Reichsnährstand Landesbauernschaft Rheinland Hauptabteilung II

This medal from 1936 documents the connection between National Socialist agricultural policy and traditional horse breeding in the Rhineland. With a diameter of 50 mm and manufactured in hollow, silver-plated form, it represents a typical exhibition prize from the Nazi era.

The Reichsnährstand (Reich Food Estate) was established on September 13, 1933, through the Reich Food Estate Law and represented the central organization of German agriculture and forestry in the Third Reich. Under the leadership of Richard Walther Darré, who served as Reich Farmers' Leader and Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture, the Reichsnährstand was intended to implement the National Socialist “Blood and Soil” ideology. The organization was divided into Landesbauernschaften (Regional Farmers' Associations) operating at the provincial level, with the Rhineland Regional Farmers' Association being one of the most significant.

The Provincial Horse Exhibition of 1936 took place in a year of particular propagandistic importance for the Nazi regime - the year of the Olympic Games in Berlin. Horse exhibitions of this type served multiple purposes: they were meant to promote the quality of German horse breeding, which was essential for military and agricultural purposes, while simultaneously glorifying National Socialist agricultural policy.

Hauptabteilung II (Main Department II) of the Reichsnährstand was typically responsible for specific specialized areas, with the organizational structure being hierarchically constructed. Horse breeding held a high priority in the Third Reich, as horses remained indispensable for agriculture and the Wehrmacht despite increasing motorization. Remounting, the supply of horses to the army, was a strategic concern of the regime.

Such medals were awarded at agricultural exhibitions as prizes for outstanding breeding achievements. The design typically followed classical models with agricultural motifs, swastikas, or Nazi symbolism. Hollow striking was a cost-saving manufacturing method frequently applied to larger medals. Nevertheless, the silver plating gave the object a representative character.

The Rhineland, as the Prussian Rhine Province, had a long tradition in horse breeding. Rhenish cold-blooded and warm-blooded horses were particularly renowned. The National Socialists instrumentalized these regional traditions for their purposes and integrated them into nationwide agricultural policy. Farmers' associations regularly organized exhibitions, breeding shows, and performance tests.

After World War II, the Reichsnährstand was dissolved, and such medals remained as historical witnesses to a dark epoch of German history. For collectors and historians today, they are important sources for researching Nazi agricultural policy and rural life in the Third Reich.