Lebensraum in Nazi Germany

3/25/2009

Question: Was Hitler right in claiming that the German race was superior to other races and that it was entitled to lebensraum by conquering inferior-race territories?

Answer: He was partly right and partly wrong. He was right in his premise that the German race is historically superior to most other eastern European races. This is amply supported by history. The Pollack’s, for example, are generally not as sophisticated culturally and economically as the Germans. His big mistake was rather the conclusion that he drew from this premise. History has shown that whenever that is a dichotomy within civilization between have’s and have-not’s, as such dichotomy becomes more acute, conflict and “restructuring” invariably results and the have-not’s ultimately come out ahead when the dust of war settles. Hence, it is in the best interest of the have’s not to press their edge too strongly. In order for them to remain in power they must continually make concessions to the have-not's in proportion to their prosperity. Another manifestation of this phenomenon can be observed in the current (2008-?) recession and the Great Depression. Many economists believe that these recessions are ultimately caused by the polarization between the wealthy and the poor. As more and more of the “poker chips” wind up in the stacks of a select few, there are fewer and fewer chips left for the losing players and the game comes to an end. Thus, as long as there exists a socio-economic relationship among several classes within society, the gap between the rich and poor must be kept to a minimum in order to prevent an insurgency and revolution on the part of the disadvantaged.

Hitler’s objective was to excessively acuminate the edge of the German race over others to the point of intolerance even by nations that were socioeconomically on a par with Germany (namely France, England and the United States) and had themselves embarked on a similar course in the form of amassing colonies abroad. Another big mistake he made was to be blunt about his intentions and race superiority claims. Those matters generally should not be pronounced by the ruling class if they are looking to sustain their position of power. It’s a matter of political discreetness. Like my dad always says in the name of his Rebbe “you shall not lie; but you don’t have to always tell the truth either”.