The Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture (german: Reichsministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, abbreviated RMEL) was responsible for agricultural policy of Germany during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

from 1919 to 1933 and during the Nazi Dictatorship of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

from 1933 to 1945. It was under the office of the Secretary of State. On 1 January 1935, the ministry was merged with the Prussian Ministry of Agriculture, Domains and Forestry, founded in 1879. In 1938 it was renamed "Reich and Prussian Ministry of Food and Agriculture". After the end of National Socialism in 1945 and the occupation, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture was established in 1949 as a successor in the western

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

History

In March 1919, the

Reichsernährungsamt The ''Kriegsernährungsamt'' (War Office of Food), which later became the ''Reichsernährungsamt'' (Reich Office of Food), was an entity of the government of the German Empire from 1916 to 1919. History During the First World War, the German Bundes ...

was the first to establish the "Reich Ministry of Food". This was combined with the Reich Ministry of Economics in September 1919 and re-founded during the

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo th ...

in March 1920 under the name "Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture". In the same year, the ministry moved into the Palace of Prince Alexander and Prince George at 72 Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin. From 1924, four large-format paintings by August Weber were on loan in the building, and since 1945 they have been lost. After the Nazis seized power on January 30, 1933, the ministry was initially led by

Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hugenbe ...

. Coerced into resignation during June 1933, Hugenburg was succeeded by Kurt Schmitt and Walther Darré. The latter took over on June 30, 1933 as " Reichsbauernführer" the management of the Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture, where he was in this function also created for the

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...

of agriculture

Reichsnährstand The ''Reichsnährstand'' or 'State Food Society', was a government body set up in Nazi Germany to regulate food production. Foundation The Reichsnährstand was founded by the Reichsnährstandsgesetz (decree) of 13 September 1933; it was led by R ...

. The Nazi Darré, took personal leadership of the official party apparatus belonging to the Agricultural Policy Office (from 1936 "

Reich Office for Agrarian Policy ''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word " realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (l ...

", and then from 1942 "

Reich Office for the country people ''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word " realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (l ...

"). The office was responsible for the management and supervision of the Reichsnährstandes. The RMEL, as it were, took over the state's supervision of the Reichsnährstand organization. As a result, individual areas of responsibility were gradually transferred to other NS authorities. Thus, in 1934, by founding the Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the

Reich Forestry Office The Reich Forestry Office ( German: ) was the highest authority for forestry, hunting, timber management, nature conservation, and the preservation of natural monuments in Nazi Germany. It was established by the Law on the Transition of Forestry a ...

under the leadership of

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

was established as the highest Reich authority for forestry and hunting, timber management, and nature conservation.Joachim Tauber u. a. The Reich Forestry was in turn united on January 1, 1935 with the

Prussian State Forestry Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was '' de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

. Joachim Radkau u. a. Goring's deputy and de facto head of German Forestry was Walter von Keudell, and then from 1937

Friedrich Alpers Friedrich Alpers (25 March 1901 – 3 September 1944) was a German Nazi politician and SS-''Obergruppenführer''. He was also a Minister of the Free State of Brunswick, and ''Generalforstmeister'' (General forest supervisor). Alpers was respons ...

. Furthermore, in the years 1934 and 1935, the agricultural vocational and technical education were spun off into the Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture a directorate of the Reich Ministry of the Interior. On September 22, 1938, it also followed by decree of the Reich Minister, that all research institutes derived from the fishing industry would be collected in one Reich Institute for Fisheries.

Reich Minister

State Secretary

References

{{Authority control 1945 disestablishments Ministries established in 1919 Agriculture ministries Food and Agriculture Agricultural organisations based in Germany