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Please correct me if I'm wrong but I have a feeling that rationing in context with uniforms before the war did not mean that there was a shortage of these things but that not everybody was entitled to buy them so that a Bezugschein was needed as a permit to purchase uniform items. This meaning might apply to the Richtlinien from 1936. I don't know when the Handbuch was issued, so perhaps you are right that Bezugsscheine at that time also meant that the war had already taken its toll.
I know of course that bread/shoes/milk - in fact almost everything was rationed later in the war and without Bezugschein you were lost as a civilian.
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07-06-2015 03:26 PM
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Textiles were rationed once the war started, too. Ask in your family.
The SS handbook is from 1942.
Thanks for the fine translation.
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siehe da:
Reichskleiderkarte
Berechtigungsschein zum Einkauf von Textilien, der nach Beginn des Zweiten Weltkriegs an alle nicht in Uniform dienenden Deutschen ausgegeben wurde, um eine halbwegs gleichmäßige und ausreichende Versorgung der Zivilbevölkerung besser planen und sichern zu können. Die für ein Jahr gültige Reichskleiderkarte bestand aus 100 Abschnitten/Punkten, die beim Einkauf von Textilien abgegeben werden mussten: Für einen Rock benötigte man 20, für einen Sommermantel 35 Punkte. Im Kriegsverlauf wurden Zusatzkleiderkarten für Jugendliche sowie besondere Bezugsscheine für Winter- und Berufskleidung ausgegeben. Juden erhielten ab 1940 keine Reichskleiderkarte.
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Die Reichskleiderkarte war ein zur Zeit des Zweiten Weltkriegs in Deutschland gängiger Bezugsschein für den Einkauf von Textilien. Die Karte wurde von Hans Kehrl am 14. November 1939 eingeführt und folgte im Rahmen der Kriegsökonomie den kurz zuvor eingeführten Lebensmittelmarken. Juden waren vom Bezug ab dem 6. Februar 1940 ausgeschlossen. Es wurden Textilien wie Socken, Pullover, Kleider etc. rationiert. Man hatte auf der Karte 100 Punkte gut geschrieben, mit denen man die oben genannten Textilien erwerben konnte. Socken kosteten beispielsweise 4 Punkte, Pullover 25 und ein neues Kleid 45.
Last edited by Friedrich-Berthold; 07-07-2015 at 02:01 AM.
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How the textile rationing worked for Selbsteinkleider I have to check, but I think it applied as well.
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Selbsteinkleider, i.e. those of the rank where they got a clothing allowance and had to buy their own uniforms. These are the people we often focus upon, at least I do....
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by
Friedrich-Berthold
Textiles were rationed once the war started, too. Ask in your family.
The SS handbook is from 1942.
Thanks for the fine translation.
I did ask a lot, indeed. Unfortunately my mother who knew all about this and who suffered as a child during the war and, even more, immediately after the war, can't answer my questions any longer. But I do remember the stories about coffee made of beechnut or acorns, the Ersatzbutter, Ersatz- whatsoever, as there was nothing to eat, no clothing, no shoes, no leather... the swapping circles, the Schwarzmarkt...
And the stories told by my grandparents: flour mixed with sawdust, Hamsterfahrten to the farmers giving silver cutlery/watches etc. for butter or meat (hoping that nobody would catch or report you), collecting berries and mushrooms in the woods, collecting twigs and branches (one was allowed to take those lying on the ground) for the stove in winter... The fact that everything was repaired, recycled, used up completely.
Unimaginable today and yet so real for the victims of war of our days around the globe. These people, hoever, have yet another problem: the knowledge of how to get food or what is edible and what not has been lost long since the days of WWII. When you are used to buying your food (ready-made) in a supermarket, you will have difficulties to even think of the possibility that you could pluck an apple from a tree, search for potatoes in fields that were already harvested, taking eggs from bird's nests etc. (survival specialists, often smiled at, could tell us much more in this respect).
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by
ErWeSa
I did ask a lot, indeed. Unfortunately my mother who knew all about this and who suffered as a child during the war and, even more, immediately after the war, can't answer my questions any longer. But I do remember the stories about coffee made of beechnut or acorns, the Ersatzbutter, Ersatz- whatsoever, as there was nothing to eat, no clothing, no shoes, no leather... the swapping circles, the Schwarzmarkt...
And the stories told by my grandparents: flour mixed with sawdust, Hamsterfahrten to the farmers giving silver cutlery/watches etc. for butter or meat (hoping that nobody would catch or report you), collecting berries and mushrooms in the woods, collecting twigs and branches (one was allowed to take those lying on the ground) for the stove in winter...
Unimaginable today and yet so real for the victims of war of our days around the globe. These people, hoever, have yet another problem: the knowledge of how to get food or what is edible and what not has been lost long since the days of WWII. When you are used to buying your food (ready-made) in a supermarket, you will have difficulties to even think of the possibility that you could pluck an apple from a tree.
Indeed. I don't remember how we ever got to that particular subject, but my grandfather once mentioned how a cat can be prepared to the same recipes as a rabbit, and that one couldn't even tell the difference when served the finished product. I have no doubt he spoke from personal experience.
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HPL2008
Indeed. I don't remember how we ever got to that particular subject, but my grandfather once mentioned how a cat can be prepared to the same recipes as a rabbit, and that one couldn't even tell the difference when served the finished product. I have no doubt he spoke from personal experience.
This makes me think of a story my father still relates today: they used to breed hares which then were slaughtered and eaten. They didn't have hen, as you couldn't keep hen inmidst the town they lived in, but my father in law, who lived in the country, bred an slaughtered those. And they both were no farmers!
I was just talking to my father (he lives next to me and can, luckily enough, still answer my questions) about eating habits during the war. Perhaps I shouldn't mention it, but the talk was about guinea pigs....
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From the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, i.e. the history museum in Berlin for all of Germany. and I quote at length.....
".......With the start of World War II to the life of the civilian population contrary to widespread fears initially not fundamentally altered. The Nazi regime was afraid, the population abzuverlangen too great sacrifices, and it also sought by maintaining an extensive cultural scene to everyday normality. Almost every German family had in the course of the war a son, brother, father, husband or fiancé at the front. An even under moral aspects constantly advocated "home front" should connectedness, confidence and above all loyalty of the German population - especially the female - compared to the front-line soldiers documenting of their war everyday they mostly learned in letters and during home leave. Galt everyday concern of the Germans at first only the life of the family member at the front, so the death was due to expansion of the Allied air raids from 1942 also for the Metropolitan a constant companion.
de
Chapter Overview
Years chronicles
Food rationing
From a war enthusiasm was after the German invasion of Poland, no question on 1 September 1939 in Germany. To fresh the traumatic memory was the First World War a quarter of a century earlier, with all its disastrous consequences. The miserable food supply and the years of famine from 1916 to 1919 were still present in the minds of many adults, especially in the cities. Similarly, depressed the mood in the country, where the withdrawal of labor and horses problems posed. The Nazi regime was the lack of enthusiasm for war among the population aware and it had early drawn from the experience of World War I his teachings: Since 1937, the rationing of food, fuel, coal and other supplies on the Reich had been meticulously prepared. By good harvests in 1938 and 1939, the stockpile were also filled plentiful. For cereals, potatoes, sugar and meat, a self-sufficiency rate was achieved by 100 percent.
Gradual forced rationing was introduced when the war began. Fat, meat, butter, milk, cheese, sugar and jam were available only against food ration cards from 1 September 1939 Bread and eggs followed from 25 September. In mid-October 1939, the rationing of textiles was introduced by means of a valid for a year "Reich clothing card" for not wearing uniform population. The purchase warrant consisted of 100 points which have been settled when buying textiles. A pair of stockings "cost" 4 points, 25 points a sweater, a Damenkostüm 45 points.
Despite propagated by the Nazis agricultural "production battle" shifted the focus of nutrition during the war on potatoes, legumes, flour and sugar. Mucke****, a thin ersatz coffee from barley or acorns, mostly replaced the coffee beans. Spare cakes were baked from carrots or potatoes, the replacement jam made from turnips. Bread was available almost in the previous extent, albeit with decreasing quality. An "average consumer" received in the first two years of the war a week, among other things 2.250 grams of bread, 500 grams of meat and 270 grams of fat. Heavy laborers received in the reference system as well as special allowances expectant mothers or children. Only they had the pleasure of whole milk, the remaining consumers received skim milk. Despite food deprivation and a critical care 1942 with a more stringent rationing and a gradual onset of deficiency of fat there was in the German Reich during the war no serious nutritional problems. To supply the German population were ruthlessly exploited the occupied territories and the "death by starvation" in Eastern Europe brought about deliberately.
Jews, however, also experienced in the reference system of food and textiles strong discrimination and public humiliation; compared to the non-Jewish population were Jews allocated significantly fewer calories for their ration cards in certain stores for them. Persecution and disenfranchisement of Jews had increased with the outbreak of war in Germany to focus clearly. A medical care existed for Jews only in its infancy. They were gradually banned the possession of radio and telephone equipment, cars or keeping pets. To give as a Jewish "enemy of the Reich" to publicly recognize every Jew from the age of six had to wear a yellow star clearly visible on the clothing from the September 19, 1941.
Food Card, 1939-40
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Eyewitness Annelies Jandt: My wedding at war in 1940
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Eyewitness Ilse Schier-Weimann: Berlin during the war
Man with the "Star of David" on the jacket 1941
Use on the "home front"
Fearing social unrest and declining morale should the "Aryan" Germans, however, aware of only moderate demands sacrifice and as long as possible a "normality" of daily life can be maintained. For satisfaction of material needs, the production of consumer goods industry was barely throttled. The prepared economic mobilization and general female service obligations remained in the early war years. The working potential of women has remained relatively untapped, unlike the UK and the USA. With 14.9 million working women in September 1944 the pre-war level was surpassed by the summer of 1939 just about 300,000 women. The demand for labor covered primarily by ubiquitous forced laborers and prisoners of war , but also through redeployment of female workers of disused or unimportant war operations in agriculture and war economy and young labor market entrants in the administrative sector. For female adolescents from 18 years of the six-month 1939 Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) mandatory. As of August 1941, the RAD extended by half a year "war Subsidiary" in the air raid , in social institutions, hospitals, large families or transport companies. "In all areas of life where there is a lack of men, the woman is responsible for the man," as it was officially called and was propaganda documented. In the public sector women employees were there from October 1939 to their male counterparts in the wage level as well assimilated as piece workers in the arms factories from 1940. Higher wages, improved labor and maternity protection laws or massive government welfare benefits should the stability of the "home front", despite a gradual increase in weekly working hours from 48 to 50 or more hours maintained and deteriorating living conditions.
During World War II intensified, access to the young people whose lives have been less and less determined by the school itself. Every year children and young people were great obligation to harvest use during the war. To your daily now were also picking up of potato beetles or by dropped by Allied aircraft fire platelets and Verladedienste and the distribution of National Socialist propaganda. Diverse collection campaigns were about the schools or the Hitler Youth organization (HJ). You should sacrifice the German and the spirit of solidarity " national community "summon. Everyday phenomena in the streets were the collections for the war winter relief organization or the "Schulaltstoffsammlungen", in which the members of the HJ paper, textile materials or metals gained. From April 1940, the authorities called on regularly to "metal donation" for the arms factories. Frostbite by Wehrmacht soldiers on the Eastern Front led the winter of 1941-42 to regroup of winter clothing and blankets. Not every German was his coat or an expensive fur while willingly ago.
Forced laborers in Wernigerode, 1943
Streetcar conductor at War Forum
Distraction from the war everyday
Listen to the radio and reading were among the most popular pastimes of young people and adults alike. A flood of literature kriegsverherrlichender extended for them in bookstores. About the peopleâ the Germans heard in addition to the one-sided victory reports of the Wehrmacht reports known hits like "That can a sailor not shake" and was especially "Lili Marleen", which like no other song roused and played in the Wunschkonzerts emotions. The entertainment movie "request concert" became one of the most successful films of the Nazi era. The focus of the film was the most popular radio program "request concert for the Wehrmacht," which should maintain the connection between home and front and replaced in the greetings and music requests or births were announced the distant fathers. Every Sunday the "request concert" of about half of the German population was persecuted.
Although fully staffed stages would almost have been ideal targets of Allied bombers, went a week hundreds of thousands of people in search of leisure and distraction to soccer games, even if they have often moved because of the danger of air raids and stated quite shortly. For purposes of propaganda , however, the football served little as Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels after a 2: held 3 defeat of the German national team against Sweden in Berlin's Olympic Stadium on 20 September 1942 in his diary: Because 100,000 spectators, which 'was the game more at heart as the taking of any city in the east ", the stadium left depressed," one would have to reject such an event for the mood in the interior ".
Instead, popular movie stars of the time such should Hans Albers , Heinz Rühmann , Willy Birgel , Hans Moser or Marika Rokk people distract you from your worries. Actresses like Zarah Leander , Kristina Söderbaum , Anna Dammann (1912-1993) and especially Ilse Werner - the "dream girl" in the first half of the 40s - enjoyed a role model, which many women emulate despite rationing of textiles and lack of toiletries in appearance sought. In the first year of the war - in the 1939/40 season - the limit has been exceeded one billion admissions in the German Reich for the first time. In the cinemas mostly ran deliberately apolitical entertainment films, many audience hits such as "... rides for Germany" (1941) but transported subliminally also a clearly political message. Classics such as "Munchausen" (1943) or "The Punch Bowl" (1944) were used in the last years of the war, as the one shown before the main feature "newsreel" for the Germans had to report very little good news from the fronts, increasingly the distraction.
Illustrieter Film-Kurier for the feature film "request concert" in 1940
Poster for the song "Lili Marleen", around 1943
Airstrikes and mood of the population
The air sirens sounded in the large cities from 1942 frequently eclipses were common, and more often had people came full Enge grueling nights spent in bomb shelters or basements house. The then for days over the city lying to the airstrikes smell of fire, burnt human flesh and rotting them was years after the war still present. Offered by the air raid "Civic gas masks" should provide protection against the dreaded smoke after attacks. The Kinderlandverschickung (KLV) and evacuation of entire families also increased in extent, but in 1943 left more than 700,000 Berlin the capital. Tens of thousands had bombed housed in emergency shelters and of the Nazi People's Welfare are supported (NSV). To save paper, numerous newspapers and magazines published by rallying calls only on special occasions, or their appearance has been fully adjusted. Miscellaneous goods could be purchased only on the black market, which was drastically punished as "war economic crimes", but nevertheless flourished. Discord against the force as privileged "party bosses" of the NSDAP increased, and Adolf Hitler was it no longer the exception. The way to active resistance , however, found a few German.
Were Hitler after the German victory over "archenemy" France in the summer of 1940 by most Germans downright idolatrous sympathy bestowed so doubted the war continued - than pleased lists currently assumptions unknown proportions - always more "compatriots" in the "skill of the leader". After the capitulation of the 6th Army in Stalingrad in February 1943 and the immediately following German and Italian defeat in the African campaign , the mood in the German Reich changed dramatically. The morale in the population decreased rapidly. Doubts about the "final victory" grew louder, the - were occupied by draconian punishments - if they fell into the public. War-weariness and defeatism increased appreciably, at the same time but also the fear of being denounced for it and punished drastically.
Woman with "people's gas mask" after an air raid in 1944
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TIME FINISHED Jutta Schneider: In KLV-camp 1941
War and turn of the war
The declaration of " total war "by Goebbels a few days after the defeat at Stalingrad in the Berlin Sports Palace on February 18, 1943 should have the mobilization of all material and human resources to follow. The end of July 1944, all "war unimportant" businesses and shops closed. The Nazi state undertook now large sections of the population to work in the armaments industry. Almost all able-bodied men were in the armed forces, in the Waffen-SS or police units.
The concerns of the Germans were no longer solely the welfare of the adult family member at the front, but to an increasing extent also the still teenage son or brother. More and more schools presented as introduced on September 8, 1939 Notabitur, a leaving certificate, the military as a school leaving certificate served at convocation. 14- to 18-year-old Hitler Youth were taught in military training camps in military tactics and weapons training. With the expansion of the military from August 1943, boys under 18 were directly from the camps in the Wehrmacht confiscated. Already 15-year-old had from 1943 to replace the abkommandierten front flak soldiers as "Luftwaffenhelfer", often with fatal outcome. By convening the Volkssturm in autumn 1944, the teenagers ultimately stood the enemy with the weapon in his hand and immediately opposite.
Notice for suspension of business for convening the owner, about 1944
Fear particular in the last months of the war everyday life of millions of Germans who looked towards an uncertain future. The years of hateful propaganda against the "Bolsheviks" had, and the crime beat back the Germans. Fearing the mighty Red Army sat from October 1944 East Prussia and Silesia refugee treks westward in motion after by Red Army soldiers committed against the German civilian population atrocities as murder, kidnapping or rape had become known. To the west of the empire, however, the British and Americans were mostly friendly greeting, less than "liberators" by the Nazi regime, but of relief that they marched, and as occupiers from the Red Army that the lossy war that approximately 3,8 to 4V million German soldiers and 1.65 million civilians brought death, would now soon come to an end. But fear also had the people in the West, before a peace that Germany could be dictated, and for penalties for crimes committed by Germans in Europe. "Enjoy the war, because peace is terrible," this circulating in the last months of the war, especially among Nazi officials saying brought the mood among many Germans cynically expressed. Quite often prevailed in early 1945 a strangely bizarre gloom and doom, and those previously materially privileged like officials or officers they celebrated with alcohol orgies, while much of the population had difficulty especially in the towns and refugees, to be satisfied, or a roof over their find head.
The war ended on 8 May 1945 reduced the daily plight of the population initially only marginally. Under enormous war damages and hunger they had to suffer some still years.
NS staying Poster
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TIME FINISHED Dorothea Günther: the war in Potsdam in 1945
Arnulf Scriba
© Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin
May 13, 2015
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Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Deutsches Historisches Museum
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As fine a source as exists.
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Thanks to my Bavarian and Salzburger friends for your insights. I realize how very old I am, indeed.
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It is remarkable that young people today in Germany and Austria have to strain hard, if at all, to find any real tangible sign of the war.
My first memory of West Germany when I got there at the end of the 1960s was how many amputees were on the streets, in numbers I had never seen before.
And bomb damage, though mostly gone, was still visible on many buildings in most cities, that is, it was fairly plentiful.
Then I recall in the course of the 1980s, when I lived in West Germany for a number of years, how the amputees all vanished and the bomb damage faded from view, too.....
Now even in what was once the GDR you have to look very hard indeed to see any sign of the war.....
Such is why we do our work here. Thanks for an interesting exchange.
This is the Kudamm some fourteen years before I got there.
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