Causes of WW 2

 "What did Hitler mean by creating a Greater Germany?." wikianswersQ&A the wiki way. december 17,2008. anwers cooperation. 11 Jan 2009 .

When Hitler spoke of creating a 'Greater Germany' it referred to an idea (not uncommon among his generation) of uniting all German speaking peoples and their historical homelands under one 'Reich' (empire). The lands in question not only included ones which had never been a part of the German Empire (e.g. the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia), but also ones which had been lost by Germany after defeat in 1918 (many of these places, such as Upper Silesia and most of Pomerania, are now in Poland). It can be confusing to contemplate, because some 'traditional' German lands were the product of Teutonic conquests and German emigration in the 14th and 15th Centuries (such as East Prussia, which was incorporated into Poland & Russia after WWII). Hitler actually succeeded in creating his 'Greater Germany' (Grossdeutsches Reich) for a short while, after incorporating what is now the Czech Republic, Austria, and many territories in what is now Poland. These lands were treated differently from those simply conquered and occupied by the Germans during WWII. 

 

In 1936 Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland, in violation of various treaties. There was no foreign opposition. In March 1938, the German army was permitted to occupy Austria by that country's browbeaten political leadership. The annexation (Anschluss) of Austria was welcomed by most Austrians, who wished to become part of a greater Germany, something forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. In September 1938, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain consented to Hitler's desire to take possession of the Sudetenland, an area in Czechoslovakia bordering Germany that was inhabited by about 3 million Germans. In March 1939, Germany occupied the Czech-populated western provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, and Slovakia was made a German puppet state.

gordeeva, tatyana. "The Third Reich: Foreign Policy." german culture. 2007. website design company. jan 11 2009 .

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_lebensraum_mean

This is a German word which means living space. In the period from c. 1880 onwards there was a widespread view that a powerful nation needed an overseas empire.After Germany's brief and illusory victory over Russia towards the end of WW1 many German nationalists believed firmly that this could best be achieved by vast expansion (lebensraum) in Eastern Europe.