Reichsbund der Kinderreichen (RDK or RdK), ''Reich's Union of Large Families'' or literally: ''Reich's League of those wealthy in children'', was one of the most important

pronatalist Natalism (also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position) is an ideology that promotes the reproduction of human life as the preeminent objective of being human. Compare: The term, as it relates to the belief itself, comes from the French wor ...

groups founded in Germany after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. To qualify as a member of this league a family should have at least four children. Widows were also admitted. The German Large Family League was forcefully

nazified The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...

after the Nazi takeover of power in 1933. As such its goal became the preservation and promotion of the German hereditarily healthy

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

family ("Erhaltung und Förderung der deutschen, erbgesunden, arischen Familie").

Renaming

The RDK was renamed ''Reichsbund Deutsche Familie, Kampfbund für erbtüchtigen Kinderreichtum'' (literally ''German Family Reich's League, Struggle League for a Hereditarily Strong Offspring''), in April 1940, in the first years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Its new acronym became RDF and Dr. Robert Kaiser became its new leader. Lisa Pine, ''Nazi Family Policy, 1933-1945''
/ref> Under Dr. Kaiser, the RDF became essentially 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 ...

organization, promoting marriages and natality among the youth despite the war-related difficulties. As a Nazi organization the German Large Family League was disbanded after Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II. The American Military Government issued a special law outlawing the Nazi party and all of its branches. This

Denazification Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remov ...

decree was also known as "Law number five".

References

(partly) * Jill Stephenson, ''"Reichsbund der Kinderreichen": the League of Large Families in the Population Policy of Nazi Germany'', European History Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 3, 351-375 (1979) Natalism 1919 establishments in Germany Organizations established in 1919 Organizations disestablished in 1945 Organizations based in the Weimar Republic Nazi Party organizations Nazi propaganda organizations {{Nazi-stub