ABSTRACT
The German army had gone to war in an enthusiastic mood in 1914; however soldiers returned exhausted and underfed to their hungry families at the end of the war. The experience of the First World War had clearly demonstrated the fragility of Germany’s national food economy and, therefore, the National Socialist regime began to plan its food strategy from early on. Very soon after the Nazis came to power they began to subsidize research institutes in the field of agricultural research heavily. A large and comprehensive research programme on breeding, food manufacture and physiology was established. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung [German Dietetic Association] was founded and funding of the German Research Association was increased. Finally, new journals like the Zeitschrift für Ernährung [Journal of Nutrition] and Zeitschrift für Gemeinschaftsverpflegung [Journal of Collective Feeding] were established in 1936. 1
