Herbert Backe
A Nazi architect of mass starvation, he planned to kill millions of Slavic and Jewish people by deliberately seizing their food.
1896–1947 (age 51)·German Nazi politician and SS functionary·Birthday: May 1·The Lost Generation
Biography
Herbert Backe was born in Georgia to German parents and studied agriculture, a path that led him into the heart of the Nazi regime. He rose under the mentorship of Richard Walther Darré, becoming the de facto head of Germany's food supply during World War II. Backe was no mere bureaucrat; he was a committed racial ideologue who weaponized hunger. His most infamous contribution was the 'Hunger Plan,' a coldly calculated strategy following the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. The plan aimed to systematically divert Ukrainian grain and other foodstuffs to feed German armies and civilians, while condemning tens of millions of 'useless eaters'—Slavic and Jewish populations—to death by starvation. This policy was a foundational component of the Holocaust and the war of annihilation in the East. Captured after the war, Backe hanged himself in his Nuremberg cell in 1947 before he could stand trial for his crimes.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Herbert was born in 1896, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Herbert Was Born
The biggest hits of 1896
Herbert's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1896Born
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1901Started school
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Became a teenager
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1912Could drive
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1914Could vote
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1917Turned 21
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Turned 30
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1936Turned 40
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1946Turned 50
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1947Died at 51
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
Key Achievements
- Served as Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture and managed Germany's wartime food economy.
- Co-authored and was the primary executor of the 'Hunger Plan' (Der Hungerplan) for the occupied Soviet territories.
- Became a key economic planner for Albert Speer's armaments ministry in the final years of the war.
Did You Know?
He was born in Batumi, Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire.
Backe was a close personal friend of SS leader Reinhard Heydrich.
He committed suicide by hanging with a rope made from intertwined towels.
“The food question is a power question; it decides the fate of nations.”
