Influence of German History on Nazi Foreign Policy

• The 'September Program', drawn up by the German government at the start of WW1, set out Germany's ambition to take over vast areas of Europe.
• In some respects, Kaiser Wilhelm II's Weltpolitik scheme of colonial expansion, prior to 1914, might also be regarded as a kind of forerunner of Hitler's ambitions. Moreover, Weltpolitik was based on racist assumptions.
• The idea that the German people needed territorial Lebensraum, 'living space', to expand into to, had grown in popularity in Germany in the late 19th century. Indeed, the desire to conquer territory in Eastern Europe and Russia was popular prior to 1914.
• Antisemitism, and other kinds of racism, had a long history in Germany, and in the late 19th century, pseudo-scientific ideas about 'racial purity' were common.
• The idea that all German people should be united in one country was also held by pre-war Germany and some German speakers in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.