Hunger Plan

Hunger Plan. The Hunger Plan was a Nazi economic and racial policy of systematic starvation conceived during preparations for Operation Barbarossa, the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. Formulated primarily by State Secretary Herbert Backe under the authority of Hermann Göring, the plan aimed to divert all food resources from occupied Soviet territories to feed the Wehrmacht and the German home front. Its deliberate implementation led to the deaths of millions of Soviet civilians, particularly in major urban centers like Leningrad, Kharkiv, and Kiev, and is considered a central component of the Generalplan Ost.

Background and origins

The ideological foundations for the plan were rooted in Nazi racial theory, which classified Slavs as "subhumans" and viewed the agricultural regions of the Soviet Union, especially Ukraine, as vital sources of plunder. This thinking was heavily influenced by the experiences of World War I, where the Allied blockade was believed to have caused German defeat through starvation. Key figures like Adolf Hitler, Alfred Rosenberg, and Heinrich Himmler saw the coming war in the East as a war of annihilation for both ideological and economic resources. The concept was further developed within the framework of the Four Year Plan office, drawing on earlier agricultural studies of the European parts of the USSR.

Planning and objectives

The formal planning was coordinated by Herbert Backe within the Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture, culminating in a series of economic guidelines issued in May 1941. The primary objective was to make the Wehrmacht "live off the land" entirely, while seizing all surplus foodstuffs to supply the Greater Germanic Reich and prevent rationing cuts in cities like Berlin. Detailed calculations, known as the "Backe Notes," coldly projected the starvation of "x million people" through the cutting of food supplies to the Soviet industrial regions. The plan was integrated into the directives for the Economic Staff East and received explicit approval from Hitler during meetings at the Wolf's Lair.

Implementation and impact

Implementation began immediately with the launch of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, enforced by the Wehrmacht, the SS, and administrative bodies like the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. The Siege of Leningrad became the most extreme example, where over one million civilians perished from hunger. In occupied cities such as Kharkiv and Kiev, German authorities deliberately withheld food, leading to widespread famine and cannibalism. The policy also targeted Jews in ghettos like the Warsaw Ghetto and was a key tool in the Holocaust by bullet across the Eastern Front. Overall, historians estimate the plan caused over 4.2 million civilian deaths from starvation in occupied Soviet territories.

International context and reactions

The Hunger Plan operated within the broader context of World War II economic warfare and German-occupied Europe. While the Allies were aware of widespread starvation from intelligence reports and the work of figures like Jan Karski, it did not become a major focal point of wartime propaganda like the Katyn massacre. The policy was distinct from, though parallel to, other Nazi crimes such as the Final Solution administered by the RSHA. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact had earlier facilitated the Soviet occupation of territories like the Baltic states, which later also suffered under German agricultural exploitation.

Aftermath and legacy

The Hunger Plan was largely abandoned by 1944 due to the Red Army's advances and the failure of German economic aims. Its principal architect, Herbert Backe, was captured after the Battle of Berlin and committed suicide in 1947 while awaiting trial at Nuremberg. The policy was examined during the High Command Trial and the Ministries Trial, contributing to the legal concept of crimes against humanity. Today, it is studied by historians such as Timothy Snyder and Christian Gerlach as a critical example of economic genocide and a central, often under-recognized, element of the immense civilian toll on the Eastern Front.

Category:Nazi war crimes Category:World War II crimes in the Soviet Union Category:Mass murder in 1941 Category:Mass murder in 1942 Category:Mass murder in 1943 Category:Mass murder in 1944 Category:Economic history of Nazi Germany Category:German occupation of the Soviet Union