Reich Harvest Thanksgiving Festival

[3] The official purpose of the festival was the recognition of the achievements of the German farmers, whom the Nazis called the Reichsnährstand (the Reich's Food Estate).

[8] In addition to its agricultural theme, the festival was used by the Nazis to increase the contact of the Führer with the masses and to demonstrate the Reich's military prowess.

[3] The ideological underpinnings of the Reich Harvest Thanksgiving Festival were provided by Richard Walther Darré's ideas of "Blood and Soil".

[8] The inaugural celebrations in 1933 were met with success and this led Goebbels to the idea of converting the grounds to a "Germanic cult place" (Reichsthingstätte).

[8] As part of the celebrations, choirs consisting of thousands of singers sang nationalist anthems while pictures of distinguished farmers were distributed to the crowds.

[8] Bridges spanning the Weser river were constructed and used in mock battles with the participation of panzers and airplanes and a force of about 10,000 men, also featuring an attack on the Bückerdorf.

[8] In 1935, the attendance of the peasants at the festival fell due to their dissatisfaction with the policies of the Nazi party and the enactment of the Entailed Farm Law.

[11] In 1938, most of the preparations for the festival were finalised when the plans were abruptly cancelled due to logistical problems caused by the pending invasion of Czechoslovakia by Germany which necessitated the use of trains to move military materiel to the border rather than transporting peasants to Bückeberg to attend the celebrations.

The displayed propaganda toys and images also signified the intention of the regime to affect all stages of one's life from "cradle to grave".

However, upon closer inspection, architectural elements of its past can be discerned, chief among them the Führerweg, which now appears as a long line of grass clearly visible on the hillside.

[13] Given the significance of the site to Nazi history and the large numbers of people who gathered in the area during the festivities, the historical importance of the grounds is not in doubt.