Herbert Backe

Early life and background

Backe was born in Batumi, then part of the Russian Empire, a Black Sea port city now in modern Georgia (Batumi). Trained and active in agricultural administration and policy, he rose through various bureaucratic posts and became known within the leadership of the Third Reich government for his technical knowledge and political zeal. His expertise in agricultural organization informed the roles he later assumed at the national level.

Political career and offices

During the war years Backe held senior responsibilities for provisioning and food administration. In May 1942 he was appointed Reich Minister of Food (Minister of Food) and in April 1944 took on the formal portfolio of Agriculture. In the chaotic final days of the conflict he served briefly in the transitional cabinet of Admiral Karl Dönitz (Dönitz), as Germany collapsed in the closing phase of World War II. His elevation to such posts came with the direct political backing of Adolf Hitler (Adolf Hitler), reflecting his alignment with wartime priorities to secure supplies for Germany.

Policies and the "Hunger Plan"

Backe is most frequently associated with the so-called Hunger Plan, a wartime program that centralized stolen agricultural produce and foodstuffs from conquered regions to feed Germany and its armed forces. Senior ideologues such as Alfred Rosenberg are recorded as favoring Backe for implementation tasks, including proposals that would place him in charge of occupied territories like the Ukrainian administration (Alfred Rosenberg and the Ukraine Reichskommissariat). Historians link Backe’s policies to systematic requisitioning that produced widespread shortages and contributed to mass civilian starvation in parts of the occupied Soviet Union. Estimates of victims vary; scholars describe the program as causing the deaths of millions and as part of the broader genocidal and colonial objectives of Nazi planning.

Arrest, legal proceedings and death

After Germany's surrender Backe was taken into custody by the Allied authorities (Allies) and was to be tried for his role in the regime's criminal policies at the postwar Ministries Trial (Ministries Trial). Before proceedings concluded he died by suicide in custody, hanging himself in his cell (hanging) at the Nuremberg detention complex (Nuremberg) on 6 April 1947.

Legacy and historical assessment

Scholars view Backe as a central figure in the Nazi system of economic exploitation in the East. His career is studied as an example of how technical administrators translated ideological objectives into policies with catastrophic human consequences. The Hunger Plan and related measures are cited in histories of Nazi occupation as key instances where economic policy and genocidal aims overlapped.

• Political role
• Ministerial positions
• Postwar prosecution