Lebensraum en · PROPN
Pronunciation
- lāʹbənzroum (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈleɪbənzˌɹaʊm/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from German Lebensraum (literally “living space”).
Meanings
- (in German history from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth Centuries, in early usage) Territories considered appropriate for German habitation, regarded as vital for the natural flourishing of the German race: ▸ an empire in the form of overseas colonies, in imitation of contemporary powers such as Britain and France.
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(Nazism, in German history from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth Centuries, in later usage) Territories considered appropriate for German habitation, regarded as vital for the natural flourishing of the German race: ▸ a Großdeutschland obtained through Endoeuropean expansion, usually with a focus upon Drang nach Osten, and varying in its scope from the comparatively modest annexation of the Polish Border Strip to overlordship of the European continent by the conquest of Russian lands as far as the Urals.
The title of this article evokes memories of the beginning of World War II and reveals one method dictators use to increase their power. In China’s case, Xi Jinping’s Anschluss of Hong Kong in June 2020 fits nicely with the way Hitler began his initial European expansion strategy, called Lebensraum (living space). In Zweites Buch, Hitler said that to dominate the world, Germany must expand its borders and areas it controls. The first way to start achieving Lebensraum would be through Anschluss — the unification of Austria and Germany. Further, he envisioned an expansion that would include Poland, Czechoslovakia, the rest of Europe and Russia.
2021 March 15, Guermantes Lailari, “The Lebensraum Factor in Xi Jinping’s Strategy for Hong Kong and Taiwan”, in Jewish Policy Center, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2021: