The War Between Nazism and Bolshevism

The War Between Nazism and Bolshevism

Introduction:

From his entry into politics Hitler was committed to a war in the

East. He subscribed to the pan-German philosophy and was a staunch

believer in the idea of eastern expansion emulating the great German

Reich of the Wilhelmine era[1]. Hitler's personal preoccupation with

Lebensraum echoes back to the pre-war thinking of the anti-Semitic

right wings, and the general need for expansion felt after the vast

confiscations of the Treaty of Versailles. As early as 1924/5, when he

was serving a prison sentence at Landsberg Am Lech, Hitler was

thinking of the time when the NSDAP would carry Germany to victory in

the east. However as Hitler said himself at the time "the result would

be inevitable defeat"; but this was taking into account the shrunken

economy and military of the unstable Weimar government.

Thereafter Hitler's discussions on the matter of realising ideology,

in Mein Kampf and when in power, came down to the necessity of an

invasion of Russia; "Destiny itself seems to wish to point the way for

us here"[2] he wrote in 1925 at Landsberg.

Thus it seems that ideologically Hitler was confirmed in the fact that

war with Russia was unavoidable, and indeed he did not wish to avoid

it. Yet the Führer also knew of the benefits to Germany, materially

and politically, these were probably the most important reasons for an

attack on Russia but by no means the only ones.

The German war effort would require huge amounts of raw materials and

food, Russia could provide this; since the British and French appeased

his policy of annexation and absorption in the east Hitler was

encour...

... middle of paper ...

...Kershaw I Hitler - 1936-1945 Nemesis (Penguin, London, 2001) p.205

[9] Geary R Hitler and Nazism (Routledge, London, 1997) p.6

[10] Ibid. p.65

[11] Hitler A (Trans. Manheim R) Mein Kampf (Second Book) (Hutchinson

& Co, London, 1974) p.604

[12] Geary R Hitler and Nazism (Routledge, London, 1997) p.67/68

[13] Noakes J & Pridham G (Ed.) Nazism 1919-45 Vol.3 (University of

Exeter Press, Exeter, 1997) pp. 680-688 (Esp. p.686 where the text

shows Hitler as having dismissed Russia claiming that they would be

distracted from German interests by the Japanese)

[14] Kershaw I Hitler - 1936-1945 Nemesis (Penguin, London, 2001)

p.387-8

[15] Overy R War and Economy in the Third Reich (Oxford University

Press, Oxford, 1994) p.188

[16] Kershaw I Hitler - 1936-1945 Nemesis (Penguin, London, 2001)

p.343