Being born in the U.S that all I know srry
Westward expansion routes
Conquering territories in North Africa would give Germans easier access to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. From there, they would have access to the Middle East and Asia, along with the valuable resources of those regions.
All this cartoon is saying that in agrarian societies such as these, the economy was primary based on bartering, since the exchange of goods and services was done one a "need by need" basis.