STRATEGY OF THE GERMAN OCCUPATION POLICY IN THE EAST

The war against the Soviet Union was of special significance for the political and
military leadership of Nazi Germany, it went beyond a plain military clash. The notion
of mastering the «living space» («Lebensraum») included not only traditional conquest
of the territory and subjugation of other nations, but also settlement of the Germans in
the conquered lands. German plans of the war in the East, along with the economic
component, included also the ideological one. For the Nazi leaders it was not only a
war for the «Lebensraum»: struggle against the Soviet Union was treated as a clash of
two worldviews, as a new crusade to the East.