Reichserbhofgesetz
Encyclopedia
The Reichserbhofgesetz was a Nazi law to implement principles of blood and soil
, stating that its aim was to: "preserve the farming community as the blood-source of the German people" (Das Bauerntum als Blutquelle des deutschen Volkes erhalten). A Greater Aryan certificate
was required to receive its benefits, similar to the requirements for becoming a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP).
Selected lands were declared hereditary, as an Erbhof, to pass from father to eldest son, and could not be mortgaged or alienated, and only these farmers were entitled to call themselves Bauern or "farmer peasant", a term the Nazis attempted to refurbish from a neutral or even pejorative to a positive term. As they appeared in Nazi ideology as a source of economics and racial stability, the law was implemented to protect them from the forces of modernization.
Only about 35% of all farming units were covered by it. In theory, any farm of 7.5 to 10 hectares could be declared Erbhof, as the size needed to maintain a family and act as a productive unit; larger farms would have to be subdivided.
Richard Walther Darré, in accordance with his strong "blood and soil" beliefs, did much to promote it as the Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture and Reichsbauernführer.
Blood and soil
Blood and Soil refers to an ideology that focuses on ethnicity based on two factors, descent and homeland/Heimat...
, stating that its aim was to: "preserve the farming community as the blood-source of the German people" (Das Bauerntum als Blutquelle des deutschen Volkes erhalten). A Greater Aryan certificate
Aryan certificate
In Nazi Germany, the Aryan certificate was a document which certified that a person was a member of the Aryan race. Beginning in April 1933 it was required from all employees and officials in the public sector, including education, according to the Law for the Restoration of the Professional...
was required to receive its benefits, similar to the requirements for becoming a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP).
Selected lands were declared hereditary, as an Erbhof, to pass from father to eldest son, and could not be mortgaged or alienated, and only these farmers were entitled to call themselves Bauern or "farmer peasant", a term the Nazis attempted to refurbish from a neutral or even pejorative to a positive term. As they appeared in Nazi ideology as a source of economics and racial stability, the law was implemented to protect them from the forces of modernization.
Only about 35% of all farming units were covered by it. In theory, any farm of 7.5 to 10 hectares could be declared Erbhof, as the size needed to maintain a family and act as a productive unit; larger farms would have to be subdivided.
Richard Walther Darré, in accordance with his strong "blood and soil" beliefs, did much to promote it as the Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture and Reichsbauernführer.