Adolf Hitler's ideology made war with the Soviet Union inevitable. Early in his political career, he announced National Socialism's "mission" to "secure for the German people the land and soil to which they are entitled on this earth." Numerous references in his book Mein Kampf point to the "necessity" for German territorial expansion--for Lebensraum (Living space) for the German people. Hitler was convinced that more land was needed as a "source of a people's food," and that Germany had to become a great military and political power if it were to win and safeguard this territory.

This was not a new idea. German expansionists had coined the Lebensraum slogan before World War I, justifying their colonial empire and European annexation plans. Hitler also was influenced by the teachings of Karl Haushofer, a professor at the University of Munich, whose geopolitical theory centered on "space as a factor of power."

Hitler believed Germany's required living space could be taken from Eastern Europe and Russia. He not only considered Slavic people inferior, but he felt the Soviet Union was ripe for conquest because of the weakness of its "Jewish Bolshevik" leadership. On November 5, 1937, Hitler outlined his expansionist plans in a secret conference with his top military staff.