Konrad Meyer-Hetling (15 May 1901 – 25 April 1973) was a German

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

and SS-Oberführer. He is best known for his involvement in the development of ''

Generalplan Ost The ''Generalplan Ost'' (; en, Master Plan for the East), abbreviated GPO, was the Nazi German government's plan for the genocide and ethnic cleansing on a vast scale, and colonization of Central and Eastern Europe by Germans. It was to be under ...

''.

Early life

Meyer was born in Salzderhelden, near Einbeck, in southern

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, the son of a school teacher.The Nuremberg Medical Trial 1946/47 - Guide to the Microfiche Edition: With an Introduction to the Trial's History by Angelika Ebbinghaus and Short Biographies of the Participants, 2001, Walter de Gruyter, , p. 119 He studied agronomy at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

and received his doctorate in 1926 with a thesis on crop production. He became an assistant at the university and did his habilitation in 1930. From 1930 to 1933, Meyer worked as a

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de con ...

at the University of Göttingen, and in 1934, he became a full professor at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. The same year, he became a professor at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

. In November 1934 he became a consultant for the Reich Ministry of Science and Education on the reformation of German agricultural education and research. Meyer was one of the key agricultural scientists and spatial planners of the Nazi era, and served as the chief editor of the main journals of the field.

''Generalplan Ost''

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B01718, Ausstellung

Meyer joined the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

on 1 February 1932 (member number 908,471), and the SS on 20 June 1933 (member number 74,695). In 1935, he was recruited to the SS Race and Settlement Main Office (RuSHA). In 1939, he became the head of the Planning Office under

Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

's office of

Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood The Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood (german: Reichskommissar für die Festigung deutschen Volkstums, RKF, RKFDV) was an office in Nazi Germany, which was held by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich Himmler. Adolf Hitler in ...

(RKF), and he also worked for Himmler's personal staff. In early 1940, the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) produced, with Meyer's collaboration, the initial version of ''

'' (General Plan East), a plan for the Germanization of Eastern Europe. Meyer's subordinates in RKF's creating the memorandum included geographer

Walter Christaller Walter Christaller (April 21, 1893 – March 9, 1969), was a German geographer whose principal contribution to the discipline is central place theory, first published in 1933. This groundbreaking theory was the foundation of the study of citie ...

and landscape architect Heinrich Friedrich Wiepking-Jürgensmann. From 1944 to 1945, the end of the war, Meyer served an officer in a

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

officer training school.

Later life

After the war, Meyer was charged by the US authorities in the RuSHA Trial. He was found guilty of being a member of a criminal organization (SS) but not guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity. He was released in 1948, and in 1956, he was appointed professor of agriculture and

regional planning Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. Regional planning is related to urban planning as it relates land ...

at Leibniz University Hannover, where he worked until his retirement, in 1964.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Konrad German people of World War II SS-Oberführer German agronomists People from Einbeck 1901 births 1973 deaths Waffen-SS personnel 20th-century agronomists