1937 Nazi German Third reich Fat Rationing Document Sheet Four Year Plan Household Food Control

Original German 1937 civilian food-control and rationing instruction leaflet titled:

“Merkblatt über Fettbezug ab Januar 1937”
“Information Sheet Concerning the Purchase/Allocation of Fats Beginning January 1937.”

This is an especially interesting pre-WWII German home-front economic document explaining the government-controlled distribution of edible fats beginning in January 1937.

The opening section, “Fettversorgung im Vierjahresplan” (“Fat Supply under the Four-Year Plan”), explains that Germany remained dependent on foreign sources for a comparatively large portion of its fat supply and that domestic consumption therefore had to be regulated according to the availability of imports under the Four-Year Plan.

A particularly significant passage states that the purchase of fats by less-affluent citizens was to be ensured first.

The document goes into considerable detail concerning:

• Konsummargarine — subsidized/controlled consumer margarine.
• Distribution of Speck, Schmalz und Talg — bacon, lard and tallow.
• Butter, vegetable fats, cooking oils and margarine.
• The establishment of “Kundenlisten” or customer lists maintained by retailers and butchers.
• Restrictions preventing customers from registering with multiple dealers to obtain additional supplies.
• The use of Haushaltsnachweise (household certificates) to determine household size.
• Regulations concerning Selbstversorger — households producing more than 80% of their own fat requirements.
• Teilselbstversorger — partially self-sufficient households producing less than 80%.
• Procedures when the number of people in a household changed.

One particularly interesting regulation states that without being entered on the appropriate Kundenliste, no controlled fat would be supplied, including to holders of certain fat or margarine entitlement certificates.

The leaflet therefore provides an excellent snapshot of Germany’s increasing regulation of civilian food supplies more than two years before the outbreak of WWII.

The reverse continues the regulations through numbered sections 7–10, dealing with self-sufficient households, partially self-sufficient households, household changes and replacement household certificates.

This piece would display particularly well alongside the related 1936 Haushaltsnachweis household certificate and customer-list document, as the two pieces illustrate different parts of the same developing food-distribution system.

Condition: Original period paper with age toning, fold lines/creases and two punched filing holes along the margin. Printing remains strong and highly legible. Please examine photographs for exact condition.

English Translation of Main Heading

“Information Sheet Concerning the Purchase/Allocation of Fats Beginning January 1937.”

Subheadings include:

Fettversorgung im Vierjahresplan — Fat Supply under the Four-Year Plan
Bezug von Konsummargarine — Purchase/Allocation of Consumer Margarine
Bezug der übrigen Fette — Purchase/Allocation of Other Fats
Kundenlisten — Customer Lists
Haushaltsnachweis — Household Verification
Selbstversorger — Self-Suppliers
Teilselbstversorger — Partial Self-Suppliers
Änderungen im Haushalt — Changes in the Household

SEO Keywords: Original 1937 German Document, German Food Rationing, Fettbezug, Four Year Plan, Vierjahresplan, Haushaltsnachweis, Kundenliste, German Civilian Rationing, Fat Rationing, Butter Rationing, Margarine, Speck Schmalz Talg, German Home Front, Pre WWII Germany, 1930s German Ephemera, German Economic History, Food Control, Civilian Food Supply, Original German Paperwork.