- Email: [email protected]
Atlas of nazi Germany
POLITICAL
GEOGRAPHY
QUARTERLY,
Vol. 8. No. 4. October
1989,401-403
Book reviews Atlas
of Nazi Germany, Michael Freeman, Croom Helm, London and Sydney, 1987, 205
PP. The first attempts to comprehend National Socialism in its structure as a political, cultural and economic system were made at the time German scientists had been forced into exile. Today in West Germany a so-called HistorikerDebatte (historians’ debate) is taking place, which is an attempt to reappraise the ‘Third Reich’ and to master the Nazi past. As one result there is an ever-growing number of studies, to which Freeman has added a new one. As coeditor Tim Mason (well-known as the author of Social Policy in the Third Reich) writes in his foreword, this is an ‘innovative’ study. This statement is true in more senses than one. Using source material from archives in Great Britain and Germany he has covered the most important themes and has compiled them into a lucid and approachable ‘Text-Atlas’, which is easy to survey. He proceeds chronologically from the rise of the NSDAP up to the end of the war. The separate sections, each thematically arranged, contain a short commentary text and maps. The text elucidates the main stations of the Nazi road to power. The ‘political ferment’ after the Treaty of Versailles led to an electoral success by the Nazi party in the Weimar Republic. The Reichstag elections and the rise of the NSDAP 1924-1932 are shown in different maps (in regional distribution) and diagrams focussing on the parliamentary route to power (pp. 20-31). There are many factors preparing the way for the Nazi dictatorship. The first steps were taken with the Fiibrerprinzip (p. 35) and the forming of the ‘stormtroopers’(pp. 42-45) before 1933. The takeover of the Nazis was more precisely a handing-over in 1933, followed by the coordination of most administrative, political and cultural spheres. In early 1933 many people were forced into exile for political, religious and racial reasons. (Unfortunately there is no map or explanation of the countries of exile. The Jewish emigration is shown quantitatively only on p. 79.)
The complex structure of the decision-making processes and the conflicting competencies of the Nazi dictatorship are shown in diagrams: from the ‘schematic representation of conflicting territorial divisions circa 1936’ (p. 55), to the ‘wartime administration and organization’ (p. 146), and the ‘chaotic Nazi bureaucracy in occupied Russia’ (p. 162). The ‘planned chaos of competence’ (planvolles Kompetenzchaos) is a structural element of Nazism-especially in important ideological fields, like culture, education or the conquest of Lebensraum. It is difficult to portray Nazi culture and cultural life in Germany after 1933 and Freeman assumed that ‘under National Socialism cultural life in its true sense disappeared’ (p. 90). A great many writers and artists emigrated, and cultural institutions and organizations were co-ordinated. As well as the ‘blood and soil paintings’ (pp. 90-91) Speer and others developed the monumental architecture and town planning, which would have been interesting for geographers especially. National Socialism was a modernistic society in some senses: for example, new technical (and aesthetic) methods were used by RiefenStahl filming the Reicbsparteitug (1934) or Olympia (1936). Mass media and broadcasting were brought into action: the Volksempfiiger was developed. Freeman shows radio broadcasting in its regional distribution and the density of wireless ownership in the chapter ‘Transport and Communications’ (p. 121). The part of women in Nazi society is narrowed down to family and population policy. Diagrams of ‘Birth Rate per 1000 Population’ and ‘Number of Marriages’ are shown on p. 80. Other important themes are mentioned in more detail, such as the roots of racism and theLebensraum idea in Mein Kampf (Gobineau, Chamberlain, Gtinter, Treitschke, Wagner and Haushofer on p. 16); racism in the Nazi dictatorship (pp. 76-79); and antisemitism culminating in the Holocaust (pp. 182-187). ‘The most startling geographical feature of the Third Reich was undeniably the scale of its territorial extension and areal conquest. By 1942 it constituted one of the most rapidly made land
402
Book reviews
empires in history.’ (Introduction, p. 2). Freeman explains the materialized Obensraum in maps differentiating between three models of occupation: areas under German control (military or civilian commissioner-like Norway); incorporated areas (like Austria); and ostensible colonies (occupied Poland and Russia). A fascinating map for geographers interested in the history of geographical thought and research is shown on p. 160: the ‘Planned system of market and central towns in a part of Reichsgau Wartheland’ (source: Bundesarchiv Koblenz), a part of the conquered hbensraum in the East. The original map was made by Walter Christaller (Die zentralen Kultur-
Orte in den Ostgebieten
und ibre
und Marktbereiche,
Leipzig, 194 1, nur fiir den Dienstgehaucb). He himself modified his theory as an expert adviser in the head office ‘Planning and Soil’ of the ‘Reich’s Commissariat for the Strengthening of Germany’ under Himmler. For a putative German edition (apart from Hilgemann’s Atlas zur Zeitgescbicbte (1984) there is no Atlas like this one), a few mistakes and misprints should be corrected: the Reichsertibrungsminister was called ‘Darre’ (not Darrf), and the SS organization for producing ‘arian children’ was Lebensborn (not Lesbensborn, p. 153). Lesbian women (German: Lsben) were persecuted and sent to concentration camps. Michael Freeman has read widely in the recent literature and current debates and summarizes the important subjects. The Atlas of Nazi Germany is a useful visual synthesis for the ‘experts’, because the maps explain the ‘magic geography’ (Hans Speier) of the Third Reich and it is a well-written interpretation of the relevant facts of Nazism for those who would like to know more about that time. Mechtild Rossler Wirtscbaftsgeograpbie
Abteilung
University of Hamburg Die Einfliisse der Geopolitik auf Forscbung Tbeorie
der Politiscben
Anfiingen
bis 19445. Ein Beitrag
scbaftsgescbicbte und
ibrer
der van
Wissen-
Geograpbie
unter
Militiir-
und
von Irben zur
Politiscben
Terminologie
Beriicksicbtigung geograpbie,
Geograpbie
und
besonderer Koloniul-
Klaus Kost, Ferd. Dtimmlers Verlag, Bonn, 1988 (Bonner Geograpbiscbe Abbandlungen, Heft 76), 467 pages.
After a paucity of attention lasting about 40 years, the political involvement of German geography in the Nazi era is becoming an important research topic in Germany. Since about 1980, the dark past of pre-1945 German geography has been addressed in numerous studies, conferences, and workshops. Kost’s work, to date the most comprehensive and detailed study of the notorious German school of thought, Geopolitik, is one of the most important representatives of this recent trend. Following a short preface-style introduction (Chapter l), Kost develops his approach in Chapter 2. He points out that the present state of highly about Geopolitik is knowledge unsatisfactory. The few existing treatments of Geopolitik narrowly focus on Karl Haushofer and often attempt to whitewash academic geography by putting the blame for political collaboration with the Nazis squarely on Geopolitik. Kost posits that Geopolitik was an extremely diversified field and that Geopolitik and its academic counterpart, political gecgraphy, cannot be separated neatly. The two fields were connected in various ways. Many contributors to Geopolitik were also academic geographers and Geopolitik’s lack of a precise terminology and theoretical basis resulted in the unthinking use of geographical concepts and terms. In addition, the guiding principle of Geopolitik, power politics, also dominated political, military, and colonial geography. As a consequence, the work adopts a comprehensive approach and examines the relationship of Geopolitik to the theory and practice of political geography, paying special attention to military and colonial geography. To this end, Kost analyzes and interprets c. 1100 published works in the context of the political history of the period and the tradition and development of German geography. These efforts are augmented by the examination of archival material and personal interviews. The monumental nature of this task is revealed in the sheer volume of Kost’s 1986 thesis, on which the book is based: it contained more than 1000 pages of text, close to 2000 footnotes, and a bibliography of over 100 pages. The analytical part of the study is structured as follows: Chapters 3 and 4 trace the historical development of political geography and Geopolitik in Germany up to 1945, centering on the work of Friedrich Ratzel and Rudolf Kjellen.
GEOGRAPHY
QUARTERLY,
Vol. 8. No. 4. October
1989,401-403
Book reviews Atlas
of Nazi Germany, Michael Freeman, Croom Helm, London and Sydney, 1987, 205
PP. The first attempts to comprehend National Socialism in its structure as a political, cultural and economic system were made at the time German scientists had been forced into exile. Today in West Germany a so-called HistorikerDebatte (historians’ debate) is taking place, which is an attempt to reappraise the ‘Third Reich’ and to master the Nazi past. As one result there is an ever-growing number of studies, to which Freeman has added a new one. As coeditor Tim Mason (well-known as the author of Social Policy in the Third Reich) writes in his foreword, this is an ‘innovative’ study. This statement is true in more senses than one. Using source material from archives in Great Britain and Germany he has covered the most important themes and has compiled them into a lucid and approachable ‘Text-Atlas’, which is easy to survey. He proceeds chronologically from the rise of the NSDAP up to the end of the war. The separate sections, each thematically arranged, contain a short commentary text and maps. The text elucidates the main stations of the Nazi road to power. The ‘political ferment’ after the Treaty of Versailles led to an electoral success by the Nazi party in the Weimar Republic. The Reichstag elections and the rise of the NSDAP 1924-1932 are shown in different maps (in regional distribution) and diagrams focussing on the parliamentary route to power (pp. 20-31). There are many factors preparing the way for the Nazi dictatorship. The first steps were taken with the Fiibrerprinzip (p. 35) and the forming of the ‘stormtroopers’(pp. 42-45) before 1933. The takeover of the Nazis was more precisely a handing-over in 1933, followed by the coordination of most administrative, political and cultural spheres. In early 1933 many people were forced into exile for political, religious and racial reasons. (Unfortunately there is no map or explanation of the countries of exile. The Jewish emigration is shown quantitatively only on p. 79.)
The complex structure of the decision-making processes and the conflicting competencies of the Nazi dictatorship are shown in diagrams: from the ‘schematic representation of conflicting territorial divisions circa 1936’ (p. 55), to the ‘wartime administration and organization’ (p. 146), and the ‘chaotic Nazi bureaucracy in occupied Russia’ (p. 162). The ‘planned chaos of competence’ (planvolles Kompetenzchaos) is a structural element of Nazism-especially in important ideological fields, like culture, education or the conquest of Lebensraum. It is difficult to portray Nazi culture and cultural life in Germany after 1933 and Freeman assumed that ‘under National Socialism cultural life in its true sense disappeared’ (p. 90). A great many writers and artists emigrated, and cultural institutions and organizations were co-ordinated. As well as the ‘blood and soil paintings’ (pp. 90-91) Speer and others developed the monumental architecture and town planning, which would have been interesting for geographers especially. National Socialism was a modernistic society in some senses: for example, new technical (and aesthetic) methods were used by RiefenStahl filming the Reicbsparteitug (1934) or Olympia (1936). Mass media and broadcasting were brought into action: the Volksempfiiger was developed. Freeman shows radio broadcasting in its regional distribution and the density of wireless ownership in the chapter ‘Transport and Communications’ (p. 121). The part of women in Nazi society is narrowed down to family and population policy. Diagrams of ‘Birth Rate per 1000 Population’ and ‘Number of Marriages’ are shown on p. 80. Other important themes are mentioned in more detail, such as the roots of racism and theLebensraum idea in Mein Kampf (Gobineau, Chamberlain, Gtinter, Treitschke, Wagner and Haushofer on p. 16); racism in the Nazi dictatorship (pp. 76-79); and antisemitism culminating in the Holocaust (pp. 182-187). ‘The most startling geographical feature of the Third Reich was undeniably the scale of its territorial extension and areal conquest. By 1942 it constituted one of the most rapidly made land
402
Book reviews
empires in history.’ (Introduction, p. 2). Freeman explains the materialized Obensraum in maps differentiating between three models of occupation: areas under German control (military or civilian commissioner-like Norway); incorporated areas (like Austria); and ostensible colonies (occupied Poland and Russia). A fascinating map for geographers interested in the history of geographical thought and research is shown on p. 160: the ‘Planned system of market and central towns in a part of Reichsgau Wartheland’ (source: Bundesarchiv Koblenz), a part of the conquered hbensraum in the East. The original map was made by Walter Christaller (Die zentralen Kultur-
Orte in den Ostgebieten
und ibre
und Marktbereiche,
Leipzig, 194 1, nur fiir den Dienstgehaucb). He himself modified his theory as an expert adviser in the head office ‘Planning and Soil’ of the ‘Reich’s Commissariat for the Strengthening of Germany’ under Himmler. For a putative German edition (apart from Hilgemann’s Atlas zur Zeitgescbicbte (1984) there is no Atlas like this one), a few mistakes and misprints should be corrected: the Reichsertibrungsminister was called ‘Darre’ (not Darrf), and the SS organization for producing ‘arian children’ was Lebensborn (not Lesbensborn, p. 153). Lesbian women (German: Lsben) were persecuted and sent to concentration camps. Michael Freeman has read widely in the recent literature and current debates and summarizes the important subjects. The Atlas of Nazi Germany is a useful visual synthesis for the ‘experts’, because the maps explain the ‘magic geography’ (Hans Speier) of the Third Reich and it is a well-written interpretation of the relevant facts of Nazism for those who would like to know more about that time. Mechtild Rossler Wirtscbaftsgeograpbie
Abteilung
University of Hamburg Die Einfliisse der Geopolitik auf Forscbung Tbeorie
der Politiscben
Anfiingen
bis 19445. Ein Beitrag
scbaftsgescbicbte und
ibrer
der van
Wissen-
Geograpbie
unter
Militiir-
und
von Irben zur
Politiscben
Terminologie
Beriicksicbtigung geograpbie,
Geograpbie
und
besonderer Koloniul-
Klaus Kost, Ferd. Dtimmlers Verlag, Bonn, 1988 (Bonner Geograpbiscbe Abbandlungen, Heft 76), 467 pages.
After a paucity of attention lasting about 40 years, the political involvement of German geography in the Nazi era is becoming an important research topic in Germany. Since about 1980, the dark past of pre-1945 German geography has been addressed in numerous studies, conferences, and workshops. Kost’s work, to date the most comprehensive and detailed study of the notorious German school of thought, Geopolitik, is one of the most important representatives of this recent trend. Following a short preface-style introduction (Chapter l), Kost develops his approach in Chapter 2. He points out that the present state of highly about Geopolitik is knowledge unsatisfactory. The few existing treatments of Geopolitik narrowly focus on Karl Haushofer and often attempt to whitewash academic geography by putting the blame for political collaboration with the Nazis squarely on Geopolitik. Kost posits that Geopolitik was an extremely diversified field and that Geopolitik and its academic counterpart, political gecgraphy, cannot be separated neatly. The two fields were connected in various ways. Many contributors to Geopolitik were also academic geographers and Geopolitik’s lack of a precise terminology and theoretical basis resulted in the unthinking use of geographical concepts and terms. In addition, the guiding principle of Geopolitik, power politics, also dominated political, military, and colonial geography. As a consequence, the work adopts a comprehensive approach and examines the relationship of Geopolitik to the theory and practice of political geography, paying special attention to military and colonial geography. To this end, Kost analyzes and interprets c. 1100 published works in the context of the political history of the period and the tradition and development of German geography. These efforts are augmented by the examination of archival material and personal interviews. The monumental nature of this task is revealed in the sheer volume of Kost’s 1986 thesis, on which the book is based: it contained more than 1000 pages of text, close to 2000 footnotes, and a bibliography of over 100 pages. The analytical part of the study is structured as follows: Chapters 3 and 4 trace the historical development of political geography and Geopolitik in Germany up to 1945, centering on the work of Friedrich Ratzel and Rudolf Kjellen.