germans, comparing them to Palestine but emphasizing that the Fatherland had not deserted them. Hitler's support for the German minority in the Sudetenland led them to protest against the Czech government for independence. The Czech police acted swiftly, opening fire at the protesters as the demonstration became increasingly violent. (Giblin)
When meeting with Prime Minister Chamberlain in Germany, Hitler used the Czech crackdown on German protesters in the Sudetenland to show how the German minority were being mistreated, and promised to launch an offensive should the Czechs decide not to give up the Sudetenland. Weeks of negotiations would follow before Hitler was promised a four-stage withdrawal of the Czech army military October 1st. Eventually, the French and the British had continued their appeasement policy towards Hitler, fearing an outbreak of another war, and left their ally Czechoslovakia to her fate. (Giblin)
The Sudetenland was the last of the bloodless victories that ended with Hitler overcoming British and French intervention. Hitler's policies of Lebensraum were solely based on one large assumption: the British and French would not attempt to stop German ambitions in fear of war and would continue to pursue an appeasement policy in order to satisfy Hitler. Lebensraum was initially opposed to by various Nazi officials, with some even thinking that Hitler was 'crazy' in pursuing such an open policy of territorial expansion under the scrutiny of nations that were easily much stronger and more than willing to defeat Germany again should the need arise. And although the continuous expansion of territory eventually met a military response from the French and British over the invasion of Poland and Czechoslovakia, Lebensraum was perhaps Hitler's most successful approach to foreign policy in the Third Reich.
By 1939, Hitler had more than enough expertise in dealing with nations to look at the Sudetenland. As being on a strategically important sieging point in central Europe bordering Germany, Austria, Poland, the Soviet Union and Hungary, as well as being one of the most industrialized nations filled with rich resources, Czechoslovakia was a goldmine - and Hitler was determined to be the one to lay claim to the riches it provided.
Hitler used the Sudetenland - Czech territory where 3.5 million Germans lived as a minority - as an excuse to lay partial claim to a considerable section of Czechoslovakian territory. However, the Czechs had signed a mutual alliance agreement with France, and was on good terms with the British and the Soviets - any forceful takeover may cause the three nations to ally and interfere with German plans of Lebensraum. Using his alliance with Italy to have Mussolini support him behind the scenes, Hitler then went on to speak in favor of the Sudeten Germans, comparing them to Palestine but emphasizing that the Fatherland had not deserted them. Hitler's support for the German minority in the Sudetenland led them to protest against the Czech government for independence. The Czech police acted swiftly, opening fire at the protesters as the demonstration became increasingly violent. (Giblin)
When meeting with Prime Minister Chamberlain in Germany, Hitler used the Czech crackdown on German protesters in the Sudetenland to show how the German minority were being mistreated, and promised to launch an offensive should the Czechs decide not to give up the Sudetenland. Weeks of negotiations would follow before Hitler was promised a four-stage withdrawal of the Czech army military October 1st. Eventually, the French and the British had continued their appeasement policy towards Hitler, fearing an outbreak of another war, and left their ally Czechoslovakia to her fate. (Giblin)
The Sudetenland was the last of the bloodless victories that ended with Hitler overcoming British and French intervention. Hitler's policies of Lebensraum were solely based on one large assumption: the British and French would not attempt to stop German ambitions in fear of war and would continue to pursue an appeasement policy in order to satisfy Hitler. Lebensraum was initially opposed to by various Nazi officials, with some even thinking that Hitler was 'crazy' in pursuing such an open policy of territorial expansion under the scrutiny of nations that were easily much stronger and more than willing to defeat Germany again should the need arise. And although the continuous expansion of territory eventually met a military response from the French and British over the invasion of Poland and Czechoslovakia, Lebensraum was perhaps Hitler's most successful approach to foreign policy in the Third Reich.
Written by Tony Yoon,
Edited by Berk Gedikoglu