Through Hitlers Eyes
Introduction
Weinberg indicates in Chapter 3: The World Through Hitlers Eyes that the two driving factors of Hitlers view on foreign policy had to do with race and spacei.e., the Jew problem (or the Aryan ideal) and the Master Plan for the expansion of Germanyi.e., Lebensraum (the push to increase Germans living space). Weinberg states that Hitler had a fixed view of the world, that it emanated from these two points, and that it was consistently discussed through the 1930s in Hitlers writings and discourses.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Gerhard Weinberg, Through Hitlers Eyes (), 32.]
Hitlers Goals
Weinberg argues that Hitler believed that the space Germany required was primarily in the East, in Russia. This belief was a major aspect of his foreign policy and was emphasized in his book "Mein Kampf".[footnoteRef:2] The war that came about at the end of the 1930s was a result of this belief, as Weinberg puts it: Hitler acknowledged that wars resulted in casualties but argued that they were necessary for gaining land essential for the racial survival of the German people. Weinberg states that Hitler believed that wars should be fought for a significant purpose, such as acquiring a substantial amount of land, and considered the German borders of 1914 as inadequate for this purpose?.[footnoteRef:3] Weinberg asserts that Hitler's expansionist program had a potentially limitless character, too.[footnoteRef:4] He says Hitler envisioned a long-term trend towards world conquest, with the idea that space should be adjusted to an expanded population, which implied an ongoing cycle of conquest and expansion [2: Ibid 35.] [3: Ibid 35.] [4: Ibid 36.]
As Weinberg puts it, the whole of Hitlers energy was bound up with this idea of expansion, sacrifice, and racial purity. He argues that Hitler promised to lead Germany as an absolute dictator in a series of wars. He was...
His vision was to acquire land that would compensate many times over for the bloodshed it would entail?. For that to happen, Hitler would need
power; thus, Weinberg posits that Hitler confidently promised his followers that once in power, he would implement a forceful
dictatorship in Germany and that he did not shy away from this
ambition. Weinberg says Hitlers plan included the strengthening of Germany's...
…and World War II" by Gerhard L. Weinberg, revolved around two interrelated concepts: race and space. He believed in the racial superiority of the Germanic people and saw
world history in terms of racial struggle. Hitler's foreign policy was driven by a
doctrine of acquiring "Lebensraum" or living space, particularly in Eastern Europe and Russia, which he deemed necessary for the survival and expansion of the German race. He envisioned that this expansion would involve the displacement or extermination of non-Germanic peoples in these territories. Hitler's foreign policy was aggressively expansionist and militaristic, aiming to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and establish Germany as a dominant world power. This approach ultimately led to the instigation of World War II. According to Weinberg, Hitler was both explicit and surreptitious in his approach: he explicitly stated his desire for a dictatorship and his belief that war would be needed to achieve his aims. However, he also pursued diplomatic channels in order to win allies. He lined up with Mussolini in
Italy, but ultimately failed to win over the UK even though he gave them what they wanted regarding treaties.
Bibliography
Weinberg, Gerhard L.Germany, Hitler, and World War II: essays in modern German and world
history. Cambridge University Press,…
