german meaning 'living space'.

The geopolitical concept of Lebensraum was proffered decades before adolf hitler came to power. At this time, Lebensraum usually meant finding additional 'living space' by adding colonies, following the examples of the British and French empires.

The concept of Lebensraum was discussed and developed during the following decades by scholars Karl Haushofer, Sir Halford Mackinder, and Friedrich Ratzel.adolf Hitler changed the concept of Lebensraum. Rather than adding colonies to make Germany larger, Hitler wanted to enlarge Germany within Europe. IT WAS HITLER WHO added a racist element to Lebensraum: By stating that the Soviet Union was run by Jews, he concluded Germany had a right to take Russian land. Thus, in Nazi ideology, Lebensraum meant the expansion of Germany to the east in search of a unity between the German people and the land (the Nazi concept of Blood and Soil). The Nazi modified theory of Lebensraum became Germany's foreign policy during the Third Reich.