To Hitler and many ordinary Germans, the priority was to reunite the fragmented German peoples and right the wrongs of the various peace treaties foisted upon Germany. This view was with support outside Germany. Part and parcel of this was the long-held German desire for more land or 'living space' (lebensraum), which was seen as crucial to the nation's survival.

With the scramble for colonies now over, it became clear that the most lucrative area for this expansion would be around small or weak states in the East, such as Czechoslovakia and Poland - and perhaps even the Soviet Union. Populated by either ethnic Germans or by inferior non-Aryan peoples, according to Nazi eugenic values, and supposedly dominated by pernicious Jewish influence, such countries were perceived as unnatural creations and unnecessary obstructions to rightful German expansion.

Against the background of Nazi ideology regarding racial superiority and a passionate hatred of Bolshevism (both present in Hitler's speeches from the earliest days), Hitler's frequent and dogmatic statements regarding the need for lebensraum, and his personal commitment to acquiring it, meant that neighbouring states would sooner or later be faced with a stark choice: either submit to demands, or fight.

This, however, did not mean that Hitler considered war a desirable inevitability; as long as he could attain his goals by going to the brink and not beyond it, he was happy to do so. Nevertheless, he prepared prudently for that eventuality and ensured he had the means to achieve his expansionist aims.