September 02, 2009

Wow: I Never Thought Pat Buchanan Was This Stupid

I've always had respect for Pat Buchanan on an intellectual level, even though I've long suspected his justifiable hatred for the Soviet Union clouded his ability to see World War II clearly. But this is too much:

Hitler had never wanted war with Poland, but an alliance with Poland such as he had with Francisco Franco's Spain, Mussolini's Italy, Miklos Horthy's Hungary and Father Jozef Tiso's Slovakia.

Hitler in Mein Kampf, Vol. 2, Ch. 14:

Therefore we National Socialists have purposely drawn a line through the line of conduct followed by pre-War Germany in foreign policy. We put an end to the perpetual Germanic march towards the South and West of Europe and turn our eyes towards the lands of the East. We finally put a stop to the colonial and trade policy of pre-War times and pass over to the territorial policy of the future...

The future goal of our foreign policy ought not to involve an orientation to the East or the West, but it ought to be an Eastern policy which will have in view the acquisition of such territory as is necessary for our German people.

What's also odd is that Buchanan seems to forget that the very first thing Hitler did after consolidating his victory in Poland was to encourage migration of Germans to Poland. Exactly in line with his stated intent of gaining "liebensraum" or living space for Germans.

Of course Buchanan is right when he argues that Germany never wanted to conquer the world. We would not, as some claim, be speaking German now had we not entered WWII against Germany.

But did Hitler intend to invade, destroy, occupy, and then colonize the Polish state? Absolutely! Danzig was simply an excuse for the larger cause of lebensraum.

And then on to the Soviet states.

All of Eastern Europe would have been speaking German. Which is why so much of Mein Kampf is spent pining for the good old days of the Tutonic Knights conquering the East.

And while I think it is an interesting counter factual argument whether or not the Soviets and the Nazis would have annihilated each other had we not entered the war it remains a fact that Hitler declared war on us.