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The Reich Harvest Thanksgiving Festival (german: Das Reichserntedankfest, links=no) was a monumental
Nazi German 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 ...
celebration of the peasantry and the German farmers. The festivals ran from 1933 to 1937 on the Bückeberg, a hill near the town of
Hamelin Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. H ...
. Most festivals occurred every October, with the 1934 festival commencing 30 September. The official purpose of the festival was the recognition of the achievements of the German farmers, whom the Nazis called the ''
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 Reich's Food Estate). The celebration was also used by the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
as a
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
tool to showcase the connection between
Führer ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the Umlaut (diacritic), umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi Germany, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany ...
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and the German people. The festival was part of a cycle of Nazi celebrations which included the annual party rally at Nuremberg, Hitler's birthday celebrations and other important events on the Nazi calendar. In 1937, the festival was attended by about 1.2 million people, culminating with Hitler walking through the ''Führerweg'' (Führer's way) to the harvest monument, in the form of an altar, to receive the harvest crown from the Farmers' Estate on behalf of the German people. The festival was attended by more people than any other Nazi ceremony or ritual activity, including the party rally at Nuremberg. In addition to its agricultural theme, the festival was used by the Nazis to increase the contact of the Führer with the masses and to demonstrate the Reich's military prowess. From 1935, the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
staged mock battles at the festival with the participation of up to 10,000 soldiers, airplanes and
panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, ...
s. In 1933, during his inaugural speech at the festival, Hitler announced the passage of a new law, the '' Reichserbhofgesetz'', the State Hereditary Farm Law, which provided safeguards for the integrity of ownership of some family farms.


Ideological background

The ideological underpinnings of the Reich Harvest Thanksgiving Festival were provided by Richard Walther Darré's ideas of " Blood and Soil". Darré, known as the "Reich Peasant Leader", viewed a future Germany as a ''Bauernreich'', a Peasant Empire, in which the German farmers played a vital role, as Germany expanded by conquering new lands through the expansionist policy of
Lebensraum (, ''living space'') is a German concept of settler colonialism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' became a geopolitical goal of Imperi ...
. The German peasants, although generally unaware of the theories advanced by Darré, reacted positively to the Nazis description of them as ''Landsvolk'' (the people of the land) and ''Nährstand'' (the nurturing class) and supported the Nazis by attending the harvest festivals dedicated to their contributions to Nazi society. ''Das Reichserntedankfest'' was the most important agricultural festival and was staged at Bückeberg, a hill located near the town of
Hamelin Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. H ...
. The festival was originally a religious celebration for a good harvest season. Darré described it as " he day whenthe Germanic unity of peasant soil, and creator are recognised as the most holy symbol of the connection between the Germanic people and the soil".


Location

The location of the hill near Hamelin was chosen for political, historical and infrastructural reasons. Hamelin, a town in
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 ...
, was an urban centre which had the infrastructure to support mass gatherings of such size. In addition, Nazi support in the region was high. The Nazis also made frequent mentions of the historic struggles of the Germanic tribes which had settled the area. The nearby
Weser River The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...
was referred to as the "most German of all rivers". The Weser region was also significant for the Nazis, and appealed to their
mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
, because it was believed that it was there that
Arminius Arminius ( 18/17 BC – 21 AD) was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, in which three Roman legions under the command of ge ...
had defeated the Romans and Saxon leader
Widukin Widukind, also known as Wittekind, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish province, massacred tho ...
had defeated
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
's army.


Construction

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
chose
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...
as the designer of the grounds. The initial design of the place opted for simplicity to better reflect the rural roots of the celebration. Two stages were erected which were connected by a long corridor. A circular area featuring thousands of flagpoles was also constructed. The inaugural celebrations in 1933 were met with success and this led Goebbels to the idea of converting the grounds to a "Germanic cult place" (''Reichsthingstätte''). Additions included a monument which "was to last for eternity", construction of new roads, renovations of existing train stations and the construction of a new ''Führerbahnhof'' which was Hitler's own train station purpose-built for his arrival during the celebrations. The new design was also created by Speer.


Celebrations

As part of the celebrations, choirs consisting of thousands of singers sang nationalist anthems while pictures of distinguished farmers were distributed to the crowds. The most anticipated moment of the celebration was the arrival of the Führer at noon, followed by Hitler walking on the ''Führerweg'' (Führer's way) toward the monument where a peasant woman at the altar awarded him the harvest crown. The 600-metre procession took Hitler 45 minutes to complete due to frequent stops to meet and greet the crowd. Bridges spanning the Weser river were constructed and used in mock battles with the participation of
panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, ...
s and airplanes and a force of about 10,000 men, also featuring an attack on the ''Bückerdorf''. In 1935, the attendance of the peasants at the festival fell due to their dissatisfaction with the policies of the Nazi party and the enactment of the Entailed Farm Law. The same year, a mock village was built on the hill. The village was the target of bombing by the air force and panzers and was eventually destroyed. On 3 October 1937, Hitler during his address at the festival called on Britain to be "reasonable" and threatened to seek colonies. In 1935, Göring, Goebbels and Rudolph Hess followed Hitler as he was greeting people while walking on the ''Führerweg''. In 1938, most of the preparations for the festival were finalised when the plans were abruptly cancelled due to logistical problems caused by the pending
invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...
by Germany which necessitated the use of trains to move military materiel to the border rather than transporting peasants to Bückeberg to attend the celebrations.


Displays

Since the celebrations were close to the nearby town of
Hamelin Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. H ...
, known for the fairy tale of the
Pied Piper of Hamelin The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...
, images were distributed during the Harvest Festival showing the children of Hamelin carrying Nazi flags and following the piper. The displayed propaganda toys and images also signified the intention of the regime to affect all stages of one's life from "cradle to grave".


Preservation and legacy

In modern times, the site appears to be just a green area with trees, with little evidence of its Nazi past. However, upon closer inspection, architectural elements of its past can be discerned, chief among them, the ''Führerweg'', which now appears as a long line of grass clearly visible on the hillside. There are also other remnants such as rostrum ruins and other infrastructure. The site was one of the most important celebrations of the Reich and within it the ''Führerweg,'' an elevated paved corridor 600 metres long and 5 metres wide, was at the centre of the festivities, designed to showcase, in a ritual way, the closeness between the Führer and the people. Given the significance of the site to Nazi history and the large numbers of people who gathered in the area during the festivities, the historical importance of the grounds is not in doubt. However it has not been declared a historic site and its preservation as a historic place has been a difficult problem for modern German authorities. This is partly due to fears that if the location is declared historical, it will become a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis. Another reason, frequently raised by local authorities, is the refusal of local people to be associated with a celebration closely tied to the Nazis. In 2008, graffiti appeared on the grounds stating "Kein Denkmal Den Tätern. Gedenkt Der Opfer!" translating as "No commemoration of the perpetrators. Commemorate the victims!"


References

{{Authority control Nazi culture Festivals established in 1933 Recurring events disestablished in 1937 1933 establishments in Germany 1937 disestablishments in Germany Agriculture in Germany