The Demon of Geopolitics

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 Hitlers intellectual godfather and the true author of Mein Kampf. In this definitive biography, noted historian Holger H. Herwig assesses the fiction and reality behind these claims. Making comprehensive use of Haushofers previously unavailable private papers, Herwig analyzes Haushofers geopolitical concepts, his relations with his student Rudolf Hess, and his mentorship of Hitler and Hess at Landsberg Prison in 1924. Herwig offers unique insights into Haushofers crucial behind-the-scenes influence in providing the Nazis with his theories of Autarky and Lebensraum, the rationale for Germanys control of Europe and the world. This riveting book ends with Haushofers 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.