Bückeberg, Goslar and the Reichsnährstand

[JLEES]

Hello,
I'm trying to make sense of Bückeberg, Goslar and the Reichsnährstand. In 1934, for instance, the Nazis staged their "2nd Harvest Thanksgiving Day on September 30, 1934, in Bückeberg, near Hameln.” I have several postcards celebrating this event. However, a little over ten days later, they also staged their 2nd Reichsbauerntag or Reich Farmer’s Rally from November 11-18 in the nearby City of Goslar. I have a postcard celebrating this event too. Why did the Reichsnährstand stage two peasant agriculturally orientated events so close to each other in terms of distance and time? Throughout the next four years they also staged or planned these massive events right up until the innovation of Poland. Can any one explain the difference between the two events? Was one showing thanks for a successful harvest and the other paying tribute to the peasant farmer?
James

[Dieter Zinke]

Broadly speaking
Bückeberg stands for "Brauchtum und Sitte" [customs and conventions] and
Goslar stands for "Blut und Boden" [blood and soil]


Dieter Z.

[JLEES]

Dieter,
Many thanks for your fast reply. I don't understand what you mean by Bückeberg standing for "Brauchtum und Sitte" [customs and conventions]. Could you please explain why a half million people gathered there in 1933 to celebrate that?

Goslar standing for "Blut und Boden" [blood and soil] seems to be a racial tribute to the German farmer: his Aryan blood and its link to the soil. Would that be correct?

[ManfredV]

"Reichserntedankfest" was a great festival open for the public. "Reichsbauerntag" was a kind of "Rally" for the farmers. At Bückeburg Hitler, Goebbels and other high leaders took part and it was one of the great events. Goslar was more an internal thing of "Reichsbauernrat" and organized by Darré and others.

[JLEES]

Many thanks for the clarification. There has not been too much written in the English language on this subject and I'm trying to make sense of it. From my undemanding then the"Reichserntedankfest" was held at Bückeburg. The "Reichsbauerntag" was held at Goslar. Would all that be correct or did I mess it up? Could you please correct this if I'm wrong.
Thanks

[ManfredV]

Yes, That´s correct.
The Nazi propaganda celebrated the farmers and their traditionell kind of working and talked about "Blut and Boden", it was a kind of romatic celebration etc.
But in fact, Hitler and most of the Nazi leaders were more interested in modern technology, developement, industrial improvements, planning war , typical important things in propaganda were f.e. Autobahn, Volkswagen, Hermann Göring Werke Salzgitter etc. For war they needed a modern agriculture that could produce much food.
So "Reichserntedankfest" was just a romatic show. Last "Reichserntedankfest" was held 1937. Later "Bauernführer" and "Ernährungsminister" Darré lost power and importance and was fired of his jobs in 1941, "Reichsbauernrat" was abolished 1942.

[JLEES]

Interesting! Again many thanks for the great information. James

[tigre]

Hello to all ; an interesting topic of NS culture .........................................

The "Reichserntedankfest" at the Bückeberg near Hameln 1933-1937.

The "Reichserntedankfest" in Bückeberg, near Hameln, was one of the three largest mass festivals of the National Socialists. The festival had the status of a state act and had a permanent place in the Nazi calendar. Its importance lies in its contribution to the propagation of the ruling cult, the formation of "Volksgemeinschaft" (popular community) and, together with the festival, an exercise of the Reichswehr was carried out, connected to the preparation of the people for war. The importance of this propaganda event disguised festively during the National Socialist era is still underestimated in specialized science and even more in public.

The idea, planning and organization of the festival rests with Goebbels. The Minister of Propaganda planned and designed the festival as an instrument of propaganda. The Minister of Agriculture and Reichsbauernführer Darré had nothing to do with the planning and design of this event, which was organized as a "Bauernfest" (farmer's party).

After May Day, the Labor Day of the labor movement, which was not a holiday until 1933, was transformed by a mixture of brutal violence and seduction in the "National Labor Day", the supreme celebration of the "Volksgemeinschaft", the peasants as "Reichsnährstand" (state food producers) were incorporated into the Nazi state. Hitler could renounce violence among the peasants; Only he chose the path of seduction. During a great tribute, a great festival, they should be linked to the regime. The raising of Thanksgiving for the harvest to the national holiday is part of the process of seizing power, which should lead the National Socialists to the possession of total government.

The process of the festival.

The first festival took place after a brief preparation on October 1, 1933. It began late in the afternoon. When Hitler delivered his speech, it was already dark. Because the departure of the participants to the stations was extremely chaotic in the dark, the organizers changed the party in 1934 to the afternoon. Since 1935 it took place at noon.

The program of the Reichserntedankfeste in the Bückeberg near Hameln remained the same throughout the years. A significant change was only the exercise of the Reichswehr, which ranged from an exercise of horsemen to a military spectacle of great style. The program began (since 1935) early in the morning with the "parade" of the participants in the huge fairgrounds and a previous program that accompanied it. After lunch hours, the arrival of Hitler and his triumphant journey through the waiting participants to the VIP stand at the top of the mountain. There, in a brief scene, the Führer received a band from the harvest crown.

With demonstrations of troops, a great program of maneuvers took place in the vast plain north of the mountain slope, the main program began. After Hitler and his entourage had gone back down the mountain, followed the speeches, first Darré, Reichsbauernführer and Minister of Agriculture, and then Hitler. Both spoke from the lower tribune. With the common song of the German anthem (Deutschland lied) and the song of Horst Wessel, the festival was completed in a period of two to three hours. While Hitler, after 1935 and 1936, went to the Reichsbauerntag to Goslar, the masses of the participants began the journey home.

Sources: Das »Reichserntedankfest« auf dem Bückeberg bei Hameln 1933-1937. Bernhard Gelderblom.
http://www.aboutww2militaria.com/hitler ... scite.html

Cheers. Raúl M .

[JLEES]

Many thanks!!!!!!!! I've always been slightly confused as to the difference between the Reichserntedankfeste in the Bückeberg and the Deutsche Ertedankfest. They seem like the same thing, but were held in two different places and within a bout a week of each other. And there's even a Reichsbauerntag. Do you know what their differences are?

[tigre]

Hello JLEES ; not being etnic German myself (but with etnic German relatives) AFAIK these are the festivals:

Erntedankfest (literally translated “thanks for the harvest festival“) is a religious holiday, and is celebrated both in the Catholic and Protestant churches. A traditional fest usual in Germany since ever. https://germangirlinamerica.com/what-is-erntedankfest/

Reichserntedankfest (the same fest but during the NS period) with the status of a state act and had a permanent place in the Nazi calendar. Looking basically the propagation of the ruling cult and the formation of "Volksgemeinschaft" (popular community), connecting to the preparation of the people for war. A mass fest.

Reichsbauerntag (as told by ManfredV) was a kind of "Rally" for the farmers only. While AH

went to the Reichsbauerntag to Goslar, the masses of the participants began the journey home.

Hope be clear enough. Cheers. Raúl M .

[JLEES]

Yes, thank you. I have Nazi postcards in my collection that were issued to commemorate both the Erntedankfest and also the Reichserntedankfest and the Reichsbauerntag. They appear to have been major activities during the Third Reich with much fanfare attached to them, but, now, often overshadowed historically by other massive rallies such as the Nuremberg Rallies.

[JLEES]

Have another question for you and hopefully you know the answer. I have a 1935 Saar Plebiscite postcard depicting someone receiving money from a Jew. Do you recognize this figure?