Volk ohne Raum

The term Volk ohne Raum was a buzzword in the Weimar Republic and the period of National Socialism. The term was coined by the nationalist writer Hans Grimm with his novel Volk ohne Raum.

With the slogan was suggested that misery, poverty, hunger and poverty are due to the overpopulation of Germany and is therefore in the "struggle for existence " new country (often habitat or habitat in the east called ) must conquer. Closely related to this was the claim that the earth was divided, and it is unjust that a great nation like the German possess so little land. This assertion is also implicated in the dictum place in the sun (Bernhard von Bülow said in a Reichstag debate on December 6, 1897 in connection with the German colonial policy: " we do not want anyone in the shade, but we also demand our place in the sun. " )

The Nazis took over the slogan ' people without space ' in order to justify and legitimize the German war of conquest in the East ( it should be a campaign such as the Polish campaign and the Battle of France, in fact it was a nearly four -year war ). Even the party program of the NSDAP from February 24, 1920 contained in section 3 the demand: " We demand land and territory ( colonies) to feed our people and settle our surplus population. " Early 1936 outlined Reich peasant leader Walther Darré before regional staff ( professional advisers ) of the Reich quite concretely the German conquest plans:

It was planned the extermination of the intelligentsia in the conquered lands and the enslavement of the remaining population. This objective was religious, social Darwinism and racist founded, expressed the head of the DAF, Robert Ley, to the professional office of DAF " The German trade " on October 17, 1939: