Richard Walter Darre

Richard Walter Darre (1895-1953) was a German agronomist, mystic in "back to the soil" movements such as Artamanen (a group later merged with Hitler Youth), and an early Nazi. He came to the Party as a friend of Heinrich Himmler, although they clashed later in his career. While in Artamanen, he shared ideas with Karl Haushofer, another member. His "blood and soil" ideas were part of Lebensraum doctrine.

During the rise of the Nazis in national influence, he was Chief of the Party Agrarian Office, with the rank of Reichsleiter. Later, he was Food & Agriculture minister before losing influence. Part of his loss of status came when his ideas on economic protection of farmers clashed with the free-market economies of Hjalmar Schacht. It has been reported that he was both inefficient in producing wartime food, but that he also disagreed with Hitler about reducing the food for slave laborars.

He was convicted of stealing from occupied countries in the Ministries Case (NMT).