science

Reichserbhofgesetz

Reichserbhofgesetz is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Reichserbhofgesetz rather than just read about it. In short: The Reichserbhofgesetz, the Hereditary Farm Law, of 1933 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". As farmers appeared in Nazi ideology as a source of economics and racial stability, the law was implemented to protect them from the forces of modernization.

Key takeaways

Reichserbhofgesetz belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Reichserbhofgesetz to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Reichserbhofgesetz from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Reichserbhofgesetz, the Hereditary Farm Law, of 1933 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". As farmers appeared in Nazi ideology as a source of economics and racial stability, the law was implemented to protect them from the forces of modernization.

Conditions

Any farm of at least one Ackernahrung, an area of land large enough to support a family and evaluated from 7.5 to 125 hectares (19–309 acres), was declared a Hereditary farm (Erbhof), to pass from father to son, without the possibility to be mortgaged or alienated. Only those peasants were entitled to call themselves "farmers" (Bauern), a term the Nazis attempted to refurbish from a neutral or even pejorative to a positive term. A Greater Aryan certificate was required to receive its benefits, similar to the requirements for becoming a member of the Nazi Party. Farms too small could become an Hereditary farm by combination, and larger farms would have to be subdivided.

Transmission Regional custom was allowed to decide only whether the eldest or the youngest son was to be the heir. In regions in which no particular custom prevailed, the youngest son was to be the heir. Still, the eldest son inherited the farm in most cases during the Third Reich. Priority was given to the patriline and so if there were no sons, brothers and their sons of the deceased peasant had precedence over the peasant's own daughters. Only about 35% of all farming units were covered by the law, and landed estates in East Elbia were not affected by it. Richard Walther Darré, in accordance with his strong "blood and soil" beliefs, did much to promote the law as the Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture and Reichsbauernführer.

Suppression In Allied-occupied Germany, after much debate about whether this law should be repealed for its Nazi roots or if it should be kept for the moment, after excising its most odious clauses, to protect the German food supply, in 1947 the Allied Control Council decided to repeal it and to regulate the transfer of forests and farms. On the occasion, other entailments were also repealed.

See also Fee tail Blood and Soil Ultimogeniture Primogeniture Serfdom

References

External links Text of the law: https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=1550&language=english

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reichserbhofgesetz

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reichserbhofgesetz claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Reichserbhofgesetz before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Reichserbhofgesetz ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Reichserbhofgesetz

In research: Reichserbhofgesetz appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Reichserbhofgesetz in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Reichserbhofgesetz is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1933 in Germany, 1933 in law, Agrarian politics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Reichserbhofgesetz outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Reichserbhofgesetz in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Reichserbhofgesetz means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Reichserbhofgesetz out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Reichserbhofgesetz in simple terms?

Why does Reichserbhofgesetz matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Reichserbhofgesetz?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Reichserbhofgesetz.