Adolf Hitler coined the idea of Germany's expansion to the East, a concept known as "Drang nach Osten," in his book "Mein Kampf," which he wrote in 1924 during his imprisonment after the failed coup attempt in Munich in November 1923. In this political manifesto, Hitler outlined his worldview, his political theories, and his visions for a renewed Germany under the leadership of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Central to Hitler's considerations was the idea that the German people needed additional living space to thrive, focusing particularly on the territories of the Soviet Union. He considered the Slavic peoples inferior, which, in his view, justified the conquest and Germanization of their territories. The quest for living space in the East was brutally implemented with the invasion of Poland in 1939 and the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
The Munich Agreement of 1938, an attempt by the European powers to satisfy Adolf Hitler's territorial demands through concessions, has gained central significance in historical retrospect. It symbolizes the apex of the policy of appeasement - the strategy of avoiding a larger war through concession. The ceding of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia to Germany was intended to quell Hitler's urge for expansion and secure peace in Europe. Yet historical facts suggest that the Second World War could not have been prevented by this agreement, as the roots of Hitler's ambitions were much deeper. The view that the war could have been avoided if the Allies had taken a harder stance in Munich overlooks Hitler's deeply ingrained beliefs and objectives. His ideological contempt for the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed strict reparations and territorial restrictions on Germany after World War I, served as a powerful propaganda tool for him.
In reality, countless mistakes were made by the West! The Treaty of Versailles made it impossible for democratic parties to gain strength in Germany. The lack of a boycott of the 1936 Olympic Games remains incomprehensible, as well as the isolation of the Spanish Republic and the allowance of interference by Mussolini and Hitler out of geopolitical opportunism were equally wrong. The list could go on endlessly.
With "Munich 1938," a legend was created to discredit platforms for dialogue on international security concepts and to defend rearmament. Democrats should not work with legends, because in the end it leads to the enemies of democracy using this example to accuse the democrats of dishonesty. An accusation that can grant the enemies of democracy victory over democracy.
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