Hitler and the Nazis believed that the German people needed more living space, or lebensraum. They felt it was unfair that other countries such as the United States and the Soviet Union had such vast territories at their disposal whereas Germany, with its large population, was unable to expand.
But this wasn't the only reason that the Nazis offered in support of the policy. They believed that acquiring more land was the destiny of the German people. According to Nazi ideology, the Germans were racially superior and this gave them the right to take land from what they regarded as so-called lesser races, such as Slavs. In Mein Kampf Hitler had written that the Germans should turn to Eastern Europe to establish the new Reich, or Empire. There the so-called master-race would lord it over the Slavs, who would be treated as little better than slaves.
As the Nazis conquered more and more territory in Eastern Europe during World War Two, they began to put their twisted ideas into effect, causing immense suffering and misery as they carved out more living space for the German people. The Germans ruthlessly plundered each territory they conquered, stealing not just land, but raw materials, grain, and livestock, all of which were appropriated for their sole use. These resources were not just stolen to help the war effort; they were appropriated to form the basis of the new economy and society which the Nazis intended to build in their new racial empire after they'd won the war.
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