The German geographer Friedrich Ratzel first introduced the term Lebensraum in his 1897 book Politische Geographie (Political Geography). According to Ratzel, a nation-state should become self-sufficient by acquiring resources and territories in order to maintain independence and thrive internationally.   In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Germany embraced Lebensraum as the basis for its foreign policy. German defeat in World War I and the subsequent loss of overseas colonies and territories on the European continent fueled the sense of national humiliation. Adolf Hitler had exploited this sense and blamed the post-war socio-economic suffering of German society on ethnic minorities (namely, Jewish and Slavic people, among others) and political “enemies.” During the interwar period, Lebensraum became an ideological tool utilized to justify Nazi Germany’s racial policies, expansionism, and militarism.   Friedrich Ratzel & The Concept of Lebensraum Portrait of Friedrich Ratzel, 1892. Source: Internet Archive   Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904) was a German scientist and geographer. He is regarded as the “father” of political geography, which acquired popularity in the 19th century. Ratzel relied on …