Trump’s renewed fury to take possession of Canada, Greenland and the control of the Panama Canal is the utmost meaning of American imperialism. As before WWI and in the Nazi regime, the U.S. seems to have entered the late stage of its imperial hubris.
Lebensraum is Back: Trump’s Reappropriation of a Dark Legacy
In the early 20th century, the concept gained traction among German nationalist and imperialist circles. It was tied to the idea that Germany, like other European powers, was entitled to colonies and resources to sustain its growing population and economy. Post-World War I, the Treaty of Versailles exacerbated a sense of national humiliation in Germany, which fueled interest in Lebensraum as a justification for regaining lost territories and achieving national revitalization.
Adolf Hitler appropriated Lebensraum as a central tenet of his expansionist and imperial ideology, reinterpreting it in a more radical and racialized manner. In Mein Kampf (1925/banned in Russia), Hitler argued that Germany’s future required acquiring territory in Eastern Europe and Russia, areas he considered vital for the German people to thrive. This Lebensraum was to be secured through the subjugation and displacement of “inferior” Slavic populations and the extermination of Jews, whom he saw as threats to Aryan dominance.
Hitler’s use of Lebensraum was a justification for Nazi Germany’s aggressive expansionism, including the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia, the invasion of Poland, and the war against the Soviet Union. It became a euphemism for conquest, colonization, and genocide, forming the ideological basis for Nazi war crimes and the Holocaust. The policy’s ultimate aim was to establish a vast German Empire in Eastern Europe, ensuring resources, space, and dominance for the so-called Aryan race.
Trump’s Modern-Day Lebensraum: Expansionism in the Name of American Supremacy
Donald Trump’s renewed ambitions to annex Canada, and Greenland, and seize control of the Panama Canal echo the imperialist underpinnings of Adolf Hitler’s Lebensraum concept.
In a strikingly similar vein, Trump’s rhetoric of “Make America Great Again” channels an expansionist ideology that prioritises territorial dominance and economic supremacy. His obstination on acquiring Canada and Greenland reflects a belief in the United States’ entitlement to control key territories, aligning with the Lebensraum ethos of securing resources and strategic advantages.
The parallels highlight a shared disregard for international norms and a belief in the inherent superiority of their respective nations. Just as Hitler’s Lebensraum led to devastating consequences for millions, Trump’s pursuit of territorial dominance risks destabilizing international relations and eroding the post-World War II order. His rhetoric and policy proposals resurrect dangerous notions of imperial entitlement, proving that the specter of Lebensraum remains a potent and perilous force in modern geopolitics.
Trump’s moves, while devoid of overt racial rhetoric, carry similar undertones of economic dominance and imperial expansion under the banner of “Making America Great Again.”
The Panama Canal is a critical chokepoint for global trade, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. American shipping companies pay substantial fees to use this strategic passage, which Trump views as an unacceptable economic dependency. Controlling the canal would allow the U.S. to bypass these costs and assert its dominance over one of the world’s most vital maritime corridors. “The Panama Canal is vital to our country,” asserted Trump in a press conference in Mar-a-Lago two weeks before his inauguration. This mirrors Lebensraum’s emphasis on strategic resource acquisition to fuel a nation’s growth.
Canada, with its vast mineral wealth and significant trade surplus with the U.S., represents another target of Trump’s ire. Beyond economic rivalry, annexing Canada would serve as a profound statement of American supremacy, reshaping the geopolitical landscape of North America. The parallels with Hitler’s desire to seize resource-rich Eastern Europe are unsettling, as both reflect a desire to ensure material self-sufficiency at the expense of sovereign neighbours.
“We need Greenland for our security,” stated Trump
Greenland, however, is perhaps the most striking example of Trump’s 21st-century Lebensraum. As a geostrategic keystone in the Arctic, Greenland offers unparalleled advantages in the ongoing Cold War dynamics with Russia and China and the control of the Arctic’s resources and routes, besides Greenland’s resources.
Greenland’s location is critical for U.S. defence systems, enabling a tighter grip on Arctic and U.S. mainland security. Moreover, Greenland’s untapped wealth of minerals, including rare earth elements, gold and uranium, besides oil and gas, aligns with Trump’s drive to secure resources vital for economic and technological supremacy.
While Trump’s ambitions are embedded in economic and security terms rather than racial ones, they echo the same logic of territorial expansion to bolster national greatness. Like Hitler’s use of Lebensraum, Trump’s plans disregard international norms, sovereignty and diplomacy, prioritising American interests at the cost of global stability. His rhetoric and actions not only reflect a dangerously outdated vision of empire but also risk reigniting geopolitical tensions in ways that could reshape the global order. At stake are NATO’s very existence and the concept of trustworthy allies—values so cherished by Europeans and Canadians alike.
In conclusion, Hitler’s attempt to implement his Lebensraum vision led to a coalition of nations uniting to end his reign of madness and destruction. The question now arises: will free, democratic nations rally together to confront the modern echoes of such expansionist ideologies in Donald Trump’s ambitions? As history has shown, unchecked imperial aspirations can destabilise the world order, threaten sovereignty, and erode the principles of democracy, international cooperation and alliances. The stakes are high, will history repeat itself?
Ricardo Martins ‒PhD in Sociology, specializing in policies, European and world politics and geopolitics