Commentary & Reply - Saving Private Ryan - Sir Halford Mackinder - Letter to the Editor

Parameters, Winter, 2000 by Reed R. Bonadonna, William J. Prior, Michael P. Noonan

There never even was an Institute of Geopolitics in Nazi Germany: "There was never an Institute for Geopolitics. My father's only assistance was my mother; he never had any other staff." (Interview with Heinz Haushofer, July 1978, in G. R. Sloan, Geopolitics in United States Strategic Policy 1890-1987 [New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988], p. 57. Sloan is a graduate of the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and a highly respected geopolitician.)

On Haushofer's influence on the German leadership: "Haushofer only met Hitler three times in his entire life. When my husband and Hitler were in Landsberg Prison, Haushofer visited only my husband. Hitler drew his geopolitical thoughts in Mein Kampf directly from Ratzel. Professor Haushofer never influenced him." (Interview with Frau Ilse Hess, 25 July 1978, in Sloan, p. 53.)

It is an incorrect claim that Swedish troops in a war of aggression laid waste to Russia. Sweden was at the beginning of the Great Northern War (1700-1721) subject to a surprise attack and secret coalition by Russia, Denmark, and Saxony, and King Charles XII was faced with a multifront defense. He had to deal in turn with Denmark, Russia, Saxony, and then Russia again. The Swedish army in Russia, when turning south, was welcomed by oppressed Ukrainians.

It is true that Swedish troops captured Moscow in 1609. This was on invitation of one of the Russian pretenders to the throne during the "Time of Troubles" to prevent a Polish capture of the capital. There was also a dynastic conflict at the time involving Swedish Prince Charles Philip (brother of Gustavus Adolphus) for a future as Tsar of Russia. But Moscow chose a Romanov instead. Russo-Swedish wars (there have been quite a few) have mainly been of a defensive nature on the part of Sweden.

Mr. Fettweis also leaves out the matter of the influence of the founder of geopolitics, Swedish Professor and Member of Parliament Rudolf Kjellen, on Karl Haushofer. For further information on Professor Kjellen see my article "Rudolf Kjellen and Modern Swedish Geopolitics" in the Autumn 1998 issue of Geopolitics.

Bertil Haggman

Director, Center for Research on Geopolitics

Helsingborg, Sweden

The Author Replies:

I appreciate this opportunity to address this pair of well-reasoned and thought-provoking criticisms, and to clarify some of the points I made two issues ago. In the end I believe there is much that my critics and I can agree upon.

For instance, I agree with Mr. Noonan on a fundamental point--geography is certainly a vital consideration for military operations and tactics. He made a convincing argument for a proposition with which I concur, that in general geography becomes more relevant as one's scope of inquiry shrinks. However, my article was not an examination of tactics, but rather a critical look at Mackinder and geopolitical approaches to US national interests and grand strategy. Failure to address other geopolitical levels of analysis does not imply "miscomprehension" or ignorance of their existence. One has only so much time.