Haushofer, Karl

Haushofer, Karl (kärl hous`hōfər), 1869–1946, German geographer, theorist of Nazi geopolitics, including the doctrines that the state is a living organism and that race and territory are linked. After a successful military career he became (1921) professor of geography at Munich. Among his students was Rudolf Hess, who introduced Haushofer to Hitler. Haushofer's influence on Hitler is evident in Mein Kampf, and he remained one of Hitler's closest advisers on foreign affairs. In 1946, Haushofer and his wife committed suicide by taking poison. Haushofer was influenced by Alfred Kjellen, the Swedish creator of the term geopolitics; Frederick Ratzell and his organismic theories; and Sir Halford John Mackinder, who put forth the heartland concept. His writings include Geopolitik des Pazifischen Ozeans (1925), Bausteine zur Geopolitik (1928), and Weltpolitik von heute (1934). Haushofer also edited the periodical Zeitschrift für Geopolitik.

Bibliography

See A. Dorpalen, The World of General Haushofer (1942, repr. 1966).

---

Haushofer, Karl (Ernst)

(born Aug. 27, 1869, Munich, Bavaria—died March 13, 1946, Pähl, W.Ger.) German officer and leading proponent of geopolitics. As an army officer in Japan (1908–10), he studied its expansionist policies in Asia and later wrote several books on Japan's role in 20th-century politics. After retiring from the army (1919), he founded the Journal for Geopolitics (1924) and taught at the University of Munich (1921–39). Haushofer's influence in military circles was considerable, and in World War II he attempted to justify Germany and Japan in their drives for world power. Investigated for war crimes after the war, he and his wife committed suicide.

---

Haushofer, Karl 

Born Aug. 27, 1869, in Munich; died Mar. 13, 1946, in Paehl, near Weilheim. German political geographer.

Haushofer became a professor at the University of Munich in 1921. He was the leading exponent of the geopolitical school of German fascism and headed a number of fascist scholarly and political organizations. Haushofer’s version of geopolitics, which drew on the ideas of F. Ratzel and R. Kjellen, became part of the official doctrine of the Third Reich. In his works, Haushofer indiscriminately combined geographic determinism, race theory, social Darwinism, and the notion of the state as a biological organism. He considered geopolitics a guide for political practice and provided a justification for fascist aggression by arguing that Germany lacked sufficient Lebensraum, that its borders were unsatisfactory, and that it had an excessive population density.

WORKS

Geopolitik des Pazifischen Ozeans. Berlin, 1924.
Bausteine zur Geopolitik. Berlin, 1928. (Coauthor.)
Erdkunde, Geopolitik und Wehrwissenschaft. Munich, 1934.
Grenzen in ihrer geographischen und politischen Bedeutung. Heidelberg, 1939.

A. S. ZAVAD’E