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Hitler's War Aims #1
Hitler's War Aims: Ideology, the Nazi State, and the Course of Expansion
In this volume Norman Rich shows how Hitler's policies followed his blueprint of expansion, outlined in Mein Kampf and based mainly on racial ideology, until political and military necessities, real and imagined, drove him to war against nations that played no part in his ideological programme. After an introduction that places Hitler and the Nazi regime in the perspective of German history, Professor Rich relates Hitler's actual theories to the rise of the Nazi state and the development of a system of men and institutions dedicated to carrying out the Fuhrer's orders. This system was to provide the machinery of expansion that becomes the focus of this study, as the spread of the Nazis is traced in detail from the annexation of Austria to Hitler's attack on Russia and declaration of war against the United States.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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About the author
Norman Rich
18 books5 followersAn internationally recognized scholar of European history, Norman Rich taught history at Bryn Mawr College, Michigan State University, and Brown University, retiring from the latter as Professor of History, Emeritus. After receiving his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1949, Norman Rich served for five years on the Board of Editors of the captured German Foreign Office documents, a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the British Foreign Office, and the French Foreign Ministry. He has been awarded research fellowships at the Center of International Studies, Princeton, and St. Antony's College, Oxford, and in addition has been awarded Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships for research in England and Germany.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 2, 2013
What were the Aims of Nazi Germany before and during World War II?
The above book attempts to explain the various goals, not only the military goals but the racial, administrative and economic goals. Actually, the Military goals were really a corollary to the other goals.
It is quite clear that Hitler’s ideology was the driving force behind the various actions before and during the war. While anger at the Versailles treaty which grew out of the end of World War I was universal in Germany, it took Hitler’s dark visions of conspiracy by the West, control of world finance by the Jews and the overrunning of Europe by the Communists. Yet, Hitler’s political philosophy grew out of German and Austrian racial and political theories which posited that the Jews, Slavs and various other European national groups were subhuman and were destined to be ruled over and, eventually, annihilated by the ‘super’ species, namely the Aryans and its primary representatives, the German people.
The book does not deal with the various battles of World War II but discusses at length the Nazi ideology, the attainment of power by the Nazi party, the structure of the Nazi state, the nature of the proposed expansion of Germany and the treatment of various nations and nationalities once conquered by the Germans. It is clear that the blueprint for the Nazi plans were clearly laid out in Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ and much of what he wrote there, he sought to carry out. While the fortunes of war turned against Germany, Hitler did manage to accomplish what was most dear to his heart, namely, the almost complete destruction of European Jewry. So, to the extent that this was one of his primary goals, sadly in completing this goal, he triumphed.
It is a sad commentary on the various democracies which allowed Hitler to ‘toy’ with them and lie to them for so long. They appear amateurish in the various diplomatic and military maneuverings and allowed the world to come to the brink of destruction. I hope that this was a lesson learned but, looking at the machinations of various modern countries, (Iran, North Korea) I fear that the lesson has not been properly absorbed.
The book is scholarly and is full of footnotes and a very thorough bibliography. However, it is somewhat outdated and much useful and more current information may be found in works by Richard J Evans, Christopher Browning and Michael Burleigh. Nevertheless, the book is quite informative and shows clearly the direct line between Hitler’s destructive and somewhat childish theories and the putting into effect of these theories with such dire consequences for the whole world.
The above book attempts to explain the various goals, not only the military goals but the racial, administrative and economic goals. Actually, the Military goals were really a corollary to the other goals.
It is quite clear that Hitler’s ideology was the driving force behind the various actions before and during the war. While anger at the Versailles treaty which grew out of the end of World War I was universal in Germany, it took Hitler’s dark visions of conspiracy by the West, control of world finance by the Jews and the overrunning of Europe by the Communists. Yet, Hitler’s political philosophy grew out of German and Austrian racial and political theories which posited that the Jews, Slavs and various other European national groups were subhuman and were destined to be ruled over and, eventually, annihilated by the ‘super’ species, namely the Aryans and its primary representatives, the German people.
The book does not deal with the various battles of World War II but discusses at length the Nazi ideology, the attainment of power by the Nazi party, the structure of the Nazi state, the nature of the proposed expansion of Germany and the treatment of various nations and nationalities once conquered by the Germans. It is clear that the blueprint for the Nazi plans were clearly laid out in Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ and much of what he wrote there, he sought to carry out. While the fortunes of war turned against Germany, Hitler did manage to accomplish what was most dear to his heart, namely, the almost complete destruction of European Jewry. So, to the extent that this was one of his primary goals, sadly in completing this goal, he triumphed.
It is a sad commentary on the various democracies which allowed Hitler to ‘toy’ with them and lie to them for so long. They appear amateurish in the various diplomatic and military maneuverings and allowed the world to come to the brink of destruction. I hope that this was a lesson learned but, looking at the machinations of various modern countries, (Iran, North Korea) I fear that the lesson has not been properly absorbed.
The book is scholarly and is full of footnotes and a very thorough bibliography. However, it is somewhat outdated and much useful and more current information may be found in works by Richard J Evans, Christopher Browning and Michael Burleigh. Nevertheless, the book is quite informative and shows clearly the direct line between Hitler’s destructive and somewhat childish theories and the putting into effect of these theories with such dire consequences for the whole world.
August 30, 2022
The first section of the book takes on the ideological basis for Hitler's reign as chancellor of Germany, although it does not really speak of the origins of the ideology itself, which I find to be a missed opportunity. The second section explicate the expansionism generated by national socialism, which act as a great introduction to the subject, albeit I would read Gerhard L Weinstein for more on the subject.
November 14, 2008
Fascinating, serious, learned -- the final chapter on Lebensraum is chilling.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews