#lebensraum

[antifainternational]

Lebensraum

A key component of Nazi ideology was the concept of lebensraum, or "living space." This was the idea that the so-called Aryan people of Germany needed more territory (and the resources that came with it) for their "natural development." Lebensraum was the basis the Nazis used to justify the invasion of Poland and the rest of Europe shortly thereafter.

Posting this for no reason in particular, obviously.

[whencyclopedia]

Lebensraum

Lebensraum ('living space'), is a geopolitical concept which was adopted by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the leader of Nazi Germany, to justify the military domination of Central and Eastern Europe, and then the USSR. Hitler promised that Lebensraum in the east would gain vast new space and resources and so ensure economic prosperity and autonomy for Germanic peoples.

In addition to economic considerations, Nazi race theory was used to justify foreign conquests since the achievement of Lebensraum would also bring the destruction of the Nazis' main enemies: Communists, Jewish people, and Slavic people, all of whom were regarded as politically or racially inferior to Nazis and Germanic people.

Hitler's Popular Appeal

Adolf Hitler had won popularity amongst the German electorate in the early 1930s by making popular promises. Hitler said he would reverse the harsh settlement terms after the First World War (1914-18), which were embodied in the Treaty of Versailles. Germany had since suffered economic problems, especially after the Great Depression of 1929 onwards. World trade collapsed, and prices fell, badly affecting workers of all kinds as their wages were cut. Around one-third of German workers lost their jobs. Unemployment in 1928 was 1.4 million; in 1932, it was 6 million. Crime, particularly juvenile crime, rocketed. The governments of the Weimar Republic seemed unable to solve any of these problems, but Hitler promised solutions.

Hitler promised the people bread and work. He planned to massively rearm Germany, restoring national pride and creating jobs. He promised business leaders lucrative state contracts such as arms manufacturing. This idea was also popular with the German Army, which had been severely limited in size by the Treaty of Versailles.

Hitler talked of creating a Volksgemeinschaft or people's traditional folk community, a self-sufficient society that has no class distinctions. This community would not only be developed in Germany but in new conquered lands where new natural resources would ensure the prosperity of all. Hitler was selling a dream of a 'Greater Germany', and in post-war Germany, when times were tough, the idea of new lands and new resources to boost the economy appealed to many voters and many large business owners.

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⇒ Lebensraum

[letterboxd-loggd]

None Shall Escape (1944) André de Toth

January 5th 2025

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christmas Eve Crazy

Happy Christmas Eve, and here’s your reminder that it’s not normal for an American president to talk about taking over territory that belong

Joyce Vance at Civil Discourse:

Happy Christmas Eve, and here’s your reminder that it’s not normal for an American president to talk about taking over territory that belongs to our allies. Greenland, the Panama Canal, and…Canada. This is, however it’s presented, speculative war talk. It’s invasion talk—how else does one country take over land held by another? We need look no further than Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to answer that. The countries Trump mentioned haven’t volunteered interest in joining the United States. And it’s hardly realistic to think they would. Perhaps Trump will drop it when he takes office. But it’s not funny, and it’s not a joke. It’s destabilizing, and destabilization is dangerous, especially in a fraught world. I’m sorry that tonight’s post isn’t one about visions of sugar plums, and I know we all want to be on holiday at the moment, but this is too important to look away from. The idea that there are people sitting around and acting like this is all normal is absolute madness.

“Expansion?” A rival to the Louisiana Purchase? None of these countries are interested in selling. The word they were looking for was invasion. That’s how one country takes over territory from another. In Germany in the 1900s, this need for “expansion” was called Lebensraum, literally, room to live in or elbow room. We all know what happened next. The German geographer Friedrich Ratzel came up with the term Lebensraum in the early 1900s. Under Hitler and the Third Reich, Lebensraum was used to justify “expansion” to the East. There was angry rhetoric about fulfilling destiny and the notion that those countries were filled with inferior people who the Germans should be permitted to elbow out—Jews and Slavs. They compared it to the American expansion to the West. We should not be surprised that the man who, according to his first wife Ivana, kept a copy of Hitler’s collected early speeches, My New Order, by his bed would go there.

[...] Some things are too important to ignore, even on Christmas Eve. Trump is not making friendly jokes with our neighbor Canada about becoming the 51st state. Greenland has its own indigenous people and a long-time relationship with Denmark. Panama’s conservative President José Raúl Mulino released a video reminding anyone who cared to tune in that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong” to Panama. What Trump is doing is dangerous. On top of his lukewarm support for NATO, it could threaten post-World War II stability. Experience has shown that Trump will back down and abandon plans in the face of persistent opposition. The bully does not have the courage of conviction. We saw that when he distanced himself from Project 2025 after its exposure and extensive discussion in the news during the campaign. But he has realigned himself with its goals during the transition period, now that public opposition has dissipated. We saw it happen recently when Trump broke with Robert Kennedy Jr.’s views on polio vaccines after crazy nonsense about a Kennedy ally opposing them surfaced. Senator Mitch McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, made his opposition to that view plain as public outrage swelled. “Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed—they’re dangerous,” McConnell said, a view he has unfortunately not shared publicly about a second Trump presidency. It was enough for Trump to back down.

CNN sanewashes Donald Trump’s delulu Lebensraum dreams of putting Canada, Greenland, and Panama Canal part of Panama under American rule by merely calling it “expansion”.

[tilbageidanmark]

(All the other memes I’ve made..)

[unitedfrontvarietyhour]

Star Spangled History Lessons, Pt. 3

[tomorrowusa]

Are Russians moving to your block? It may be a good idea to stock up on Javelins and HIMARS.

Not sure of the origin of the cartoon or whether or not it was modified. But it captures the spirit of Russian imperialism well.

As for the actual war, UK Defence Intelligence reports that the Russian generals in charge of the invasion are more concerned with the troops’ shaving habits and hair styles. I suppose that Defense Minister Shoigu and Gen. Gerisamov want the Russian Army to look more presentable when Ukrainian drones spot them.

The abject stupidity of the Russian leadership puts them in a class with George Santos.

[dushman-e-jaan]

The only true difference between Hitler's "Lebensraum" and America's "Manifest Destiny" is that Lebensraum failed.