Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture

The Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture (German: Reichsministerium für Wissenschaft, Erziehung und Volksbildung, also unofficially known as the "Reich Education Ministry" (German: Reichserziehungsministerium), or "REM") existed from 1934 until 1945 under the leadership of Bernhard Rust and was responsible for unifying the education system of Nazi Germany and aligning it with the goals of Nazi leadership.

Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture

Reichsministerium für Wissenschaft, Erziehung und Volksbildung
Agency overview
Formed	1 May 1934
Dissolved	8 May 1945
Jurisdiction	Nazi Germany
Minister responsible	Bernhard Rust

Background

The REM was the successor to the former Preußisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Kunst und Volksbildung (Prussian Ministry of Science, Art and Culture), creating for the first time in Germany a centralized and hierarchical institution in control of the Reich's education sector. In 1934, the REM took over from the Reichsinnenministerium (Reich Interior Ministry) the supervision of colleges and universities in Germany, as well as research institutions such as the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (abbreviated PTR; translation: Reich Physical and Technical Institute.); today, the PTR is known as the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt.[1]

Administrators

No.		Minister of Culture	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party	Cabinet	Ref
1		Bernhard Rust (1883–1945)	1 June 1934	30 April 1945	10 years, 333 days	NSDAP	Hitler	[1]
2		Gustav Adolf Scheel (1907–1979)	30 April 1945	2 May 1945	2 days	NSDAP	Goebbels	–

Heads of the REM Amt für Wissenschaft (Science Office):[1]

• 1934-1937 – Theodor Vahlen
• 1937-1939 – Otto Wacker
• From May 1939 – Rudolf Mentzel

Bibliography

• Hentschel, Klaus, editor and Ann M. Hentschel, editorial assistant and Translator Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources (Birkhäuser, 1996)

Notes

1. Hentschel, 1996, Appendix B