Nazi Hunger Politics: A History of Food in the Third Reich

197 Pages·2015·2.608 MB·English

by  Gesine Gerhard

NAZI HUNGER POLITICS
Rowman & Littlefield
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NaziHungerPolitics:AHistoryofFoodintheThirdReich,byGesineGerhard
NAZI HUNGER POLITICS
A History of Food in the Third Reich
Gesine Gerhard
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Gerhard,Gesine,1969–
Nazihungerpolitics:ahistoryoffoodintheThirdReich/GesineGerhard.
pagescm.—(Rowman&Littlefieldstudiesinfoodandgastronomy)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4422-2724-8(cloth:alkalinepaper)—ISBN978-1-4422-2725-5(ebook)1.Food
supply—Governmentpolicy—Germany—History—20thcentury.2.Nationalsocialism—Socialas-
pects.3.WorldWar,1939–1945—Foodsupply—Germany.4.Food—Politicalaspects—Germany—
History—20thcentury.5.Food—Socialaspects—Germany—History—20thcentury.6.Food—
Symbolicaspects—Germany—History—20thcentury.7.Hunger—Politicalaspects—Germany—
History—20thcentury.8.Hunger—Socialaspects—Germany—History—20thcentury.9.Germa-
ny—Politicsandgovernment—1933–1945.10.Germany—Socialconditions—1933–1945.I.Title.
HD9015.G32G372015
363.8'56094309043—dc23
2015005789
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsof
AmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperfor
PrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
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CONTENTS
ListofIllustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 NoMoreTurnips:TheImportanceofFoodinNaziIdeology 19
2 EatingatHome:FoodRationingandtheNaziDiet 47
3 HerbertBackeattheCenterofFoodPolitics 65
4 TheHungerplan:BarbarossaandtheStarvationoftheSoviet
Union 85
5 TheScienceofFood 103
6 TheHungerYearsaftertheWar 121
Epilogue 141
Notes 143
SelectedBibliographyandSources 173
Index 179
v

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig.1.1 “HeIsResponsible.” 26
Fig.1.2 “MiseryandHunger.” 30
Fig.1.3 “AgainstHungerandDesperation!” 31
Fig.1.4 “WeRebuild!” 32
Fig.1.5 “ForOurChildren’sBread!” 33
Fig.1.6 “OnePot.” 36
Fig.1.7 “EatWholeWheatBread.” 38
Fig.1.8 HitlergreetingthemassesontheBückeberg. 44
Fig.1.9 PeasantsintraditionalcostumeorTracht. 45
Fig.3.1 RichardWaltherDarrégivingaspeechon
December13,1937. 78
Fig.3.2 HerbertBacke,attheheightofhispower,
June2,1942. 83
Fig.5.1 AdolfHitlerandEvaBraunwithdogs,June
14,1942. 113
vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
T
his book has been in the works for several years, and along the way, I
havereceivedsupportfrommanypeople.Iwillalwaysbegratefulforthe
encouragement, the critical feedback, and the distractions that helped me
continue my labors. The research started in the Federal Archives in Ko-
blenz,Germany,amostwelcomingplaceforanyhistorian.GregorPickro
in Koblenz represents one of the many archivists I could reliably count
on. Herr Pickro suggested I contact the Backe family, and reading this
book, you will know where this led me. David Schoenbaum deserves
credit as my mentor early on, for it was his critical eye that pushed me
much further than I thought I could go. I also owe a large debt to my
students at the University of the Pacific, whose curiosity is a constant
source of energy. My colleagues in the history department and beyond
have been wonderful and inspirational. A special thank-you goes to Ken
Albala,whointroducedmetofoodstudiesandhasbeensupportivesince
I first put foot on this campus almost sixteen years ago. Caroline Cox
gavefeedbackoneverythingIneededtotalkabout,andonlyheruntime-
ly death in July 2014 prevented her from reading drafts of all chapters.
The weekly phone calls with Edie Sparks kept me on target during the
last writing phase when deadlines could not be pushed out any further.
Bill SwagertyandRobinImhofallowedmeto nagthem with questionsI
had along the way. Thank you to Mike Sharp for his careful copyediting
of the manuscript and to Gerda Story, who transcribed Ursula Backe’s
diariesforme.IamindebtedaswelltoWendiSchnaufer,theeditoratthe
press who first recruited me. She had great ideas and a vision for this
ix