Fettlücke

Fettlücke (literally, "fat gap") was a German term for the structural shortage of edible and industrial fats and oils in Germany, especially during the interwar period and under Nazi rule.^[1][2] In historical scholarship, the term is chiefly associated with the Nazi regime's attempts to reduce dependence on imported fats as part of a broader policy of economic autarky.^[3]

Germany depended heavily on imported fats and oils for both food consumption and industrial uses.^[2] Because domestic agriculture could not fully replace these imports, a persistent supply gap remained.^[1] By 1938–39, Germany's self-sufficiency rate in fats was still only about 57 percent despite extensive state intervention.^[1][3] Although the problem had earlier precedents, after 1933 it acquired much greater political significance because the Nazi regime linked food security to social stability, rearmament, and preparation for war.^[1][3]

The fat shortage from 1933 onward has been described as a self-inflicted shortage caused by National Socialist policy. The German Reich sought to become more self-sufficient and to reduce or eliminate imports of fats. A wide range of measures was introduced in an effort to reduce dependence on imported fats, including tighter state control over the fats market, compulsory admixtures in margarine production, production quotas, labeling rules, levies, rationing measures, substitution policies, and campaigns to increase domestic output.^[1][3]

Under the Nazi regime, the Fettlücke was treated as a major weakness of the German food economy.^[1] Policymakers attempted to close the gap by increasing the domestic production of animal and vegetable fats, expanding the cultivation of oil crops such as rapeseed, steering consumption, developing substitutes, and securing supplies from abroad and later from occupied territories.^[1][2]

The expansion of oilseed cultivation formed part of the wider Erzeugungsschlacht ("battle for production"), a state-led agricultural campaign intended to raise domestic output.^[1] At the same time, shortages encouraged salvage and recycling campaigns, including efforts to recover fats from waste products and bones.^[4]

One of the principal means by which the regime attempted to manage the Fettlücke was fat rationing. These policies were intended to reduce dependence on imported fats, but they also contributed to the emergence of shortages. Another means of saving fats was the Eintopfsonntag ("one-pot Sunday meal"), which was intended to reduce the consumption of meat and fat.

On 23 December 1932, a decree enabled the mandatory admixture of butter, tallow, and lard in the production of margarine.^[5]

From 23 March 1933 onward, trade in oil margarine was subject to the Reichsstelle für Öle und Fette ("Reich Office for Oils and Fats"). From that point onward, the Reich Office had a right of first refusal for margarine and was also the sole body initially permitted to place it on the market.^[6][7]

Also on 23 March 1933, it was decreed that margarine factories were allowed to produce only 50 percent of the quantity they had produced between 1 October 1932 and 31 December 1932 during the period from 27 March 1933 to 30 June 1933. The Reich Office was also authorized to inspect and search margarine factories.^[8]

From 13 April 1933 onward, bakers, restaurateurs, and sellers of processed foods were required, when using margarine in their products, to indicate the exact ingredients on public notices. Margarine packaging likewise had to list the exact ingredients in a conspicuous place in clearly visible and easily legible writing.^[9]

From 13 April 1933 onward, margarine factories were also required to pay a compensatory levy on fats amounting to 0.50 Reichsmarks per kilogram.^[10][11][12] From 20 June 1933 onward, this compensatory levy was reduced according to the proportion of neutral pork lard mixed into the margarine.^[13]

On 21 June 1933 it was decreed that margarine factories were allowed to produce only 50 percent of the quantity they had produced between 1 October 1932 and 31 December 1932 during the period from 1 July 1933 to 30 September 1933.^[14]

On 23 September 1933 it was decreed that margarine factories would henceforth be allowed to produce only 50 percent each quarter of the quantity they had produced between 1 October 1932 and 31 December 1932. It was also decreed that, of the permitted production volume, 50 percent of the margarine had to be packaged in 1/2 kg or 1/4 kg packages labeled in a conspicuous place in clearly visible and easily legible writing with the words: "Household margarine; distribution only against ration coupon".^[15]

It was further decreed that in November and December 1933 margarine factories had to mix 5 percent neutral pork lard into margarine.^[16]

The Grottkauer Zeitung, a newspaper that described itself as the "official organ for the state, district, and municipal authorities" for the district of Grottkau, reported on 28 October 1933 on the local effects of the changed legal situation.^[17]

The article announced the distribution of coupons for the purchase of subsidized margarine. For needy persons, the coupons were to be distributed on Tuesday, 31 October 1933, from 8 a.m. onward at the municipal welfare office. All entitled persons were urged to collect their coupons on that day. Anyone who had previously received fat ration cards was entitled to receive them. In addition to coupons for household margarine, entitled persons were also to receive a Reich subsidy coupon for edible fats, which could be used when purchasing at least 1/2 pound of the listed fats, including sausage, with a value of 25 pfennigs credited in payment. For the period from 1 November to 31 December 1933, each entitled person was to receive such a Reich subsidy coupon.^[17]

For shops, all retail outlets selling margarine were instructed to collect written guidance on handling margarine from the municipal welfare office. The arrangement was intended to ensure that no shop selling margarine would be overlooked. Recipients of the coupons were instructed to hand them over immediately, if possible on Tuesday the 31st of that month, to the shop from which they intended to obtain household margarine.^[17]

Because domestic agriculture could not fully replace imported fats, the regime pursued a variety of compensatory measures. These included increasing the domestic production of animal and vegetable fats, expanding oilseed cultivation, developing substitutes, and promoting the recovery of fats from waste products and bones.^[1][4]

To help overcome the shortage, the regime also turned to whaling in the Antarctic. Between 1936 and 1939, more than 30,000 blue whales and fin whales were killed for this purpose, and whale populations in the affected waters have not recovered to this day.^[18][2]

After the outbreak of the Second World War, the Fettlücke remained unresolved.^[1][3] German authorities increasingly relied on imports, forced transfers, and the exploitation of occupied Europe to support the Reich's food supply.^[1] The shortage affected both civilian nutrition and industrial production, making fats a strategically sensitive commodity throughout the war.^[3][4]

Historians regard the Fettlücke as an example of the structural limits of Nazi autarky.^[3] Although the regime promoted domestic production, rationing, administrative controls, substitute strategies, salvage campaigns, and overseas procurement, Germany remained unable to eliminate its dependence on external supplies of fats and oils.^[1][2]