Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

THE UPROOTED AND DISINHERITED 321and almost 70,000,000 people. These space-systems are confronted bythe new great space-blocks, which seem to be developing their full forceonly today: the United States, the Soviet Union, and perhaps China.Why they did not enter world history with full force until today can beexplained by Haushofer's theory that sea transport loses its dominantrole only in the present era. Hitler's sermon on space meant that at thiscrossroads of history Germany must not choose the false road andattempt the conquest of an old-style colonial empire on the English orFrench pattern. Germany must become another land-block.But for the moment she was nothing but a land-based island, so tospeak; a small territory swimming amidst other territories. Germany didnot feed herself from her own soil; like England, but without theoverseas resources of that country, she exported industrial products,buying raw materials and foodstuffs in return. Thus she was, too, acountry relying on trade lanes. 'I protest against the German peopleworking as the industrial coolie of the world,' said Hitler, grosslyexaggerating, 'while other peoples live on its sweat, some of them withan excess of land and soil. Who gave the Russians their land and soil?'The land and soil of the Russians ...! That was what he wanted forGermany: 'We shall take the soil — on the strength of a natural right —in places where it is not tilled as we shall till it. . . . The earth belongs tohim who tills it industriously. Nations which are lazy, which areincompetent, which are stupid, have no right to possess soil of the earththat they cannot make useful, while at the same time other nationsstarve through lack of soil. It is criminal to ask an intelligent people tolimit its children in order that a lazy and stupid people next door canliterally abuse a gigantic surface of the earth.'Hitler viewed Russia with desire and contempt. Russia, to him, was anempty space full of people who do not count, and one day will be aneasy prey; but Germany must be on her guard against a much strongerpower — the second great land-space of the white race. America is forHitler an object of terror. America, to his mind, mustered every hostilepower against Europe; in America space and race joined forces againstthe Old World. Hitler's view of