Hitler's contempt for Slavs: from Mein Kampf to the East Plan

Hitler's contempt for the Slavs: from Mein Kampf to the East Plan

The question of whether Hitler and his circle truly despised the Slavic peoples has been the subject of historical debate. The available documentation, however, points to that contempt being not only real, but at the very core of his ideology and war plans.

The Generalplan Ost: figures and euphemisms

In Mein Kampf, Hitler had already expressed his contempt for the Slavs, considering them an inferior race. He claimed that the greatness of the Russian Empire was due to Germanic influence, not to the abilities of the Slavs themselves. This vision was translated into the Generalplan Ost, a colonization project that envisaged the displacement and elimination of millions of people to make way for German settlers. The figures involved exceed 30 million deaths, through artificial famines and forced labor.

Some historians stress that the term "eradication" is a euphemism; the reality was systematic murder. It has also been noted that this should not be attributed to all Germans, but to Hitler and his clique, since German-Russian relations had historically been close.

Nuances and contradictions

Curiously, a secret recording from 1942 shows Hitler expressing a certain admiration for Soviet industrial capacity, which adds a contradictory nuance to his outlook. Even so, contempt for the Slavs was a pillar of his policy of expansion to the East.

The debate over terminology and the exact scope of the plans continues, but the documentary evidence is overwhelming.