Artworks by Wolfgang Willrich

Source: Nordisches Blutserbe im süddeutschen Bauerntum (1938)

(Nordic Blood Lines in the Southern German Farmland)

Part II

Postcards Collection – Winterhilfswerk (Winter Relief)

The Reich in Photos - Celebration of the Thanksgiving Day in Bückeberg, October 1937

Die Deutsche Wochenschau – Newsreel No. 672 – 21 July 1943

- Mass Grave of Ukrainians;

- Battle in the Orel Area;

- Luftwaffe Bombs Soviet Staging Areas;

- Heavy Battles in Belgorod Sector.

The state and labour service in Germany

SENIOR LABOUR LEADER MÜLLER-BRANDENBURG
Leader of the Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Department attached to the Reich Labour Leader

It is not easy to give the foreigner a true picture of the State Labour Service, because this is a National Socialist scheme based upon conditions such as exist in Germany only. If English readers are to form a proper judgment of it, they must first of all know something of the premises upon which its development depended.

The State Labour Service has to fulfil two great tasks, entrusted to it by the Labour Service Law, namely, an economic and an educational one.

Let us deal first of all with its economic aspect. Even before 1914 Germany was an over-populated country. By the Versailles Treaty, she lost 9.5 per cent. of her population and 13 per cent. of her area - a loss which made the pressure of over-population still greater. Moreover, the districts thus separated contained the richest agricultural land of the Reich. In this way was lost 18 per cent. of the area under potatoes and 17 per cent. of that under rye, the percentages for other products being similar. When it is remembered that Germany's defeat in the War was ultimately due to famine, it is not difficult to realise how terrible it was for her to have to yield up twice as much of her crop bearing area as corresponds to the loss of population. Germany thus lost her chance of being self-supporting in the way of food, and as long as a people depends upon others for essential commodities, it cannot be said to be truly free. Independence in this domain is of vital importance to the freedom of every State.

It was, therefore, quite natural that Herr Hitler, the Führer and Chancellor, should desire to provide himself, as soon as he had taken up office, with an instrument that would help him to make Germany self-supporting once more. The instrument chosen for that purpose was the Reich Labour Service.

Colonel (now Reich Labour Leader) Hierl, to whom supreme command of the Labour Service was given, did not start upon his duties without sound preparation. In 1929 he had already laid before the Führer his plans for the development of a Labour Service and had received Herr Hitler's approval. From that time onwards, he carefully worked out all the details and took all the steps required to establish a National Socialist Labour Service. Although membership was to be voluntary at first, it was to become a national duty for all Germans later on.

The outcome of that preparatory work was that the Reich Labour Leader, who had surrounded himself with a staff of efficient co-operators, arrived at the following conclusions, namely:

We have in Germany large areas of waste or insufficiently cultivated land that could be used for growing crops. Some 2,000,000 acres could be converted into arable land and more than 2,500,000 acres of poor soil could be made to yield far better crops than is the case now if subjected to improvement. In addition to this, there are another 1,000,000 acres, including waste forests, that could also be made profitable. All in all, this amounts to some 5,000,000 acres - an area as large as the Prussian province of Westphalia or Schleswig-Holstein. It is, therefore, no exaggeration on the part of Colonel Hierl when he continually emphasises that the State Labour Service is capable of adding a whole province to the present area of the Reich.

It is actually true that the Labour Service, when it has carried through the programme at present laid down for it, will have provided Germany, within half the span of a man's life, with sufficient agricultural land to ensure an adequate food supply for the whole country. German food independence will then have been won.

The results hitherto achieved by the Labour Service in making the countryside fruitful show that these statements are no illusions. An area the size of the Saar district was cleared and made ready for cultivation between 1933 and 1935.

So much for the economic point of view; we will now briefly examine the educational aspect of the Labour Service.

In this connection it is necessary to remember that all civilised countries, since the coming of the Machine Age, have greatly suffered from the erection of certain social barriers. Briefly, populations have been divided into two great classes, bourgeoisie and proletariat. The bourgeoisie adopted, for the most part, a Liberal Capitalism which amounted practically to a recognition of the principle that "those who have may do as they please," to which the proletariat replied by asserting that "possession is theft." It must be clear to all unprejudiced persons that both these ideas will finally lead to anarchy and Bolshevism. However, the development of all civilised countries has shown that this recognition is lacking, although the troubles from which all have suffered - some more and some less - are largely attributable to these class differences.

Germany, because of her historical development and, above all, because of her rapid transition from an agricultural to an industrial country, suffered from class quarrels in their extremist form, the position being aggravated by her loss of the War and the resultant Weimar system of government. When the Führer attained power, he was faced with the fact that the German people were divided into two sections neither of whom - though using the German language - could understand the other. Indeed, they were even prepared to fight one another to the death. The Führer and his movement succeeded in achieving the impossible by putting an end to class hatred.

Herr Hitler then instructed the Labour Service to be an instrument by which the lack of vision of the bourgeoisie and the class hatred of the proletariat should be counteracted, and a true community of all Germans should be created. On the National Labour Day, May 1st, 1934, when speaking on the Tempelhof Field, he declared:

It is not a mere chance that the party representing class war and class division fought so bitterly against compulsory Labour Service. They lived by the destruction of the nation and it would not have served their purpose to see these divisions set aside. They therefore told the masses that the Labour Service was designed only to steal the labour from the labourer. They had no Labour Service: instead, they had six million unemployed. We have introduced Labour Service and we have reduced the number of unemployed by more than half. We do not want the Labour Service to take the worker away from his place. In view of the number of employed people and the number enrolled in the Labour Service, such an assertion would be ridiculous. But we do want the Labour Service to compel every young German to work with his hands at least once and thus to contribute to the progressive development of his people. Above all, we want those Germans who are in sedentary occupations to learn what manual work means, so that they may find understanding and sympathy for those of their comrades whose lives are spent in the fields, the factory or the workshop. We want to destroy the haughtiness with which, unfortunately, so many intellectuals look down upon the manual workers and we wish them to realise that they, too, will be worth all the more if they possess a certain capacity for physical work. The whole idea underlying the Labour Service is to promote understanding between all classes and thus to strengthen the spirit of national solidarity. We desire that all should learn to know each other so that, little by little, the natural basis may be formed of a true inward fellowship, a fellowship which was destroyed in the course of many centuries. National Socialism is inspired with the irrevocable determination to re-establish it. We all know, however, that this cannot be achieved by mere words or professions, but only by a new kind of education.

This may be said to be a rough description of the principles in accordance with which Colonel Hierl has led the Reich Labour Service.

We will now briefly describe how the educational task of the Service is approached. It comprises physical culture as well as intellectual instruction, the latter having a deliberately National Socialist tendency.

Physical education is designed to improve the entire physique of the worker, and especially to give him suppleness of limb. The successes attained in this direction are already considerable. Last summer I conducted two delegations of officers of high rank, sent to Germany by two important Powers, round some of our camps and showed them what our Service was doing in the way of physical culture. What they saw aroused their astonishment and admiration, although both delegations came from countries which pay great attention to the physical well-being of their populations. "This is undoubtedly a peak achievement," was the comment of a General Staff officer who is an expert, not only in his own country, but who is intimately acquainted with these matters in three other European countries. I can assure everyone that the Reich Labour Service is firmly determined to maintain that superiority, because it is of enormous importance to the health of our people that our young manhood should undergo this physical education.

Then there is the intellectual education, which is National Socialism's appeal to hearts and heads alike. This teaching is not given in class-rooms, but rather consists in the actual conduct of life and work in the camp. Experience is the thing that chiefly matters, whilst the instruction in political science is only an accessory. Even this knowledge is not imparted by the methods of the class-room or the barracks, but rather in the form of a kind of labour comradeship, by means of which the Labour Service Leader puts all matters in so simple and comprehensible a way that they are bound to make an impression. The young workers' heads are not stuffed with knowledge (which they would, in any case, rapidly forget afterwards), but they are made to understand more intuitively what our Leader desires and what is the meaning of the National Socialist battle for the people and the State.

The young people live together in their camps, far from the big cities, and break German ground with their spades, so that members of all classes - workers, officers, farmers and salesmen - get to know one another and to respect one another's feelings. In our camps, class distinctions are overcome by the facts of experience. Elsewhere, leading articles are written deriding class struggles, but we abolish them with the aid of the spade and thanks to the community spirit naturally growing up in the Labour Camps. Here the son of middle-class parents learns that the labourer's son is worth just as much as he, whilst the labourer learns to value the student as a true comrade. The most valuable lesson, however, thus learnt by them is that all work, whether done by the hand or the brain, is equally honourable if performed by decent people for decent purposes. Labour Service has, therefore, provided a new set of practical ethics which is above both the bourgeois and proletarian way of thought, and supersedes both of them. In our camps, the conception "bourgeoisie" meets with just as much ridicule as the conception" proletariat," for every member looks upon himself as a German, and nothing else. There can be no doubt that the work now done under the inspiring leadership of Colonel Hierl is of so great an importance to future generations that it can hardly be realised by us, and this is certainly recognised - even if not fully - by the many people who visit us from abroad. We appreciate their admiration, but we must remind them that our Labour Service is not something that can simply be reproduced elsewhere. This, therefore, is what we always point out to foreign commissions wishing to study the Labour Service:

The worst mistake you could make would be the attempt to copy what we have done. Our Labour Service is essentially German, and is based exclusively upon our home needs and our own sense of values. In these matters, each nation must follow the paths laid down by its own needs and its peculiar instincts, because the conditions and circumstances that have to be dealt with are different in each case. From us you can learn only one thing, and that is that the social disintegration from which nearly all countries are suffering cannot be overcome by writing leading articles or by speech-making, but only by means of action. This, and this only, can be learnt from the German Labour Service. Organisation and development must be evolved separately in each country.

In this the Reich Labour Service resembles National Socialism: it is not an international affair, but simply a German one. So German is it that, to the astonishment of the rest of the world, the young German girls will shortly be drawn into a compulsory Labour Service. They, of course, will not handle spades, but will perform woman's work, for the women of Germany are also to learn that no higher lot can be theirs than to work for their nation in the home, at the cooking-stove and amongst their children. 

Thus the Reich Labour Service teaches all young Germans to be of use to their country.

The National Food Estate

RICHARD WALTHER DARRÉ
Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture, Reich Farmers’ Leader, Reichsleiter
of the National Socialist Party

When the National Socialist party acquired power on January 30th, 1933, German agriculture was on the brink of ruin. Some 12,000,000,000 reichsmarks of new debt had been contracted by farmers between 1924 (when the currency was stabilised) and 1932. The area covered by the farmsteads sold by auction during that period was about equal to that of Thuringia. The proceeds derived from the sale of farm produce decreased from some 10,000,000,000 reichsmarks in 1928-9 to 6,400,000,000 reichsmarks in 1932/3 - an amount insufficient to recover the cost of production. On the other hand, farmers had to pay high rates of taxes and interest and heavy social charges. As early as 1930, the National Socialist party directed public attention to the desperate state of the farming industry and asked that the country's agricultural policy should pay increased attention to these matters, more especially by creating new legislation dealing with farm property, by regulating markets and by setting up a corporate system of self-administration. These demands have now been satisfied under the National Socialist regime. Some 700,000 hereditary farms (Erbhöfe) have been created and about 40 per cent. of the soil used for agricultural purposes has thus been liberated from the arbitrary interference of professional speculators in real estate. The law enacted to that end has strengthened the farmer's connection with the soil he tills and has secured his rights of possession. Besides, the charges on farm property have been reduced to a reasonable level, partly by lowering the rates of interest and facilitating the repayment of debts and partly by granting tax abatement.

The National Food Estate (Reichsnährstand) was set up by the Act passed on September 13th, 1933. It is the sole organisation in the country embracing all persons associated in some way with farming or with the production and distribution of human food. The formerly existing organisations whose objects were similar have either been incorporated with the National Food Estate (N.F.E.) or have been dissolved. Those now incorporated with it include, among others, the Chambers of Agriculture, the Council of Agriculture, the National Farmers' Association, the German Agricultural Federation, etc. The highly developed system of co-operative societies was likewise made subject to the administration of the N.F.E.

Membership of the N.F.E. includes all the owners, lessors and lessees of agricultural land, together with their families, employees and workmen. The term "agriculture" is understood to comprise horticulture, viniculture, and fishery as well. Membership further includes, as has been said, all those connected with the production and distribution of food, e.g., the producers of foodstuffs, millers, bakers, butchers, provision dealers, etc. The extension of membership to so many trades was necessary because, without it, the market organisation could not be controlled to the extent considered desirable in the national interests. Organisations have been created for all the markets here concerned, such as those for cereals, cattle, dairy products, sugar, potatoes, eggs, beer, fish, fruit, vegetables, wine, and others. Each of these separate market organisations is composed of all persons connected with its particular trade, thus - for instance - that for cereals consists of all the growers, grain dealers, grain associations, mills, mill-produce dealers, and bakers. The market organisations are partly regional and partly national, i.e., those set up for each part of Germany (the regional ones) are subordinated to one competent for the country as a whole (the national one). Thus, for example, the twenty regional organisations for the grain trade are combined to form the national organisation for that trade, and so on.

National Socialists have all along realised the importance of farmers as a class and that of farming as an industry. Notwithstanding the industrialisation of Germany, agriculture still absorbs almost 30 per cent of all those who work for their living. The greater part of the country's food is produced by the intensive cultivation of the soil, even though there are large districts where the latter is of relatively poor quality. The promotion of farming and food production is therefore one of the most essential objectives at which German agricultural policy must be aimed.

The scope of that policy extends, in the first place, to the tillers of the soil, to their families and children, to the preservation of rural traditions and modes of thinking, and to the farmers' views on honour and the interests of his vocation. The N.F.E., therefore, looks upon it as its special function to establish social harmony between employers and employees, to provide the ambitious and efficient farm labourer with facilities for advancement, to strengthen the ties that connect him with the soil he tills, and to accord preference to him when creating new farmsteads and new homesteads. Particular attention is also directed towards the improvement of the conditions of labour, to the housing problem, etc. The educational system is promoted by the establishment of vocational schools for farmers and in other ways. The feeling of solidarity among villagers is encouraged, and it is also intended to cultivate that feeling on a nation-wide basis. Visible expression is given to the last-named object by the National Farmers' Congress (Reichsbauerntag) which is convened at Goslar once a year in the late autumn.

The second specific aim of the country's agricultural policy is concerned with the farm as such, more especially with measures likely to increase and improve the output in one form or another (production, stockbreeding, supply of high-grade seeds, soil improvement, etc.). These important tasks can be carried out most conveniently by the close collaboration of the N.F.E. with the competent Government departments. Other matters here concerned are: advice on agricultural matters, vocational instruction, the machinery supply, and the holding of agricultural shows. In this latter respect notable progress has been achieved in recent years; and the National Food Estate's annual show always provides excellent opportunities for studying the work already achieved.

Finally, the N.F.E. is entrusted with the control of the agricultural produce markets. Reference has already been made to the organisations established for that purpose, it being the special task of the N.F.E. to ensure their harmonious co-operation and their conduct along uniform principles.

Co-operation between the N.F.E. and the Government departments is very close. Thanks to the valuable work done by the members of the National Labour Service, large districts in the Ems country, along the shores of the North Sea and elsewhere have been opened up for cultivation. The N.F.E. is also connected with such matters as the regional planning of the Reich, the provision of land for public purposes, the creation of national reservations, afforestation schemes, etc.

The N.F.E. comprises 20 regional organisations, divided into about 500 district organisations, which-in turn-are subdivided into a large number of local groups. The "leader" of the National Food Estate is R. Walther Darré, who is also the Reich Farmers' Leader. Each regional organisation is presided over by a Regional Farmers' Leader, each district organisation by a District Farmers' Leader, and each local organisation by a Local Farmers' Leader.

The administrative organs of the N.F.E. comprise one central office domiciled in Berlin and 20 regional offices domiciled in the various regional districts. Each administrative office is divided into three departments, one each for the three special functions of the N.F.E. already described (i.e., the human element, the vocational element, and the control of the markets). The N.F.E. is not a department of the Government, even though its Leader is at the same time the National Minister of Food and Agriculture. The ideal of self-administration is realised by the arrangement under which the regional and subregional "leaders" assist in an honorary capacity in carrying out the functions of the N.F.E.

Particular interest - not only in Germany, but also elsewhere - is taken in the market control set up by the N.F.E., which is more consistently carried out than any corresponding system introduced in other parts of the world. The successes achieved prove that the fundamental principles underlying the German system are sound. According to the calculations of the Institute for the Study of the Business Cycle, the proceeds derived from the sale of agricultural produce increased in value from 6,400,000,000 to 8,800,000,000 reichsmarks during the three years that have passed since the introduction of the control system, whilst the prices payable by consumers did not undergo a rise in any way comparable to the benefit obtained by the producers.

The special features of the market control system have originated from the following facts:

Germany has neither the size and the natural resources of such a country as the United States, nor does she possess an overseas empire, as does, for instance, Great Britain. Although she has become largely industrialised, she has not abandoned her agricultural basis. Her soil is none too rich, and has nevertheless to support a population numbering about 360 to the square mile. Regional differences, especially between the chief centres of food production and food consumption, are very considerable. The number of small and medium-sized agricultural undertakings is also very large, which adds to the difficulty of organising them. Thus, neither the market policy of the overseas countries with their surplus production nor that of the countries relying upon measures for the protection of the price-level could be adopted. It would have been a mistake to give one-sided assistance to the farmer, whilst leaving the position of the consumer as it was. The method that had to be applied was that of guiding and supervising imports and of regulating the accumulation of stores containing such foodstuffs as cannot be produced at home. Moreover, regard had to be paid to the special social structure of Germany; and this could only be done by making the market organisation very comprehensive.

The introduction of that organisation presented some considerable difficulties. The various markets were in a condition bordering on chaos. In almost all of them the speculative character of the wholesale trade tended to augment the lack of proper organisation. The uncontrolled influence of the prices ruling in the world's markets reduced those obtainable at home to a ruinous level and made production unremunerative. The unscrupulous competition among dealers led to widespread insolvency, the consequences of which were most disastrous to the farmer. Unfair business methods and an excessive number of middlemen helped to aggravate the position still further, more particularly in the "upgrading" industries.

The first step towards the restoration of healthy conditions was the reorganisation of the milk market by the National Commissioner for the Milk Trade. The experience thus gained was subsequently utilised when the final regulations were drawn up. It goes without saying that, in doing so, due regard was paid, to the peculiarities of the local markets and of the individual dairy products. The terms of delivery as between the farmers, the dairies and the retail trade were defined. Prices and price margins corresponding to the work done by each section and to the purchasing capacity of the consumers were fixed, and excessive margins were reduced. Unremunerative undertakings were shut down against payment of compensation, and undertakings essentially necessary to the country's economic interests were encouraged. Special importance was attached to the production of high-class goods and to standardisation. The recent N.F.E. Show held at Frankfort has furnished convincing evidence of the high degree of efficiency attained by these methods. Prices have now been stabilised, both as regards the farmer and the consumer. What was considered impossible a short while ago has been achieved - the price of butter has, for instance, remained unchanged for two years and a half, and the same remark applies to most of the other kinds of agricultural produce. The interference of speculators and vested interests has been eliminated, notably in the grain trade. Prices no longer fall to pieces when the harvest has been particularly abundant. Neither the quality nor the extent of each farmer's production is subject to any control. He can produce what he likes and as much as he likes. The market regulations will always enable him to sell at adequate prices those commodities for which there is a general demand. The number of middlemen in the process of distribution has been reduced to a minimum. During the preceding economic era, production was rationalised. To-day it has become necessary to organise the distribution-and therefore the supply - of the goods in accordance with the dictates of common sense, without restricting production in any way. This makes it possible to effect enormous savings, which can then be utilised for the benefit of the producer or the consumer. The increase in the yield of agricultural production is mainly due to such savings.

The" leaders" of the market associations, assisted by a committee representing the economic interests involved, are held responsible for the proper application of the market regulations-which, after all, are merely the outcome of considerations governed by common-sense principles. They are intended to serve - and they do serve - the national interests as well as those of the economic groups affected, more especially those of the producers and consumers. The dealers are required to be reliable, to have an expert knowledge of their trade, and to be financially sound. These various requirements are ensured by a system of licensing. The erection of new undertakings and the enlargement of existing ones is subject to the consent of the market associations, so that the interests of the nation as a whole can be properly protected. In this way, misplaced investments are prevented, and the remunerativeness of the undertakings that are of vital importance to the country is promoted. Considerable value must be ascribed to the system of "compensatory contributions", the origin of which dates back to a time not so very long ago. Deductions were then made from the prices of milk used for drinking purposes, and these amounts were utilised to increase the prices of milk used for manufacturing purposes. The system has proved eminently successful, as it is now possible to induce the producers of milk in remote districts greatly to augrnent the volume of their production thanks to the millions of reichsmarks diverted towards that end. It should be noted that the money employed for this purpose is not contributed by the taxpayer, but by the industry concerned. In some instances, the system has been used for the introduction of methods tending to cheapen production. 

The application of uniform principles to the whole domain of food production and food consumption has provided the agricultural policy of the National Socialist Government with a degree of efficiency hitherto regarded as impossible. This is acknowledged over and over again by the visitors from abroad who have made it a point to study conditions on the spot, no matter whether they have come to investigate the principles underlying the system of market control, the promotion of farming efficiency, the preservation of cultural traditions, or matters of vocational organisation. The discussion of the agricultural problems confronting individual countries, the solution of which is taken in hand everywhere, can be made very fruitful. It enables members of the various European nations to realise the fact that all of them have to work shoulder to shoulder in a common task and makes them anxious to contribute their own share for the benefit of all.

The Best of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Part II

1. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in G Major, K. 525

I. Allegro 00:00

II. Romanza. Andante 05:59

III. Minuetto. Allegretto 12:37

IV. Rondò. Allegro 15:02

2. Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K 331: III. Alla Turca 18:12

3. Don Giovanni: „Madamina il catalogo è questo” 21:50

4. Le Nozze di Figaro: „Non più andrai farfallone amoroso” 27:11

5. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: IV. Allegro assai 30:30

6. Die Zauberflöte, K. 620: Overture 37:06

7. Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 „Jupiter“

I. Allegro vivace 44:19

IV. Molto Allegro 55:10

8. Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major, K. 314: I. Allegro aperto (Live Recording) 1:04:06

9. Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425 „Linz“: IV. Presto 1:12:09

10. Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504 „Prague“: III. Presto 1:19:37

11. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: I. Molto allegro 1:25:34

12. Requiem, K. 626 (Live Recording)

Introitus 1:33:47

Kyrie 1:39:11

Dies Irae 1:41:52

Tuba Mirum 1:43:34

Rex Tremendae 1:47:11

Recordare 1:49:25

Confutatis & Lacrimosa 1:54:30

Domine Jesu 2:00:06

Hostias 2:03:43

Sanctus 2:08:29

Benedictus 2:10:19

Agnus Dei 2:15:49

Lux aeterna 2:19:35

Cum Sanctis tuis 2:22:51

13. Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504 „Prague“: I. Adagio - Allegro 2:25:16

14. Flute and Harp Concerto in C Major, K. 299: I. Allegro 2:38:36

15. Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425 „Linz“: III. Menuetto 2:49:03

16. Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622: II. Adagio (Live Recording) 2:52:18