The Reich Forestry Office (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ) was the highest authority for forestry, hunting, timber management, nature conservation, and the preservation of natural monuments in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. It was established by the Law on the Transition of Forestry and Hunting to the Reich, which was passed unanimously by the Reich government on 3 July 1934. Its aim was to preserve forested areas due to their importance to the nation's culture and industry. At the head of the authority was the (Reich chief forester) with the rank of

Reichsminister Reichsminister (in German singular and plural; 'minister of the realm') was the title of members of the German Government during two historical periods: during the March Revolution of 1848/1849 in the German Reich of that period, and in the mode ...

, though in hunting-related matters the designation (Reich chief hunter) was used. The various regional forest offices were made subordinate to the new authority. Forestry and hunting were spun off from the

Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture The Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture (, abbreviated RMEL) was responsible for the agricultural policy of Germany during the Weimar Republic from 1919 to 1933 and during the Nazi dictatorship of the Third Reich from 1933 to 1945. It was heade ...

in 1934 and placed under the Reich Forestry Office. In 1935 it was merged with the Prussian State Forest Office.

Literature

* Dirscherl, Stefan: ''Tier- und Naturschutz im Nationalsozialismus'', Göttingen: V & R Unipress, 2012, S. 73–75 (). * Rubner, Heinrich: ''Deutsche Forstgeschichte 1933-1945: Forstwirtschaft, Jagd, und Umwelt im NS-Staat'', St. Katharinen: Scripta-Mercaturae-Verl., 1985 (). * ''How Green Were the Nazis? Nature, Environment and Nation in the Third Reich'' Edited by Franz-Josef Brüggemeier, Mark Cioc, and Thomas Zeller. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2005

References

{{reflist Forestry in Germany Government agencies established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany