We National Socialists must hold unflinchingly to our aim in foreign policy, namely, to secure for the German people the land and soil to which they are entitled on this earth. And this action is the only one which, before God and our German posterity, would make any sacrifice of blood seem justified . . .
And I must sharply attack those folkish pen-pushers who claim to regard such an acquisition of soil as a 'breach of sacred human rights' and attack it as such in their scribblings. One never knows who stands behind these fellows. But one thing is certain, that the confusion they can create is desirable and convenient to our national enemies. By such an attitude they help to weaken and destroy from within our people's will for the only correct way of defending their vital needs. . . . Just as Germany's frontiers are fortuitous frontiers, momentary frontiers in the current political struggle of any period, so are the boundaries of other nations' living space.
But we National Socialists must go further. The right to possess soil can become a duty if without extension of its soil a great nation seems doomed to destruction. Germany will either be a world power or there will be no Germany. And for world power she needs that magnitude which will give her the position she needs in the present period, and life to her citizens.
:Historical Context: What was happening during this time in history that explains this source?:
This statement was made by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf, which was published in 1925-1926. At the time, Germany was recovering from the aftermath of World War I and dealing with the economic and social consequences of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler and the Nazi Party gained popularity by exploiting the feelings of resentment and humiliation among the German population, presenting themselves as the saviors of the nation.
Germany had lost significant territory through the Treaty of Versailles, including the region known as the Polish Corridor, which separated Eastern Prussia from the rest of Germany. Hitler and the National Socialists aimed to regain these lost territories and expand German influence through aggressive foreign policy and territorial acquisitions. This included the reclamation of German-speaking territories and the establishment of an empire to secure the German people's "living space" or "Lebensraum."
Hitler's ideas about acquiring land and soil for the German people were rooted in a belief of German racial superiority and the need for expansion to support a growing population. These ideas would later inform his actions in the 1930s and 1940s, leading to the annexation of Austria, the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and eventually the start of World War II.