This study traces the evolution of imperialist ideology in Germany from Bismarck in the mid-19th century through Hitler and the Third Reich. Although much has been written about the virulently racist and anti-communist ideologies of the Nazi party, this is the first book to treat Nazi imperialism as a separate ideology and set it within a sturdy theoretical framework. Smith contends that Nazi imperialism represented the last, ambitious attempt to integrate two century-old ideologies--the elite, pro-industrial Weltpolitik and the popular-based, pro-agrarian Lebensraum--into a single system. In fact, Smith argues that it was largely the way in which the Nazis attempted to reconcile these contradictory ideologies that explains Germany's disastrous policies during World War II. This wide-ranging study also contributes to the debates over several other aspects of German history, including German military aims in World War II, the continuity--or discontinuity--of German policy from Bismarck to Hitler, and the relation between ideology and social-political life.
Author(s): Woodruff D. Smith
Year: 1989
Language: English
Pages: 352
Contents......Page 8
Continuity and Ideology in the Historiography of German Imperialism......Page 12
Imperialism and the Autonomy of Politics......Page 20
Ideology in Modern Political Systems......Page 22
Structure......Page 23
Functions......Page 25
Migrationist Colonialism......Page 30
Economic Imperialism......Page 39
The Colonial Movement of the 1870s and 1880s......Page 41
Perceptions of Change......Page 50
Wilhelmian Politics and Political Fragmentation......Page 53
The Search for a New Politics......Page 58
FOUR: Weltpolitik......Page 61
The Weltpolitiker......Page 62
The Structure of Weltpolitik......Page 73
Social Imperialism and Liberal Imperialism......Page 90
The Elements of Lebensraum......Page 92
Lebensraum and the Pan-German League......Page 103
SIX: Imperialist Ideologies in Conflict, 1890–1914......Page 121
Colonial Development Policy......Page 122
Mittelafrika and the Second Moroccan Crisis......Page 138
The Legitimation of German Imperialism......Page 150
Attempts at Integration in Imperialist Ideology......Page 161
EIGHT: The First World War......Page 175
Weltpolitik and War Aims......Page 177
Lebensraum at War......Page 183
Weltpolitik and Reform......Page 194
The Triumph of Lebensraum in 1917–18......Page 196
Continuities in Weltpolitik......Page 205
Continuity and Change in Lebensraum Ideology......Page 212
Colonialism and the Colonial Movement......Page 222
Geopolitics......Page 227
Hans Grimm and the Popularization of Lebensraum......Page 233
TEN: Nazi Imperialism......Page 240
Nazi Ideology......Page 241
The Imperialist Aspect of Nazi Ideology......Page 247
Conclusion......Page 264
Notes......Page 268
Bibliography......Page 318
C......Page 336
F......Page 337
I......Page 338
M......Page 339
R......Page 340
U......Page 341
Z......Page 342
