Landarbeit (LFS00255)
Résumé
Description
Ernte von Gemüse, Getreide und Kartoffeln in der Gegend um Lahr, Ernte von Kohl auf der Stadtparkwiese, Vorbereitung der Böden für die Saat u. einer Anbaufläche vor dem neuen Rathaus in Lahr.
Contexte et analyse
On behalf of the city, the Lahr photographer master Eugen Dieterle (1910 - 1983) made this film about agricultural work in 1942, which is partly staged. During the Nazi era, he made several films about events in Lahr and created a series of photos about agricultural work that can be found in the city archive. The film apparently shows a perfectly functioning agriculture in the middle of the Second World War. It shows the sowing and processing until the autumn harvest, which indicates that the film was made between early March and October. It is mainly older men on tractors, people collecting and storing the harvest and many young women and young people who shape the picture.
During the Second World War the food supply was important to the Nazi regime. From the perspective of the National Socialists, the First World War was lost in 1918 due to a starving population. The decline in the people's war morale and the dwindling fighting power of the soldiers were seen as the main cause of the defeat. Nevertheless, the expansion of the defense industry was more important. The production of food was cut back and its consumption rationed. The political goal was to ensure a subsistence level to prevent the system from collapsing again morally and politically. The rationing of food was enacted on August 27, 1939, shortly before the German attack on Poland. From this point on, meat, fat, sugar, jam and other consumer goods such as soap or textiles were only allowed to be purchased with special coupons. From April 1942 there was a drastic cut in the food supply for the population, as fewer slaughterings were carried out and the grain harvest was also poor. Overall, the vegetarian portion of food was doubled in the course of the war. In addition to the harvest of potatoes, cereals and cucumbers, the film also shows a huge field of cabbage. In view of the growing need for vegetables and the limited area of arable land, one was forced to create new acreage. For this reason, the film not only takes place in fields in the Lahr area like Meißenheim, but also directly in the city. There was e.g. a meadow in front of the New Town Hall in Lahr has been converted into arable land. The city park was also used to grow white and cauliflower.
Mechanization of agriculture
The use of tractors and modern harvesting machines was by no means new territory in agriculture in 1942. They have been used since the middle of the 19th century because industrialization caused a rural exodus that could be compensated for by mechanizing agriculture. Productivity has been increased in connection with new methods of pest control and fertilization as well as seed improvement. The film shows, among other things, a plow pulled by a tractor, an electric milling drum that can be used to loosen the soil and a combine harvester from the American brand McCormick. Nevertheless, the technical level in agriculture was low compared to industry. There were major deficits, especially in vegetable growing. Older machines that had been imported from abroad before the war could no longer be repaired. At the end of the war, farmers had to switch to manual labor again, and the need for workers had to be met through the use of women, children and also forced labor. The film's impression that the farmers had a wide range of technical harvesters available is only partially in line with reality.
Groups of people in agriculture 1942
Lieux ou monuments
- ↑ Cette fiche est en cours de rédaction. À ce titre elle peut être inachevée et contenir des erreurs.
