Hitler’s Nazis used a number of strategies to fulfil their polices in repudiating Versailles, uniting the German peoples, and acquiring territory to implement lebensraum. All three of these strategies helped lead the German’s to war in 1939, although forcible acquisition of Lebensraum was mainly the goal of Hitler and his Nazis. Since the beginning of Hitler’s career up until the day he was dying Lebensraum was what really fueled Hitler to do the things he did. Though he could not just start by taking the land he wanted, Hitler had to openly violate the Treaty of Versailles to start his campaign and gain even more support from the German peoples.
When WWI ended and the Treaty of Versailles was signed, Germany was angered. Reparations killed the German economy, land was lost, and Germany had to assume full responsibility for the war (The War Guilt Clause). Hitler said the treaty was “the greatest villainy of the century” and used it to gain power in Germany by promising to get her land back, and to stop the payment of reparations. Hitler’s first act against the treaty was in March of 1935, by introducing compulsory military conscription in Germany, and rebuilding the armed forces, after Goering announced the formation of the Luftwaffe. With Hitler’s stronger armed forces he and the Nazi’s reoccupied the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany. When this happened France and Britain did nothing; France was between governments at the time, and Britain was weak in her forces. Hitler took from this that he could get away with more aggressive actions because of Britain and Frances’ being weak.

Once Hitler reoccupied the Rhineland, he was ready to fully implement the next phase of Lebensraum (meaning “Living Space”). Thought Lebensraum was not an original idea of Hitler’s, he promoted it and put it into practice. Hitler aimed this foreign policy at the incorporation of ethnic Germans living outside German borders into the Reich. “German’s superior races did not have enough “living space”, and that the “inferior” races next door would have to make room” Hitler was eyeing Ukraine to start his movement into the East. Ukraine and Poland were to be cleared of their inhabitants and resettled with Germans. With this new movement and settlement of Germans Hitler needed the population to grow, thus he rejected the ideas of birth control and emigration, saying that those practices weakened the people and culture of Germany.

Hitler wanted to unite all German speakers together in one country. After World War One there were Germans living in many countries in Europe e.g. Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and East Prussia. Hitler hoped that by uniting them together in one country he would create a powerful Germany. Hitler’s Lebensraum philosophy allowed only the Germanisation of the soil and the land, but not the native peoples, who were to be destroyed by slave labour and starvation. Hitler’s goal was to preserve the pure bloodline of the German race, and take over all areas where Germans lived. He was eliminating all “subhuman” races that might contaminate the pure bloodline through interbreeding. Hitler and his Nazis believed Germany wasn’t a political state with geographic borders and political boundaries. They instead were radical and believed it was necessary to unite all German speaking people under Nazi leadership to ensure the continued long term existence of the German race.

The previously mentioned parts of the Nazi’s foreign policy all correlated into the makings of World War Two, but Lebensraum was what really led directly to war. Hitler had an uncontrollable need for expansion, and was fulfilling his desire when he invaded Poland 1939, kicking off the Second World War. Of course there were other factors that led to was like invading France, which seemed to be less fueled by Lebensraum, and more by a desire to avenge the humiliation and defeat in WW1. As the Nazi Army successfully overtook and conquered the surrounding lands of France, Alsace, and Lorraine, that’s when the Reich began its policy of racial restructuring. Lebensraum was the Nazis excuse for stripping away people’s lives and identities in an effort to expand their own race.

Hitler’s aims were aggressive, but to be expected, as he had openly stated them in his book “Mein Kampf” in 1924. He stated he was going to, A) Destroy the Treaty of Versailles B) Create a country of all German people C) Lebensraum to conquer land for Germany in Eastern Europe. Hitler and his Nazis were a strong force when it came to implementing these policies. The “enthusiasm” from every German individual to support Hitler is what made really made the Nazi party succeed in what they accomplished.

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[ 1 ]. The History Place, http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-hossbach.htm, 2001
[ 2 ]. Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
[ 3 ]. J.A Falk, History 12 Student Workbook, Hazelmere Publishing
[ 4 ]. Wikipedia, Lebensraum, 2016
[ 5 ]. Dr. Marjorie, http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/hitfor.htm, 2013