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Lebensraum

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Lebensraum

Lebensraum (German pronunciation: [ˈleːbənsˌʁaʊm] , lit. 'living space') is a German concept of expansionism and Völkisch nationalism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, Lebensraum became a geopolitical goal of the German Empire in World War I (1914–1918), as the core element of the Septemberprogramm of territorial expansion. The most extreme form of this ideology was promoted and initiated by the Nazi Party, that had ruled Nazi Germany, whose ultimate goal of which was to establish a Greater German Reich. Lebensraum was a leading motivation of Nazi Germany to initiate World War II, and it would continue this policy until the end of the conflict. Following Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Lebensraum became an ideological principle of Nazism and provided justification for the German territorial expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. The Nazi policy Generalplan Ost (lit. 'Master Plan for the East') was based on its tenets. It stipulated that Germany required a Lebensraum necessary for its survival and that most of the populations of Central and Eastern Europe would have to be removed permanently (either through mass deportation to Siberia, extermination, or enslavement), including Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Czech, and other Slavic nations considered non-Aryan. The Nazi government aimed at repopulating these lands with Germanic colonists in the name of Lebensraum during and following World War II. Entire populations were ravaged by starvation; any agricultural surplus was used to feed Germany. The Jewish population was to be exterminated outright. Hitler's strategic program for Greater Germany was based on the belief in the power of Lebensraum, especially when pursued by a racially superior society. People deemed to be part of non-Aryan races, within the territory of Lebensraum expansion, were subjected to expulsion or destruction. The eugenics of Lebensraum assumed it to be the right of the German Aryan master race (Herrenvolk) to remove the indigenous people in the name of their own living space. They took inspiration for this concept from outside Germany, particularly the European colonization of North America. Hitler and Nazi officials took a particular interest in manifest destiny, and attempted to replicate it in occupied Europe. Nazi Germany also supported other Axis powers' expansionist ideologies such as Fascist Italy's spazio vitale and the Empire of Japan's hakkō ichiu.

Tables

German People's List (Deutsche Volksliste) · <span><i>Lebensraum</i></span> in practice: the Second World War › Classification under the laws in the annexed territories
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche
Classification
Volksdeutsche
Translation
Ethnically German
Heritage
German
Definition
Persons of German descent who had engaged themselves in favour of the Reich before 1939
Deutschstämmige
Deutschstämmige
Classification
Deutschstämmige
Translation
German descent
Heritage
German
Definition
Persons of German descent who had remained passive
Eingedeutschte
Eingedeutschte
Classification
Eingedeutschte
Translation
Voluntarily Germanised
Heritage
Part-German
Definition
Indigenous persons considered by the Nazis as partly Polonized (mainly Silesians and Kashubians); refusal to join this list often led to deportation to a concentration camp
Rückgedeutschte
Rückgedeutschte
Classification
Rückgedeutschte
Translation
Forcibly Germanised
Heritage
Part-German
Definition
Persons of Polish nationality considered "racially valuable", but who resisted Germanisation
Classification
Translation
Heritage
Definition
Volksdeutsche
Ethnically German
German
Persons of German descent who had engaged themselves in favour of the Reich before 1939
Deutschstämmige
German descent
German
Persons of German descent who had remained passive
Eingedeutschte
Voluntarily Germanised
Part-German
Indigenous persons considered by the Nazis as partly Polonized (mainly Silesians and Kashubians); refusal to join this list often led to deportation to a concentration camp
Rückgedeutschte
Forcibly Germanised
Part-German
Persons of Polish nationality considered "racially valuable", but who resisted Germanisation
Area and population data in 1939 of Nazi German Gaue that included annexed territories of Poland: Estimates of 1947[132] as cited by Stanisław Waszak, Demographic Picture of the German Occupation (1970)[133] · <span><i>Lebensraum</i></span> in practice: the Second World War › East–West frontier
Wartheland
Wartheland
Gau
Wartheland
Total population
4,933,600
Poles
4,220,200
Germans
324,600
Jews
384,500
Ukrainians
–
Others
4,300
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Gau
Upper Silesia
Total population
2,632,630
Poles
2,404,670
Germans
98,204
Jews
124,877
Ukrainians
1,202
Others
3,677
Danzig-West Prussia
Danzig-West Prussia
Gau
Danzig-West Prussia
Total population
1,571,215
Poles
1,393,717
Germans
158,377
Jews
14,458
Ukrainians
1,648
Others
3,020
East Prussia
East Prussia
Gau
East Prussia
Total population
1,001,560
Poles
886,061
Germans
18,400
Jews
79,098
Ukrainians
8,099
Others
9,902
Total
Total
Gau
Total
Total population
10,139,005
Poles
8,904,648
Germans
599,576
Jews
602,953
Ukrainians
10,949
Others
20,899
Gau
Total population
Poles
Germans
Jews
Ukrainians
Others
Wartheland
4,933,600
4,220,200
324,600
384,500
–
4,300
Upper Silesia
2,632,630
2,404,670
98,204
124,877
1,202
3,677
Danzig-West Prussia
1,571,215
1,393,717
158,377
14,458
1,648
3,020
East Prussia
1,001,560
886,061
18,400
79,098
8,099
9,902
Total
10,139,005
8,904,648
599,576
602,953
10,949
20,899
· <span><i>Lebensraum</i></span> in practice: the Second World War › East–West frontier
Ostland
Ostland
Reichskommisariat name
Ostland
Area included
The Baltic States, Belarus, and western Russia
Ukraine
Ukraine
Reichskommisariat name
Ukraine
Area included
Ukraine (minus East Galicia and the Romanian-controlled Transnistria Governorate), extended eastwards to the River Volga
Moskowien
Moskowien
Reichskommisariat name
Moskowien
Area included
The Moscow metropolis and European Russia, exclusive of Karelia and the Kola peninsula, which the Nazis promised to Finland in 1941
Kaukasien
Kaukasien
Reichskommisariat name
Kaukasien
Area included
The Caucasus
Reichskommisariat name
Area included
Ostland
The Baltic States, Belarus, and western Russia
Ukraine
Ukraine (minus East Galicia and the Romanian-controlled Transnistria Governorate), extended eastwards to the River Volga
Moskowien
The Moscow metropolis and European Russia, exclusive of Karelia and the Kola peninsula, which the Nazis promised to Finland in 1941
Kaukasien
The Caucasus

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