Hitler's Goal to Expand the East

Hitler's Goal to Expand the East

Once his regime was consolidated, Hitler took little interest in

domestic policy, his sole concern being that Germany becomes

sufficiently strong to realize his long-term geopolitical goal of

creating a German empire that would dominate Western Europe and extend

deep into Russia. His racially motivated ideology and the need to

create a greater Germany became his most hierarchical aims to fulfil.

However, Hitler's policies were much more than a policy of

expansionism but entailed the need to eradicate the Versailles Treaty

and the unification of all German people into the Reich. I will argue

towards the fact that these aims were as important as expansion into

the east. Additionally I will stress that Hitler did not necessarily

follow an intentionalist school of thought rather he was an

opportunist able to make use of opportunities at hand whilst keeping a

consistent aim in ideology. I will conclude that the aims that Hitler

set about achieving were merely a step towards world domination

through greater Germany.

Hitler's idea of expansionism into the east (lebensraum) was in place

long before he had come to power. However what differentiates Hitler's

ideology from the idea itself is that he was able to imprint his own

racial ideology encompassing a large and more threatening scheme.

Hitler's ideas were not limited to expansionism into the east, but

entailed the conquest of land to create a more flourishing future for

the Germanic people at the expense of the Slavic race and eastern

Europeans in possession of that land. Hitler's myth of the Aryan race

being the more superior and dominant ethnicity e...

... middle of paper ...

... bring about economic stability, Hitler was sure that the

land gained from wars won would bring about unparalleled economy

supremacy.

In conclusion, I believe that Hitler did not have a single aim but

instead a multitude of aims. I also believe that Hitler never had a

blueprint of his aims. The aims were inter connected, and the absence

of one meant the absence of all. Lebensraum, Grossdeutschland,

abolition of the Treaty of Versailles and rearmament can not coexist

without each other. I firmly believe that Hitler was both an

opportunist who had set out to try and achieve his ideological beliefs

under any circumstances. This view is supported by Eberhard Jäckel who

had asserted “Perhaps never in history did a ruler write down before

he came to power what he was to do afterwards as precisely as did

Adolf Hitler.”