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137-698: The Hunger Plan was first formulated by senior German officials during a Staatssekretäre meeting on 2 May 1941 to prepare for the Wehrmacht (German armed forces) invasion and the Nazi war of extermination ( Vernichtungskrieg ) in Eastern Europe. Its means of mass murder were outlined in several documents, including one that became known as Göring's Green Folder . As part of the plan, Nazi military forces were ordered to capture food stocks in occupied territories, redirect them to supply German troops and fuel

274-430: A "Secretary", a lower position, responsible to a Minister. The official responsible for foreign policy is called Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores) or "Chancellor" (Canciller). In Brazil , a Secretary of State ( Portuguese : secretário de Estado or secretário estadual ) – commonly referred simply as "Secretary" ( Portuguese : secretário ) is one of the government members of each of

411-607: A Secretary of State ( Secrétaire d'État ) is a junior minister, responsible to a minister or the Prime Minister. It is not to be confused with the Minister of State title given to a senior French cabinet minister of particular importance. Under the Ancien Régime , Secretaries of State were Crown officers whose responsibilities were similar to those of today's governmental ministers . The German Staatssekretär

548-461: A Secretary of State for External Affairs who acted as the country's Foreign Minister , but this position was abolished in 1993 and a new position of Minister of Foreign Affairs was created. From 1867 to 1993, there was also a Secretary of State for Canada who was a Cabinet minister whose duties varied over time but who was responsible for the Department of Secretary of State until the position

685-399: A civil servant. Nevertheless, Staatssekretäre function as the administrative heads of ministries. They depend on the full confidence of their respective ministers and can at any time be posted into provisional retirement with their pension paid in full. This happens usually when the government or the minister changes. De facto such a provisional retirement is lifelong. A special case is

822-572: A considerable drop in agricultural output. A key factor was the 1909 Declaration of London , which attempted to establish the generally recognized rules of international law. While signed, it was never formally ratified by any country (the US Senate consented to, not in time for the start of the war). The British, in particular, did not wholly accept the Declaration, but did not disregard it entirely either. As well as specifying certain rules on

959-767: A continuation of the war) and gave them to the civilian population. Sally Marks argues that accounts of a hunger blockade are a "myth" since worse conditions occurred at the same time in Belgium and the regions of Poland and of northern France that Germany had occupied, and notes known cases of fabricated accounts of starving children. Mary Cox rejects such arguments, writing that even though German reports (including "freakish" photos of starving children) were exaggerated for political effect, even though some parts of Europe may have suffered worse, many millions undoubtedly did suffer intense nutritional deprivation to which intentional Allied policy played some part. The impact on childhood

1096-682: A decree interpreted by the British as putting the food supply all under the control of the German Army. Thus the Wilhelmina was detained in Falmouth, Cornwall from 9 February, while the British, Germans and Americans debated how the decree affected the original assurance. The 11 March Order in Council overtook prize court proceedings which were originally planned for 31 March and the issue

1233-674: A firm hold of the situation, the diplomatic situation was more fluid. Britain's blockade did not cover Germany's surrounding neutral countries, and so could not be truly effective without their cooperation. German markets could offer high prices, and thus imports from these countries soared. The Netherlands became the biggest food supplier to Germany in 1915, with cheese exports tripling and some other products quintupling. Germany had prevented them from exporting to occupied Belgium, and Dutch traders found they could profit by consuming imports and exporting domestic production to bypass Allied requests to not allow re-exportation . To counter this, from 1916

1370-543: A full prohibition in May 1918. According to historian Alan Kramer  [ de ] , a related and perhaps more important issue for Germany was simply the fact that Germany ended up at war with most of its trading partners. Kramer notes that of the 2.5 million tons of wheat Germany imported in 1913, 0.85m tons came from Canada and Russia, 0.09m tons came from Romania (which joined the Allies in 1916) and 1.0m tons came from

1507-482: A higher rate than Germans (1.3%, compared to Germany's ~1%). While the British did not suffer hunger (since the U-boat campaign failed dismally in its objectives), deaths came from diseases associated with bad wartime conditions. Official German figures for the death toll from the blockade do not cover the postwar period, though Dr. Max Rubner in an April 1919 article claimed that 100,000 German civilians had died from

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1644-436: A mere 7.5 percent of human daily needs; Polish rations only 26 percent. Only the rations allocated to Germans fulfilled the full needs of their daily caloric intake. Staatssekret%C3%A4r The title secretary of state or state's secretary is commonly used for senior or mid-level posts in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple secretaries of state in

1781-662: A result of the Plan. In August, the Polish capital Warsaw was cut off from grain deliveries. Only the bumper harvest of 1943 and the collapsing Eastern Front of 1944 saved the Poles from starvation. Western Europe was third on the German list for the re-distribution of food, which was also shipped to Germany from France and other occupied territories in the West, but these were never subjected to

1918-459: A secretary of State to be in charge of a secretariat of State ( Portuguese : secretaria de Estado ), a Government department with a status below that of a ministry. A secretariat of State could be organized as a division of a ministry or occasionally be directly subordinate to the Prime Minister. For example, from 1987 to 1995, a Secretariat of State for the Culture existed directly subordinate to

2055-451: A situation worsened with the outbreak of war as the military recruited labourers, requisitioned tractors and horses, and was first priority for fuel. Overall food consumption needed to be reduced. The situation was even worse by 1941, as reserve grain stocks had been consumed and the occupation of large parts of Europe had only worsened the situation, as most of these countries were also net food importers. German leadership, especially Hitler,

2192-417: A state of constant change and revision until 1914, with the navy undecided over how best to operate such a blockade. A traditional "close blockade" involved warships being stationed directly outside an enemy's ports. By 1912, improvements in naval technology especially in torpedo boats , mines , coastal artillery and submarines led to fears that blockading ships would be vulnerable. Therefore, by July 1914,

2329-476: Is a Beamter (civil servant) who ranks second only to the minister in a state or federal ministry, so the position is equivalent to that of Permanent secretary in the United Kingdom, not to that of a U.K. Secretary of State . While officially it is not a political office, often it is assigned by appointment based on political criteria such as party affiliation, rather than by career progression as

2466-583: Is also, in protocol , the first Cabinet member in the order of precedence , immediately preceding any former presidents and former first ladies, who are followed by the rest of the Cabinet. In most of the individual states of the United States , the Secretary of State is an administrative officer responsible for certain governmental functions. The specific powers and duties of this office depend on

2603-530: Is fed from Russia in the third year of the war. 2.) If we take what we need out of the country, there can be no doubt that tens of millions of people will die of starvation. The minutes of the meeting exemplify German planning for the occupation of the Soviet Union. They present a deliberate decision on the life and death of vast parts of the local population as a logical, inevitable development. Three weeks later, on 23 May 1941, economic policy guidelines for

2740-677: Is responsible for the administration of United States embassies and their subsidiary units throughout the world. The U.S. secretary of state has the power to remove any foreign diplomat from U.S. soil for any reason. Six secretaries of state became presidents ( Thomas Jefferson , James Madison , James Monroe , John Quincy Adams , Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan ) and five won Nobel Peace Prizes ( Frank Kellogg , Cordell Hull , George Marshall , Elihu Root , and Henry Kissinger ). The now long-established terms "Department ..." and "Secretary of State" were preceded (for two months following

2877-410: Is responsible to the minister. This is a new arrangement; during the introduction of this model, a secretary was called "political state secretary" ( poliittinen valtiosihteeri ). In contrast, previously only two ministries, Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs, used to have state secretaries, who were permanently appointed. One such example is Raimo Sailas  [ fi ] . In France ,

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3014-666: The government of the Brussels-Capital Region , one of whom has to be Flemish. The secretary of state ( Riigisekretär ) directs the Government Office . Its mission is to support the Government of Estonia and the Prime Minister of Estonia in policy drafting and implementation. It also supports any Ministers without portfolio and helps to ensure good governance. The first Secretary of State

3151-674: The Allies during and after World War I in an effort to restrict the maritime supply of goods to the Central Powers , which included Germany , Austria-Hungary , and the Ottoman Empire . The blockade is considered one of the key elements in the eventual Allied victory in the war. In December 1918, the German Board of Public Health claimed that 763,000 German civilians had already died from starvation and disease caused by

3288-726: The Brazilian states , subordinate to the respective State Governor . At state level, the Brazilian secretaries of State have functions similar to those of the Ministers of the Federal Government . At federal level, the officer responsible for foreign affairs, a position equivalent to that of the United States Secretary of State, is the Minister of Foreign Affairs . The Canadian Cabinet used to have

3425-831: The Catholic Church , the cardinal secretary of state coordinates all the departments of the Roman Curia (and is in that respect equivalent to a prime minister ). The United States secretary of state is the foreign minister of the federal government of the United States while in most of the individual U.S. states the secretary of state is an administrative officer responsible for certain governmental functions, often including overseeing elections, tasks which would be exercised by interior ministers or secretaries in most other nations. The term secretary of state originated in early 17th century England . In

3562-649: The Orange Free State (1854–1902) the Secretary of State was the original title of the main administrative officer of the State, who worked closely with both the State President as head of state and head of government, and his cabinet, and with the Volksraad , the parliament of the Orange Free State . The title of State Secretary was replaced by that of Government Secretary soon after the formation of

3699-651: The Parliamentary State Secretary ( Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär ), who is a member of parliament who is appointed to a ministry as a Staatssekretär ; in the German Foreign Office and the German Chancellery the official title is Staatsminister ( Minister of State ). Critics claim that parliamentary secretaries of state are usually given little to no influence and responsibility within their ministry, all

3836-537: The Royal Navy 's functions in such a war would be the capture of German commercial shipping and the blockade of German ports. A blockade was considered useful for two reasons: it could force the enemy's fleet to fight, and it could act as an economic weapon to destroy German commerce. It was not until 1908, however, that a blockade of Germany formally appeared in the navy's war plans and even then some officials were divided over how feasible it was. The plans remained in

3973-476: The Spanish flu epidemic in 1918 because the figures for the last six months of 1918 were estimated by the first six months. This estimate has been heavily criticised. Maurice Parmelle maintained that "it is very far from accurate to attribute to the blockade all of the excess deaths above pre-war mortality" and believed that the German figures were "somewhat exaggerated", while in 1985 C. Paul Vincent wrote that

4110-553: The Staatsminister office an " Unding " (absurdity). In 1998, chancellor Gerhard Schröder introduced the new office of Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media ( German : Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien ) at the formal rank of a Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär , hence the office is usually called Kulturstaatsminister ("State Minister of Culture") for short – although some of

4247-667: The State Financial Officer to implement the Sultan’s executive authority. Additionally, in legal matters involving government personnel, documents signed by the State Secretary, such as those certifying employment details, were accepted as conclusive evidence in court. In Indonesia , the Minister-Secretary of State ( Menteri Sekretaris Negara ) is a Government official of Ministerial rank who heads

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4384-515: The Treaty of Versailles . The official German statistics estimated 763,000 civilian malnutrition and disease deaths were caused by the blockade of Germany. The statistics came from a German National Health Office report published in December 1918 that estimated the blockade to be responsible for the deaths of 762,796 civilians, and the report claimed that that figure did not include deaths caused by

4521-576: The U-boat campaign . The German High Seas Fleet also set out multiple times from 1914 to 1916 to reduce the British Grand Fleet and regain access to vital imports. The sea conflicts culminated in the indecisive Battle of Jutland in 1916, never succeeding in breaking the blockade. Some German merchant ships served as blockade runners that were able to elude the Northern Patrol in periods of poor visibility. Neutral shipping

4658-463: The US . Further, more than half of Germany's exports, with which it might expect to pay for imports, were to Britain, Russia and France. Before the war, more than 50% of German imports had been raw or semi-finished materials for German industry; chiefly textile fibres and yarn, animal hides, non-ferrous metals and ores, timber, iron ore, coal, crude oil and oil products, saltpeter and rubber. Although at

4795-570: The agricultural surplus in Ukraine for the purpose of feeding the Reich called for: Discussing the plan, Backe noted a "surplus population" in Russia of 20 to 30 million. If that population were cut off from food, that food could be used for the invading German Army and the German population. Industrialization had created an urban population of many millions in the Soviet Union. Great suffering among

4932-504: The black market the poor could ill afford. Thus, German policy frequently served to make food shortages worse. Particularly resented was the effect of unequal distribution. Civilians were expected to compensate for the blockade by working harder than ever. For example, the Hindenburg Programme of economic was launched on 31 August 1916 and designed to raise war productivity by the compulsory employment of all men between

5069-552: The president of the Republic . In the United States federal government, "Secretary of State" refers to the official responsible for executing the non-military and non-homeland security aspects of foreign policy, the analogue of the foreign secretary or foreign minister of a country that has one or the other. The U.S. secretary of state is head of the United States Department of State . The secretary of state

5206-528: The "principal offender", as it was also increasing imports from America enormously so that it could export to Germany at a profit. Exports to Germany from Sweden, Denmark and Norway increased in 1915 to almost exactly equal the loss of trade with the US. The Entente could do little to intervene as the Swedes also controlled the transit of goods to Russia. In 1916, German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg declared that without

5343-640: The (Raja of Perlis). The State Secretary is the head of the public service in his/her state. Following the Portuguese model , in the Government of Timor-Leste , a Secretary of State ( Sekretáriu Estadu in Tetum , Secretário de Estado in Portuguese ) is a junior minister, subordinate to a cabinet minister. Despite being members of the Government, the Secretaries of State usually do not participate in

5480-512: The 19th century, the title of "minister" started to be used, the official complete title of each of the ministers becoming "minister and secretary of State" of a given portfolio until the end of the Monarchy in 1910 . From them on, the title "minister" completely replaced that of "secretary of State" (with the exception of the brief presidential system that existed during 1918, in which the ministers were re-titled "secretaries of State"). In 1958,

5617-544: The Allied demand to temporarily surrender its merchant ships to their control so as to provide transport. The head of the German armistice delegation, Matthias Erzberger wanted guarantees that the food imports could be financed with foreign credit owed to German businesses. Leaders in industry and government feared that the Allies might confiscate the fleet as reparations so as to gain a competitive edge over German industries. Privately, German authorities had initially considered

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5754-504: The Americans and set up a program to buy American cotton, guaranteed that the price stayed above peacetime levels and mollified cotton traders. When American ships were stopped with contraband, the British purchased the entire cargo and released the cargoless ship. Ultimately, the British were more successful with neutral countries as their blockade was careful to limit inconveniences to neutrals, while German efforts at raiding traffic to

5891-535: The British War Cabinet on 1 January 1917 stated that very few supplies were reaching Germany or its allies via the North Sea or other areas such as Austria-Hungary's Adriatic ports, which had been subject to a French blockade since 1914. The German government regarded the blockade as an attempt to starve the country into defeat. Militarily, they attempted to retaliate in kind, in particular through

6028-560: The British had decided that in the event of war with Germany, a "distant blockade" controlling entry to the Atlantic Ocean through the North Sea would be the best strategy. Meanwhile, Germany had made no specific plans to manage its wartime food supplies since in peacetime, it produced about 80% of its total consumption. The Germans also expected to requisition supplies from occupied territories, furthermore, overland imports from

6165-522: The Central Powers alliance, such as bauxite for aluminium production from Austria-Hungary and oil from Austrian Galicia . Oil was also imported overland from Romania, until it joined the Entente in mid-1916. However, not all of the shortages could be made good. Lack of rubber meant that trucks had to be fitted with iron tyres, limiting their speed to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h). The army

6302-589: The Commonwealth ", since these states as well as Kentucky are called " commonwealth " instead of "state". In Connecticut , this office is called the " Secretary of the State ". In three states ( Alaska , Hawaii and Utah ), there is no secretary of state. The State Secretary ( Setiausaha Kerajaan ) was established to support the Menteri Besar in overseeing Brunei's administrative functions. The position

6439-556: The Council of Ministers, unless they are specially summoned for and, in this case, without right to vote. As in France , a secretary of state in Belgium is a junior minister who is responsible to a minister or to the prime minister. For example, Vincent Van Quickenborne was a secretary of state charged with the simplification of the administration, and in this role he was accountable to the prime minister . The title "secretary of state"

6576-577: The Entente Powers made deals to purchase commodities in these countries at above-market prices, to prevent them from being bought by the Germans. This operation was overseen in the United Kingdom by the Ministry of Blockade . This was not initially successful, especially as Germany responded by torpedoing Dutch ships, forcing their exports to go to Germany. Other British officials saw Sweden as

6713-819: The European belligerents came primarily from the Americas and had to be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean , which made Britain and Germany aim to blockade each other. The British Royal Navy was superior in numbers and could operate throughout the British Empire , while the German Kaiserliche Marine surface fleet was mainly restricted to the German Bight , using its commerce raiders and submarine warfare elsewhere. Germany

6850-442: The European food crisis and a method for exterminating the "undesirable" Soviet population. The Hunger Plan caused the deaths of millions of citizens in the German-occupied territories of the Soviet Union. The historian Timothy Snyder estimates that "4.2 million Soviet citizens (largely Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians) [were] starved by the German occupiers in 1941–1944". Starvation rates were particularly high among Jews, whom

6987-463: The German left. Ultimately, food began arriving in American ships in March, and facing the threat of food riots, Germany finally agreed to surrender its fleet on 14 March 1919. The Allies allowed Germany, under their supervision, to import 300,000 tons of grain and 70,000 tons of cured pork per month until August 1919, making them the largest recipient of food imports. The remaining restrictions were finally lifted on 12 July 1919 after Germany had signed

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7124-434: The German legal argument that coastal towns could be treated as fortifications and subjected to bombardment . Despite protests, most neutral merchant vessels agreed to dock at British ports to be inspected and then escorted, less any "illegal" cargo destined for Germany, through the British minefields to their destinations. In March 1916, at the suggestion of Robert Peet Skinner , the United States Consul General in London,

7261-431: The German people, they were the most devastating months, as "Germany's deplorable state further deteriorated." N. P. Howard places half of his overall estimate of 474,085 excess civilian deaths (including influenza) into the postwar period, but attributes around 100,000 to incipient famine conditions in the first month. Conditions greatly improved after soldier's councils raided large military food reserves (set aside for

7398-423: The German war economy. In addition to the extensive exploitation of resources to support German war economy, the Hunger Plan intended to create an artificial famine in Eastern Europe , which would have resulted in deaths of around 31 to 45 million inhabitants through forced starvation . Germany in the 1930s, like other European countries, was not self-sufficient and relied on foreign imports to feed its population,

7535-401: The Government is the Malaysian secretary of state. However, every state in Malaysia have their own State Secretary, except federal territories. Secretary of State is the member of the State Executive Council, appointed by the Governor (in Malacca , Penang , Sabah and Sarawak ) or the Sultan (except in Negeri Sembilan , appointed by the Yang DiPertuan Besar ; and Perlis , appointed by

7672-422: The Jewish population in ghettos (especially in the Warsaw Ghetto ) suffered the most, although ethnic Poles also faced increasing levels of starvation. Raul Hilberg estimated that "in the whole of occupied Poland 500,000 to 600,000 Jews died in ghettos and labor camps", in part due to starvation. In early 1943, Hans Frank , the German governor of Poland, estimated that three million Poles would face starvation as

7809-515: The Ministry of State Secretariat. The Minister-Secretary of State gives technical and administrative assistance to the President and Vice President in running State affairs. In the President's case, the Minister-Secretary of State also provides assistance for the President in his role as Commander-in-chief of Indonesian National Armed Forces . In addition, the State Secretary provides the President and Vice President with their reports, coordinates household matters and protocols, as well as assisting in

7946-421: The Nazis forced into ghettos, and Soviet prisoners of war under German control. Jews were prohibited from purchasing eggs, butter, milk, meat or fruit. Rations for Jews in Minsk and other cities within the control of Army Group Centre provided no more than 420 calories (1,800 kJ) per day. Tens of thousands of Jews died of hunger and hunger-related causes over winter 1941–1942. The most reliable figures for

8083-428: The Netherlands, Scandinavia and Romania would be unaffected by any naval blockade. A key component of German military thinking was the realization that notwithstanding food supplies, Germany's prospect of winning a long war with relatively weak allies against the United Kingdom, France and Russia was dubious in any case. The Schlieffen Plan was the product of this mindset , and had left the General Staff confident that

8220-410: The Prime Minister. Despite this type of department no longer officially existing in the organization of the Portuguese Government, it is still common usage for the portfolio of a secretary of State to be colloquially referred to as a "secretariat of State". Historically, since the 17th century, the title of "secretary of State" was used to designate the heads of the Government departments of Portugal. In

8357-449: The Soviet Union in December 1940. Certainly by 2 May 1941, it was in the advanced stages of planning and was ready for discussion between all the major Nazi state ministries and the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) office of economics, headed by General Georg Thomas . The lack of capacity of the Russian railways , the inadequacy of road transport and the shortages of fuel, meant that the German Army would have to feed itself by living off

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8494-418: The Soviet-held territories (most drastically in the Siege of Leningrad , where about one million people died). Germans also tried to starve Kyiv and Kharkov in German-occupied Ukraine. During the German occupation, about 80,000 residents of Kharkov died of starvation. The lack of food also contributed to the starvation of slaves and concentration camp inmates in Germany. The Hunger Plan directed against

8631-400: The State, working closely with both the State President as head of state and head of government, and the parliament of the South African Republic . In Liberia , from 1847 until 1972, the Secretary of State was the head of the Department of State and the chief foreign policy officer of the republic, responsible for conducting diplomacy and implementing the nation's foreign affairs. The title

8768-409: The UK had the effect of alienating world opinion, aiding the British efforts. Dutch diplomats, for example, explained that their cooperation with Germany was only out of fear that the Germans would otherwise "torpedo their vessels without mercy". The British were also able to exert pressure through controlling British exports, such as coal and fertilizer, and by making the threat of potentially extending

8905-549: The United States should give consideration to the provisioning of Germany during the armistice to the extent recognized as necessary. The blockade would therefore continue until Germany would sign a formal peace agreement . In early 1919, rations in German cities were on average 1,500 calories per day. In the short term Germany would stave off starvation by consuming reserves (often reallocated against governments attempts to secure them for military use) but such supplies could not last forever. The Americans were most concerned about

9042-415: The above pronouncements, their actions presented an effective "distant blockade", in direct contravention of much of the London Declaration. The British defended their actions by pointing out that they had never ratified the agreement, by arguing that they were retaliating for German actions, by suggesting the Declaration failed to anticipate the military use of some goods (such as rubber), and by referring to

9179-485: The activities of the other dicasteries. The secretariat is also responsible for the Holy See 's foreign relations. During a sede vacante , the former Secretary of State (the appointment expires when the pope dies or resigns) assumes some of the functions of the head of state as a part of a temporary commission. Luxembourgian Secretaries of State ( French : secrétaire d'Etat , Luxembourgish : Staatssekretär(in) , German : Staatssekretär(in) ) are members of

9316-408: The ages of 17 and 60, meeting only partial success. But German authorities allocated to urban civilians (representing 67% of the population) only a third of the grain harvest. The military was the true priority, with the 10% of the population in the armed forces allotted 30% of grain and 60% of meat supplies, in addition to foodstuffs looted from the occupied territories. Even as a food crisis loomed on

9453-401: The armistice only a temporary cessation of the war (so that they can regroup their forces), and feared that when fighting broke out again, the ships would be confiscated outright. In January, German officials notified an American representative in Berlin that the shortage of food would not become critical until late spring, with some leaders urging a delay in shipments so as to avoid strengthening

9590-435: The armistice. Germany also raised the issue of the Allied blockade to counter charges against the German use of submarine warfare. In 1928, a German academic study, sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace provided a thorough analysis of the German civilian deaths during the war. The study estimated 424,000 war-related deaths of civilians over the age of one in Germany, not including Alsace-Lorraine , and

9727-403: The authors attributed the civilian deaths over the prewar level primarily to food and fuel shortages in 1917–1918. The study also estimated an additional 209,000 Spanish flu deaths in 1918. A study sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1940 estimated the German civilian death toll at over 600,000. Based on the 1928 German study, it maintained, "A thorough inquiry has led to

9864-568: The autumn of 1918, Austria-Hungary hijacked barges on the Danube full of Romanian wheat bound for Germany, which in turn threatened military retaliation. Also, during the winter of 1916 to 1917, there was a failure of the potato crop, which resulted in the urban population having to subsist largely on Swedish turnips . That period became known as the Steckrübenwinter or Turnip Winter . The German government made some attempts to counter

10001-634: The bad conditions in Germany, with US Food Administrator Herbert Hoover desiring an almost immediate end to the blockade so the US could sell its surplus. The French were the most hostile, fearful of a renewed invasion. Britain was somewhere between, with Winston Churchill one of the figures who took notice. In March he stressed the need for a speedy settlement to the British House of Commons: "We are holding all our means of coercion in full operation, or in immediate readiness for use. We are enforcing

10138-518: The battlefield and from the civilian population; for instance, a decree of March 1917 ordered church bells to be smelted for the war effort, resulting in the loss of 44% of Germany's bells. Other shortages were mitigated by substitution, aided by Germany's well-developed chemical industry and university research departments; an example is the extraction of saltpeter from ammonia made by the Haber–Bosch process . Supplies could also be obtained from within

10275-510: The black earth zone [...] prevent the possibility of Germany holding out till the end of the war. The perceived grain surpluses of Ukraine figured particularly prominently in the vision of a "self-sufficient" Germany. Hitler himself had stated in August 1939 that Germany needed "the Ukraine, in order that no one is able to starve us again as in the last war ". Ukraine did not produce enough grain for export to solve Germany's problems. Scooping off

10412-592: The blockade also deprived Germany of supplies of fertiliser that were vital to agriculture - exacerbated by the diversion of existing stocks to munitions production. That led to staples such as grain, potatoes, meat and dairy products becoming so scarce by the end of 1916 that many people were obliged to instead consume ersatz products, including Kriegsbrot ("war bread") and powdered milk. The food shortages caused looting and riots not only in Germany but also in Vienna and Budapest. The food shortages were so severe that by

10549-400: The blockade led to revolutionary movements but concluded that based on the evidence, "it is more than doubtful whether this is the proper explanation". Germans wanted to end the war because of the food shortage, but workers staged a revolution because of the long-term theory of socialism. The revolutionaries claimed in their slogans, for example, that they were Arbeitssklaven (worker slaves) to

10686-459: The blockade with vigour. We have strong armies ready to advance at the shortest notice. Germany is very near starvation. The evidence I have received from the officers sent by the War Office all over Germany shows, first of all, the great privations which the German people are suffering, and, secondly, the great danger of a collapse of the entire structure of German social and national life under

10823-436: The blockade. An academic study done in 1928 put the death toll at 424,000, with similar or lower numbers given by more recent scholars, noting however complications with the degree of attribution of Spanish flu deaths. Around 100,000 people may have died during the post- armistice continuation of the blockade in 1919. However, it has been pointed out that there was an even slightly larger civilian excess mortality during

10960-536: The blockade. As the war went on, therefore, neutral countries cooperated more and more with the British, and so the blockade at last began to bite. Things only worsened with the February 1917 German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare (which meant a loss of neutral tonnage, both through ships sunk and Allied requisition of vessels) and the subsequent American entry into World War I (which added immense US pressure to British efforts). Sweden, as an example,

11097-523: The cabinet, and are ranked below ministers. They are given specific briefs, covering the same briefs as the ministers, and help to assist their respective ministers to perform their functions. They often hold more than one brief or assist more than one minister. In the first Juncker-Asselborn cabinet , there was one Secretary of State, Octavie Modert , who is responsible for Relations with Parliament; Agriculture, Viticulture, and Rural Development; and Culture, Higher Education, and Research. There had been two in

11234-521: The coming invasion were produced by Hans-Joachim Riecke 's agricultural section of the Economic Staff East, which had direct responsibility for the economic and agricultural exploitation of the soon-to-be occupied Soviet territories: Many tens of millions of people in this country will become superfluous and will die or must emigrate to Siberia. Attempts to rescue the population there from death through starvation by obtaining surpluses from

11371-444: The conclusion that the number of 'civilian' deaths traceable to the war was 424,000, to which number must be added about 200,000 deaths caused by the influenza epidemic". The historian and demographer Jay Winter estimated that there were 300,000 excess deaths in Germany from the blockade, after subtracting deaths from the influenza epidemic. In 2014, Kramer calculated that paradoxically, British civilian excess mortality increased at

11508-403: The constitution and laws of the particular state, but they often include responsibility for overseeing elections within the state. In the state of Oregon the secretary of state is an elected office that acts as the equivalent of a lieutenant governor in other states among many other duties. In three states ( Massachusetts , Pennsylvania , and Virginia ), the position is called " Secretary of

11645-523: The continuation of the blockade of Germany after the armistice. The British Labour Party antiwar activist Robert Smillie issued a statement in June 1919 condemning continuation of the blockade and giving the same figure. From a more modern perspective, in 1985 C. Paul Vincent found that no reliable death toll data exist for the period immediately after the November 1918 armistice, but maintains that for

11782-479: The council of ministers. In Mozambique, the role of vice-minister ( Portuguese : vice-ministro ) exists as an intermediate government rank between those of minister and Secretary of State. The role of vice-minister also exists in the Government of Angola, but it is junior to that of Secretary of State. In the South African Republic the Secretary of State was the main administrative officer of

11919-468: The country's system of governing the country. In many countries, a secretary of state is a senior or mid-level post. It is usually a politically appointed position, although in some countries, such as Germany and Sweden , it can be filled by a member of the executive bureaucracy (civil service) as a political appointment (equivalent to permanent secretary ). In the Holy See , the administrative body of

12056-526: The death rate among Soviet prisoners of war in German captivity reveal that 3.3 million died of a total of 5.7 million captured between June 1941 and February 1945, most of them directly or indirectly from starvation. Of these 3.3 million, 2 million had already died by the beginning of February 1942. The enormous number of deaths was the result of a deliberate policy of starvation directed against Soviet POWs. The German planning staffs had reckoned on capturing and thus having to feed up to two million prisoners within

12193-530: The drafting of bills and/or Governmental regulations. The Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Al-Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah , is in charge of international relations of Kuwait, and all Kuwaiti representatives abroad. Al-Sabah is a member of the cabinet of ministers, and reports directly to Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah , The Emir of Kuwait. He is also in charge of all the diplomatic representatives in Kuwait . In Malaysia , Chief Secretary to

12330-547: The effective date of the Constitution ) by the narrower title Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the corresponding departmental name; the change reflected the addition of some miscellaneous domestic responsibilities. The position is widely regarded as the most senior in the Cabinet . In the presidential line of succession the secretary of state falls first among Cabinet officers, and fourth overall. The secretary of state

12467-488: The effects of the blockade of foodstuffs were by humanitarians, diplomats and medical professionals, who were sympathetic to the suffering of the German people. The official German account, based on data about disease, growth of children, and mortality, harshly criticised the Allies by calling the blockade a crime against innocent people. The first account commissioned by the Allies was written by Professor A. C. Bell and Brigadier-General Sir James E. Edmonds , hypothesised that

12604-486: The effects of the blockade, with questionable effectiveness. In 1914, statutory price controls on staple items encouraged farmers to switch to unregulated produce, thereby exacerbating shortages. In early 1915, a potato shortage was blamed on the vegetable being used for pig feed, prompting the Schweinemord or "pig massacre" which resulted a glut of pork products, the main protein source for working-class Germans. This

12741-411: The estimate's methodology was "peculiar" and so the estimate was impossible to confirm, possibly too high. Historian Alan Kramer notes that many authors have taken the estimate at face value, but cautions that it comes from a partisan source in a context of "quivering nationalist hatred". The German claims were made while Germany was waging a propaganda campaign to end the Allied blockade of Germany after

12878-507: The eve of the armistice, the army built up a reserve of 1.5 million tons of grain (equivalent to 7 months of pre-war imports), plus other foodstuffs, for a possible last-ditch battle. The war ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918 : Twenty-six - The existing blockade conditions set up by the allied and associated powers are to remain unchanged, and all German merchant ships found at sea are to remain liable to capture. The Allies and

13015-479: The first eight weeks of the war, i.e. roughly the same number as during the Battle of France in 1940. The number of French, Belgian and Dutch POWs who died in German captivity was extremely low compared with deaths among Soviet POWs. By the end of 1941, plans to starve the entire civilian population of some areas had been abandoned, due to the failure of the German military campaign and the impossibility of cutting off

13152-509: The food supply to cities without causing major uprisings. Except in isolated cases, the Germans lacked the manpower to enforce a 'food blockade' of the Soviet cities; neither could they confiscate the food. The Germans were able to significantly supplement their grain stocks, particularly from the granaries in fertile Ukraine, and cut off the Soviets from them, leading to significant starvation in

13289-594: The genocidal starvation experienced in the East. As many as 22,000 people died during the Dutch famine of 1944–1945 as a result of an embargo placed by the Germans on transporting food into the country. By mid-1941 the German minority in Poland received 2,613 kilocalories (10,930 kJ) per day, while Poles received 699 kilocalories (2,920 kJ) and Jews in the ghetto 184 kilocalories (770 kJ). The Jewish ration supplied

13426-512: The incumbents did not hold a seat in parliament. The German Parliamentary Commission for Culture and the Media  [ de ] ( German : Ausschuss für Kultur und Medien ) serves in place of a proper ministry for this department. Since 1998, the office of Kulturstaatsminister has been held by Michael Naumann (1998–2001), Julian Nida-Rümelin (2001–2002), Christina Weiss (2002–2005), Bernd Neumann (2005–2013), Monika Grütters (2013–2021) and Claudia Roth (since 2021). In Greece,

13563-539: The inspection procedure was considerably simplified for neutral shipping. A certified manifest could be sent in advance by telegram to the local British embassy, which, if agreed, could issue a document known as a " navicert ", which was forwarded to the Admiralty and would allow the cargo to pass through the blockade without the need for inspection. The British Isles formed what Admiral Beatty described as "a great breakwater across German waters thereby limiting

13700-406: The land in the territories they conquered in the western regions of the Soviet Union. A meeting on 2 May 1941 between the permanent secretaries responsible for logistical planning for the invasion of the Soviet Union, as well as other high-ranking Nazi Party functionaries, state officials and military officers, included in its conclusions: 1.) The war can only be continued if the entire Wehrmacht

13837-587: The monarchy. Edmonds, on the other hand was supported by Colonel Irwin L. Hunt, who was in charge of civil affairs in the American occupied zone of the Rhineland, and held that food shortages were a post-armistice phenomenon caused solely by the disruptions of the German Revolution of 1918–19 . More recent studies also disagree on the severity of the blockade's impact on the affected populations at

13974-470: The native Soviet population was envisaged, with tens of millions of deaths expected within the first year of the German occupation. Carefully planned starvation was to be an integral part of the German campaign, and the German planners believed that the assault on the Soviet Union could not succeed without it. According to Gesine Gerhard, German agricultural officials saw the Hunger Plan as a solution to

14111-500: The only minister is constitutionally responsible for all the statssekretær' s decisions in office. In Portugal , a secretary of State ( Portuguese : secretário de Estado , masculine; secretária de Estado , feminine; secretários de Estado , plural) is a junior minister, of intermediate rank between that of cabinet minister and that of under-secretary of State. Although having the Constitutional status of Government members ,

14248-463: The outbreak of war, stocks of strategic materials amounted to only three to six months of pre-war consumption, Germany was able to mitigate the effects of the blockade in a number of ways. Scrap and raw materials such as coal and iron ore were taken from occupied territories in France and Belgium. Inside Germany, old mines were reopened and material was recovered from spoil heaps . Scrap was recycled from

14385-613: The passage of vessels to the outer seas to two exits". The Dover Patrol closed off the narrow English Channel , while the Northern Patrol closed the North Sea across the 155 miles (249 km) gap between Shetland and Norway, supported by the huge Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow in Orkney . A British submarine flotilla operated in the Baltic Sea to impede the supply of Swedish iron ore to Germany. A memorandum to

14522-588: The population of Soviet cities and grain-deficit territories was unique—the Nazis formulated no similar plan against the inhabitants of other German-occupied territories. However, starvation affected other parts of German-occupied Europe, including Greece (more than 300,000 Greeks died of starvation during the Great Famine ) and the General Government of Poland. Unlike in the Soviet Union, in Poland

14659-462: The post in 1991. In the Republic of San Marino a Secretary of State is a senior Cabinet Minister in charge of a State Department. The Secretary of State is a member of the Council of Ministers ( Congresso di Stato ). Blockade of Germany (1914%E2%80%931919) The Blockade of Germany , or the Blockade of Europe , occurred from 1914 to 1919. The prolonged naval blockade was conducted by

14796-426: The pressing wartime food crisis proved a deadly combination - the Hunger Plan was based on both practical and ideological needs. The architect of the Hunger Plan was Herbert Backe . Together with others, including Heinrich Himmler , Backe led a coalition of Nazi politicians dedicated to securing Germany's food supply. The Hunger Plan may have been decided on almost as soon as Hitler announced his intention to invade

14933-419: The pressure of hunger and malnutrition. Now is therefore the moment to settle". Indeed, negotiations had dragged on with little progress for the first four months. Though the armistice made mention of food supplies, the Entente dragged their feet on questions such as fishing rights and the how Germany was to pay for food. For the Germans, in negotiations from January 1919 to March 1919, they refused to agree to

15070-472: The previous cabinet, and three between 1984 and 1989. As in France and Belgium, a State Secretary in the Netherlands is a junior minister who is responsible to a Cabinet Minister or the Prime Minister. Some of them may, in specific circumstances, call themselves Minister when visiting a foreign country. Each State Secretary has a certain portfolio, which is different to their Cabinet Minister to split up

15207-527: The responsibilities and relieve the workload. The top civil servant in a government department is called Secretary-General (secretaris-generaal) . A statssekretær in Norway plays more or less the same role as the French or Swedish equivalent . Secretaries of State are connected to specific ministry , and serve as a de facto vice minister. However, the State Secretary cannot attend a Council of State and

15344-548: The secretaries of State do not usually participate in the Council of Ministers , unless summoned for certain meetings and, in those cases, without right to vote. They act merely as deputies of ministers, having only the powers delegated to them by their ministers or directly by the prime minister . Until the reorganization of the Portuguese Public Administration structure in 2004, it was common for

15481-479: The south. On 29 September 1918, General Erich Ludendorff told the Kaiser that the military front would soon collapse. All scholars agree that the blockade made a large contribution to the outcome of the war. By 1915, Germany's imports had fallen by 55% from its prewar levels and the exports were 53% of what they had been in 1914. Apart from leading to shortages in vital raw materials such as oil and nonferrous metals,

15618-431: The state apparatus and was thereafter never used again. The organization of the governments of Angola , Cape Verde , Guinea-Bissau , Mozambique and São Tome and Príncipe closely mirrors the Portuguese government model . Thus, in these countries, a Secretary of State ( Portuguese : secretário de Estado ) is a junior minister, subordinate to a cabinet minister. Usually, the secretaries of State do not participate in

15755-457: The support of the neutrals, Germany would have collapsed. The Germans also heavily lobbied both the U.S. government and the American business community to intervene. German diplomats repeatedly pointed out that the blockade was hurting American exports. Under pressure, especially from commercial interests wishing to profit from wartime trade with both sides, Woodrow Wilson 's administration protested vigorously. Britain did not wish to antagonise

15892-597: The time of the revolution and the armistice. Some hold that the blockade starved Germany and the Central Powers into defeat in 1918. Others hold that the armistice on 11 November was forced primarily by events on the Western Front , rather than any actions of the civilian population. The idea that a revolt of the home front forced the armistice was part of the stab-in-the-back myth . Also, Germany's largest ally, Austria-Hungary , had already signed an armistice on 3 November 1918, which exposed Germany to an invasion from

16029-413: The title "Secretary of State" ( Greek : Γραμματεύς της Επικρατείας ) was used only intermittently during the early years of the modern Greek state . It was first employed for the head of the cabinet under the governorship of Ioannis Kapodistrias , a post held successively by Spyridon Trikoupis (1828–29) and Nikolaos Spiliadis  [ el ] (1829–31). It was then abandoned, until used instead of

16166-509: The title of "Minister" (Υπουργός) for the cabinet members in the 1835–37 Cabinet of Josef Ludwig von Armansperg , with Armansperg being designated "Chief Secretary of State" (Αρχιγραμματεύς της Επικρατείας). The Secretary of State of His Holiness The Pope , or Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State , which is the most important dicastery of the Roman Curia , as it organizes, makes appointments to, and directs

16303-926: The title of "secretary of State" was reintroduced to designate the then created role of a junior minister, subordinate to a cabinet minister. In the devolved governments of the Autonomous Regions (the Azores and Madeira ), cabinet members are called "Regional Secretary" of a given portfolio ( Portuguese : Secretário Regional ), and the head of the cabinet is titled "President of the Regional Government" ( Portuguese : Presidente do Governo Regional ). The position of State Secretary ( Russian : Статс-секретарь , romanized :  Stats-sekretar or Russian : Государственный секретар , romanized :  Gosudarstvennyj sekretar ) has existed at certain periods of time. Boris Yeltsin revived

16440-415: The treatment of neutral ships, the declaration defined three categories of neutral cargo during war: The British would "modify" and "supplement" the Declaration in their blockade. The United Kingdom, with its overwhelming sea power, established a naval blockade of Germany immediately on the outbreak of war in August 1914. This was strengthened or weakened in a number of steps. The last of those measures

16577-473: The war in the United Kingdom, a country that was much less affected by food shortages (although this can also be attributed to the influenza epidemic and diseases such as bronchitis and tuberculosis which were not strictly nutrition-related). Both Germany and the United Kingdom relied heavily on imports to feed their population and supply their war industry. Imports of foodstuffs and war materiel to

16714-500: The war would be over (at least in the west) long before food shortages might otherwise have become an issue. However, once it became clear that the Schlieffen Plan had failed and that Germany would have to fight a long war on two fronts, factors such as the conscription of farm laborers, the requisition of horses, poor weather and the diversion of nitrogen from fertilizer manufacture into military explosives all combined to cause

16851-495: The while drawing very generous pay due to receiving two salaries, both as a secretary of state and as a member of parliament. For example, when interviewed in 2005 about his post as a parliamentary minister of state in the German Foreign Office (1998–2002) during an investigation into visa abuse , Ludger Volmer  [ de ] claimed that he had been cut off from the workflow within the ministry, and called

16988-528: Was Karl Terras . Before the Soviet re-occupation in 1944, the State Secretary went into exile until the position came back to Estonia in 1992. A state secretary ( Finnish : valtiosihteeri ), is the highest official below each minister. Ministers, who lead ministries (government departments), comprise the Finnish Government . Each state secretary is appointed for the term of the minister and

17125-526: Was abolished in 1972 and replaced with the new nomenclature, Minister of Foreign Affairs . Throughout most of Liberia's history, holders of that office usually went on to become president. The Secretary of State (Secretario de Estado) in Argentina (federal government) is a high official with the same rank of a Minister, who is responsible directly to the President. The position must be distinguished from

17262-497: Was abolished. Since 1993, some junior ministers have been styled Secretary of State , and assigned in specific policy areas to assist Cabinet ministers. However, these junior ministers are not themselves members of Cabinet. A similar role is played by Ministers of State , however Ministers are members of the cabinet. In Mexico a secretary of state is a member of the Mexican Executive Cabinet who responds to

17399-563: Was also preceded by the case of the SS ; Wilhelmina  (1888) , a US-flagged cargo ship carrying American foodstuffs to Hamburg . The owners of the cargo had issued a guarantee that the food would not be used by the German military, which was accepted by the British. However, while the ship was en route, on 26 January 1915, the German Federal Council announced that the German government would seize all grain in Germany,

17536-419: Was assessed by Cox by using newly discovered data, based on heights and weights of nearly 600,000 German schoolchildren, who were measured between 1914 and 1924. The data indicate that children suffered severe malnutrition. Class was a major factor, as the working-class children suffered the most but were the quickest to recover after the war. Recovery to normality was made possible by massive food aid organized by

17673-490: Was created because the constitution of Belgium explicitly limits the number of ministers to fifteen (seven French-speaking ministers and seven Dutch-speaking ministers, with the prime minister being officially "linguistically neutral"). Therefore, appointing people as secretaries of state allows the government to circumvent this constitutional limitation. See Current list of secretaries of states for Belgian Federal Government . There are also three secretaries of state in

17810-530: Was eventually settled in July 1916 by Lord Mersey directing the British Government to purchase the cargo and pay damages to the ship owners, rejecting the Americans' claims of neutral trading rights. Eventually, it became clear that the British measures all but prevented maritime neutral trade, including foodstuffs, with the Central Powers. While the British avoided the use of the word "blockade" in

17947-457: Was followed by a shortage of pork, as so many pigs had been slaughtered in a short time. A complicated rationing system, initially introduced in January 1915, aimed to ensure that a minimum nutritional need was met, with "war kitchens" providing cheap mass meals to impoverished civilians in larger cities. Yet at times, rations only amounted to 1,000 calories per day, requiring supplementation from

18084-427: Was initially able to use neutral countries as a conduit for global trade, but eventually British pressure, American involvement, and German missteps led to full economic isolation. Prior to World War I , a series of conferences were held at Whitehall in 1905–1906 concerning military co-operation with France in the event of a war with Germany. The Director of Naval Intelligence , Charles Ottley , asserted that two of

18221-472: Was one of the last to give in. Even despite the sinking (by 1916) of almost 100 of their ships by German U-boats, even during the failed harvest of 1916 where Sweden suffered famine, Sweden had continued to export food and iron ore to Germany. But the Hjalmar Hammarskjöld government fell the next year, and combined Anglo-American pressure forced increasing restrictions on export to Germany until

18358-583: Was prioritised for textiles and leather, so that civilians were unable to obtain new clothes and shoes. Weapons programmes were sometimes delayed or cancelled for lack of metals; one example is the production of the German heavy tank , the A7V , the first production model of which was completed in October 1917, but only twenty tanks had reached combat units by the Armistice. The first English-language accounts of

18495-525: Was specifically reserved for Malay Muslims and required nomination by the Sultan. Under the 1959 Constitution, the State Secretary became the principal officer managing internal administrative affairs , ensuring departmental coordination and policy consultation. The State Secretary also held a seat in the Council of Ministers and worked alongside other key officials like the Attorney General and

18632-482: Was tempted by high prices to smuggle strategic materials such as rubber, cotton or metals, which could be hidden from inspection or listed as personal luggage. Some neutral ships colluded with the Germans in allowing themselves to be arrested in Danish waters. However, the desperation in Germany is illustrated by the building of two blockade-running submarines, Deutschland and Bremen . While militarily Britain kept

18769-567: Was very concerned about the impact of reductions in food consumption on civilian morale. They believed the Allied blockade of Germany during the First World War had been a key cause of Germany's defeat in that war. Thus the preservation of food supplies for Germany itself was considered essential, even at the cost of civilian lives in occupied countries. The combination of German leadership's strong racism against Jews and Soviet civilians and

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