The festival was originally a religious celebration for a good harvest season and a recognition of the achievements of the German farmers.
About 500.000 attendants took part in the festival of 1933, in 1937 it were 1.3 million.
The Reichserntedankfest on the about five kilometers south of Hameln located Bückeberg, colloquially called also Bückebergfest, took place in the years 1933 to 1937 respectively on the first Sunday after the Michaelistag (September 29). In addition to the NSDAP Party rally in Nuremberg and the celebration of 1 May (Day of national work or from 1934 "National Holiday of the German people") in Berlin, it was the largest mass event of the NSDAP. As a fairground served an artificially flattened lawn on the northern slope of the mountain of about 600 by 300 meters. The Reichserntedankfesten was attended by over one million people from all over the German Reich, mainly from the peasantry, as well as leading National Socialists such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Reichsbauernführer Walther Darré and others. In the run-up to the Reichserntedankfestes the Reichsbauerntag took place in Goslar, which was an internal event of the Reichsbauernrat.
In 1938 the festival was cancelled and never held again due to the beginning of WWII. Most of the preparations for the festival were finalised when the plans were abruptly cancelled due to logistical problems caused by the pending invasion of Czechoslovakia by Germany which necessitated the use of trains to move military materiel to the border rather than transporting peasants to Bückeberg to attend the celebrations.
The Reichserntedankfest was part of a cycle of NSDAP celebrations which included the annual party rally at Nuremberg, Hitler's birthday celebrations and other important events on the NSDAP calendar.
About 500.000 attendants took part in the festival of 1933, in 1937 it were 1.3 million.
The Reichserntedankfest on the about five kilometers south of Hameln located Bückeberg, colloquially called also Bückebergfest, took place in the years 1933 to 1937 respectively on the first Sunday after the Michaelistag (September 29). In addition to the NSDAP Party rally in Nuremberg and the celebration of 1 May (Day of national work or from 1934 "National Holiday of the German people") in Berlin, it was the largest mass event of the NSDAP. As a fairground served an artificially flattened lawn on the northern slope of the mountain of about 600 by 300 meters. The Reichserntedankfesten was attended by over one million people from all over the German Reich, mainly from the peasantry, as well as leading National Socialists such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Reichsbauernführer Walther Darré and others. In the run-up to the Reichserntedankfestes the Reichsbauerntag took place in Goslar, which was an internal event of the Reichsbauernrat.
In 1938 the festival was cancelled and never held again due to the beginning of WWII. Most of the preparations for the festival were finalised when the plans were abruptly cancelled due to logistical problems caused by the pending invasion of Czechoslovakia by Germany which necessitated the use of trains to move military materiel to the border rather than transporting peasants to Bückeberg to attend the celebrations.
The Reichserntedankfest was part of a cycle of NSDAP celebrations which included the annual party rally at Nuremberg, Hitler's birthday celebrations and other important events on the NSDAP calendar.