Lebensraum

Lebensraum (from the German for "living space") is an idea that was used to justify the expansionist politics of Nazi Germany. It was similar to the American philosophy of Manifest Destiny and the Israeli settlements policy.

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It can also be used to describe an ecologically open niche. For instance, "Populations need Lebensraum where nascent novelties can survive and reproduce."

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The idea of a Germanic people without sufficient space dates back long before Adolf Hitler brought it to prominence: the term Lebensraum was coined by Friedrich Ratzel in the late 19th century, when it was used as a slogan in Germany referring to the unification of the country and the acquisition of colonies, as per the English and French models. Ratzel believed the development of a people is primarily influenced by their geographical situation and that a people that successfully adapted to one location would proceed naturally to another. This expansion to fill available space, he claimed, was a natural and necessary feature of any healthy species.

German: German may mean:...

Nazi Germany: Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian ideology of the National Socialist German Workers Party, or Nazi Party, with the F?hrer Adolf Hitler as dictator....

Manifest Destiny: Manifest Destiny is a phrase that expressed the belief that the United States had a divinely inspired mission to expand, to progress, and to spread its form of democracy and freedom. Originally a political catch phrase of the nineteenth century, Manifest Destiny eventually became a standard historic...