Integration of Economic Space and Political Space:

Andreas Predöhlʼs Concept of Concentrated Economic Poles

Abstract

The relationship between the Nazi Large Space Economy Project and the integration of Europe is rarely discussed. Predöhlʼs thoughts were ap-plied not only to the Nazi Project, but also to the European integration after World War II. Predöhl maintained that conflict arises be-tween economic space and political space, when economic space goes beyond the borders of po-litical space （national territory）. 　 After the Industrial Revolution, the econom-ic space of the world economy expanded and concentrated economic poles emerged succes-sively in Europe, U. S. A., and the Soviet Union. However, the depression of the 1920s prevented the efficient functioning of the European pole, because every country tried to protect its own economy by restricting foreign trade and creat-ing a block economy. Controls on foreign trade and exchange were strengthened. The economies of big countries, like the U. S. A. and the Soviet Union, were more open than those of European countries. There were two ways to extend the econom-ic space in Europe: （1） the Nazi Project and （2） European integration in the form of the Europe-an Coal and Steel Community （ECSC） and the European Economic Community （EEC）. The Nazi Project was based on military control while the EEC was federal and communal. However, the Nazi Project was backed by military power, and thus, it opposed economic rationality. The only way to reconstruct the European pole was by reducing the influence of national politics. 　 Predöhlʼs idea that political space should harmonize with economic space is worth recon-sidering today and provides valuable hints to-ward understanding the present world situation. JEL classification numbers: B 15, B 31, F 15.