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The Demon of Geopolitics: How Karl Haushofer "Educated" Hitler and Hess
The Demon of Geopolitics How Karl Haushofer Educated Hitler and Hess Author:Holger H. Herwig Karl Haushofer, a Bavarian general and professor, is widely recognized as the ?father of geopolitics? In 1945 the United States sought to put him on trial at Nuremberg as a major war criminal for being ?Hitler?s intellectual godfather? and true author of Mein Kampf. In this definitive biography, noted historian Holger H. Herwig analyzes the fict... more »ion and reality behind these claims. Making comprehensive use of Haushofer?s previously unavailable private papers, Herwig analyzes Haushofer?s geopolitical concepts, his relations with his student Rudolf Hess, and his mentorship of Hitler and Hess at Landsberg Prison in 1924. For the first time, Herwig provides insight into Haushofer?s crucial behind-the-scenes influence in providing the Nazis with his theories of Autarky and Lebensraum, the rationale for Germany?s control of Europe and the world. The author also traces Haushofer?s vital role in bringing together German and Japanese leaders in the 1930s; his activities during the Munich Conference of 1938; his involvement in Hess?s ill-starred flight to Scotland in 1941; and his eventual demise. Herwig provides fascinating insights into Haushofer?s escape from judgment at Nuremberg, his encounter with Hess at the Military Tribunal, and his and his wife?s double suicide in 1946. This riveting book ends with Haushofer?s final verdict on himself: ?I want to be forgotten and forgotten.? But the author concludes with the admonition that the ?demon? of Geopolitik demands much closer scrutiny in this new ?age of geopolitics.?« less