The term "geopolitics" after World War II has become almost taboo in Germany, it is usually associated with fascism, Nazism, put on a number of reasons for the outbreak of the German-fascist invasion. Figure of one of the most prominent world geopolitics, General Karl Haushoffer looks almost sinister, especially as it was planned to bring him to the Nuremberg trials, and only allowed the general suicide like to avoid.
The Soviet side, by the way, attracting K. Haushoffer to court did not insist. However, the British "fought to the death", demanding land Haushoffer one bench with major Nazi war criminals. Naturally, the British supported the Americans. Carl Haushoffer, knowing that not only will judge him as "ideologist" of the theory of expanding the living space for the Germans, but before - German classical geopolitics and indirectly - the whole school continental geopolitics, decided to resort to a pistol shot in the head.
So what is to blame for the German geopolitics, formed talents GF Hegel, Ernst Haeckel, F. Ratzel, R. Kallen, Carl Schmitt, and others? A major figure among them as geopolitics stands K. Haushoffer. But is influenced retired general decisions of Hitler and the Third Reich senior management of the world war? Not the subject of this article to go into detail the history and nature of geopolitics as a scientific theory and political practice, consider only its practical importance in World War II. For a start, note the number of the following points. Geopolitics has merge in a single process and policy space in all its diversity.
Geopolitics is always accompanied by the development of political processes and states, empires and civilizations. However, not all states (especially totalitarian) followed by conclusions and logic of geopolitics. Sometimes geopolitics wins ideology, religious and other mysticism, as happened with Nazi Germany. Leading geopolitical school (Russian, German, Anglo-Saxon) consist in competitive contradictions between themselves and strongly affect the actual policies of states and coalitions. Continental (Russian and German) schools, as well as member states of the continental area of the world can interact and be in close alliance in opposition to the long sea (Anglo-Saxon) geopolitical structure. With maritime civilization (Britain and the U.S., primarily) from Germany and Russia, and now China, which has replaced the Soviet Union in the geopolitical confrontation, thorough lasting alliances can not be: they are bitter rivals (mortal enemies). "Friend" may be just the same interests, temporarily, for the period of such coincidences.
On the eve of the Second World War, the geopolitical situation in the world balance of forces changed dynamically, the world remained Eurocentric, however, the geopolitical structure of the world has been erratic. But in the political process leading global players clearly adhered to the spirit of its geopolitical concepts, doctrines, strategies. The essence of global processes determined by the following factors:
West continues to determine the formation of the world's major processes, but he himself was divided, based on two matrices of civilization: the Anglo-Saxon and Roman-Germanic had divergent meanings of life and foreign policy vectors;
active on the world stage out a new global entity, represented "the world backstage" (financial and industrial capital in alliance with the political and military elites of the West), the target of which was the installation of world power of financial capital;
The Soviet Union maintained and strengthened Russian statehood and increased its military and economic, ideological, spiritual and intellectual potentials. Proclaimed in 1917 abstracts release of the toiling masses and the colonial peoples from exploitation of state-building and social organization of a new type of spread around the world and found broad support;
mass emigration of Russian intellectuals in the West (especially in Europe) suddenly revealed in the eyes of western people great spiritual and intellectual power that has accumulated in the Russian Federation which was significantly higher than on the power and spirit of western intelligence, showed a special Russian character and all-human aspiration, which Europeans were not previously suspected;
despite serious problems in the USSR, the overthrow of the former power-estate system in Soviet Russia to preserve and develop the Russian tradition, rather pagan than Christian type, the great Russian culture, science, and military affairs. And I emphasize particularly, manifested in practice the essence of Russian geopolitics, absorbed the denial Westerniser worship, and construction of the Eurasian and then Slavic worlds (flow Slavophiles and Eurasians).
The principal difference from the western Soviet geopolitical practices (Eurasian) space was forming union of peoples, but not states.
Another factor has excited the Germans, French and British - the growth of the Slavic population in Europe. In 1810 the share of Slavs (including the European part of Russia) was not more than one-third in 1910 - 42%, in 1938 - 46% by 1950 will be at least 50%. In 1938, the German philosopher W. Schubart concludes: "The grand event, which is being prepared - the ascent of the Slavs as a leading cultural force. Perhaps someone is jarring, but such is the fate of history that no one can stop: the coming century the Slavs belong. "In Europe, according to W. Schubart, "cultural, symptoms of fatigue, satiety, spiritual falls. Covers the European continent ... increasing concern. "Neither Europe nor America could offer mankind new philosophical ideas, new forms of world order and the social structure of the program development of the peoples of the world. Bolsheviks, developing messianic tradition of Russian geopolitical thought, offered: a new sense of life, a new philosophy of international and human relations, a new type of state, other than in the West archetype of man. Another question - methods for solving this daunting task in a tough (irreconcilable) confrontation philosophical and ideological platforms. They certainly deserve a careful and objective investigation and condemnation.
Outstanding Russian philosopher N. Danilevsky in "Russia and Europe" (1871) made a number of surprising findings, including:
Europe historically hostile to Russia and the Slavic peoples;
the history of mankind "made" cultural-historical types (those contributing $ 10, and the European nations not among the first), each of which produces one or two sides of cultural activities: Jewish type developed religion, Greek - Art, Roman - policy Romano-Germanic - science and economics;
Slavic cultural-historical type (Orthodox-Slavic civilization - LI) aims to implement a special mission in the fate of mankind - namely, at the same time develop all aspects of human activity: religious, political justice and creative freedom, science and art, creating a harmonious socio-economic system "that failed all previous types of cultures."
This type, according to Danilevsky not yet manifested itself in its entirety "and is in its infancy. It should be the basis for the Russian people and its culture. It Slavs, headed by the Russian, designed to renew the world, to find for all mankind history issues. Main distinctive feature of Russian human NY Danilevsky sees public priority over the individual, in his quest to be helpful to all mankind. Is FM Dostoevsky was not talking about universal human essence Russian man? No less interesting is the opinion of Maximilian Voloshin, the famous Russian poet, did not take the 1917 revolution.:
We have the right to consider making a revolution as one of the most profound instructions on the fate of Russia and its global ministry.
World War II again, as has happened many times in history, called the Russian people together with other Soviet and Slavic peoples fulfill his messianic mission. The carrier of this mission is a universal human archetype of Russian special person. In my opinion, this line accurately expressed after the war, General de Gaulle: Russian man can not feel happy if somewhere is going wrong.
Preexisting European archetypes (Prometheus and Gothic) person (harmonious, heroic ascetic, messianic) began to deteriorate in the era of the Reformation. Are replaced by other character types: Zoological man (man-beast), bred by Goebbels propaganda, liberal man (the man not burdened with social responsibility), homo economicus (people - consumers, individualist) selfish people (British traditionalists). These archetypes of people formed the policies of Western states. In the USSR active continuation and development received archetype "man - personality" characteristic and traditional for the Slavs. This archetype combines four started harmonious, heroic ascetic, messianic, that was fully manifested in the war. Heterogeneity of archetypes, their formation and incompatible contrast throughout the Eurasian region Russian archetype also motivated the West to war against the USSR. Stalin and the Soviet leadership insisted all the peoples of the USSR were combined into a single image, a prototype of which were A. Nevsky, A. Suvorov, Kutuzov MA, epic heroes. Destruction Slavic man archetype has become one of the objectives of the plan "OST", Himmler approved June 12, 1942. It provided for the destruction of 30 million Russian, Belarusians, Ukrainians, eviction from the occupied territories to 71 million people, including 85% of Poles , 65% of Ukrainians, Belorussians 75%, 50% Czechs.
But back to K. Haushoffer and German geopolitics. What does a geopolitical thought in Germany, and the extent to which it listened to the Nazis? In the most general terms, try to explain its essence. End of an era of geopolitical discoveries, colonial development of entire continents, the development of the capitalist mode of production (machinery, primarily) has led to the contraction of world space, require a radical increase in the volume of natural resources for industry, was thrown to the streets millions of unemployed people. These circumstances have forced states to think globally and to look for ways to survive in the new world, the prospects for development. Geopolitics was designed to find answers to the problems. Looking for answers and German researchers. First powerfully on the world situation looked GF Hegel, who discovered the social essence of civilizations "... farmers inhabiting the plains, are capable of regular laborious work, interested in the development of landed property and legal relations", "special mission in guinea peoples [...] if lowland attaches man to the ground, thereby he becomes addicted to an infinite set of relations, then removes it from the sea, these limited areas, "" ... the sea calls man to conquest and robbery ... ".
Ratzel proposed the concept of "state - a living organism," requiring in its development of new spaces. German nation and the German state, evolving like any biological organism, in need of new territories. R. Challen substantiated the necessity of expanding the living space due to weaker neighbors. However, he did not rule out the use of force (catch phrase R. Kallen: the state should not carry the sword in vain). But the war with Russia German theorists geopolitics speech leads. K. Haushoffer developed the idea of large spaces by unions close to civilization featured states. And the main opponent of Germany and other continental countries he believed the Anglo-Saxons - England and the United States. In order to successfully confront the "civilization of the sea", K. Haushoffer considered necessary alliance with Russia. Geopolitics believed union between Germany and Russia the main backbone of German foreign policy. Rapallo Treaty of 1922 saw the first step to a powerful Eurasian Union, which is the basis of Russia and Germany. It is perhaps reasonably be attributed even to Eurasians. In his work on the theory of large spaces to the allies he also include Japan, "sea power with a continental type of thinking", and China. Japan, in his opinion, it is necessary to fight the continental block with Britain and the United States in the oceanic theaters of military operations. K. Haushoffer supported as well as his other contemporary and well-known German geopolitics Carl Schmitt, the signing of the pact "Molotov - Ribbentrop" in August 1939 Both regarded the event as a step away from the confrontation of Moscow and Berlin, which arose after Hitler came to power in German rapprochement.
"But the idea of Eurasia, politically embodied in space, will give us the opportunity for long-term extension of our living space ... Eurasia impossible to stifle until the two largest of its people - the Germans and Russian - are striving to avoid sectarian conflict, like the Crimean War or 1914: it is an axiom European policy ... Last hour Saxon policy breaks when the Germans, Russian and Japanese people unite. "So said Homer Lee. "
So the British and Americans for what was not to love German geopolitics and personally Karl Haushoffer. Yes, German geopolitics in its essence, pushing the German elite to violent expansion of "living space", both by neighbors and by redistribution of the colonial world. Anschluss of Austria, Czechoslovakia seizure operations on the African continent, and even the war against Poland, the fashion of Germany conform to the geopolitical. But Hitler's entourage has adopted rather than geopolitical concepts of their classics, and theoretical developments Racology and mystical views of experts from the Ahnenerbe trying to find artifacts drevneistoricheskie Aryan special and divine destiny of the German nation. But this "divinity" was to realize its superiority over other nations, their authority or destruction. And Hitler believed in their exclusivity, prophetic gift, took it as truth mystics conclusion that he - the incarnation of Charlemagne. Well, then in politics and military strategy intervened "Spear of Longinus", "Holy Grail", etc. Even the music of Wagner. Politics has become a coven wizards and charlatans. By the beginning of World War II geopolitics place in determining the political strategy of Germany practically no, and concluded with the USSR were fiction and agreements cover a sudden impact.
In the context of mystical madness of Hitler's clique expect some kind of follow the logic of geopolitics would be too naive. However, it should be noted that the German generals remained mind seriously mastered military strategy and preparing the armed forces for battle. The same can be said about the leaders of the military-industrial complex in Germany. But they believed the Fuhrer as the last hope of deliverance from the humiliation of the Versailles peace and the revival of the German spirit. In the minds of generals and industrialists dominated by the spirit of revenge and vengeance. The first is applied to the British and French, but also to the Russian attitude was not friendly Generals remembered whose army had a decisive contribution to the victory of the Entente. Geopolitics in this layer is also not the place was.
