The war affected the German people in four main areas.
Rationing
At first, life in Germany did not seem to be too affected by the war.
Rationing and closure During and after the war, some goods were missing. Therefore, products such as gasoline, bacon, butter, and sugar were limited to a safe and consistent amount with your child. It has been intentionally kept to a minimum. Hitler knew that the budget cuts of World War I had led to political unrest, so he ordered that restrictions be kept to a minimum.
Consumer goods imported from France after its defeat by Germany in June 1940 contributed to the shortage.
However, autarkyfermeautarkyA closed economy. Hitler’s ideology that Germany would halt industry with the global outside world and rely entirely on its own resources, and rearmament, shut down rearmament, manufacture weapons, and build up the army, meant that customer goods were already expensive and scarce before the war.
Although major restrictions were not imposed until 1942, disorder arose at the beginning of the war.
Food was immediately rationed in 1939, the Germans did not enjoy chronic shortages until 1944.
The diet of Germans is more monotonous, with plenty of bread, potatoes and canned goods.
There has been a shortage of meat due to a lack of imports from the United States. Meat rations increased from 750 grams per week in 1939 to 250 grams per week in 1945.
Additional rations were distributed to others considered vital to the war effort, such as workers in heavy industry. There were also additional foods for pregnant women and blood donors.
The food rights of Jews were inferior to those of Aryans. closeAryA user of European descent, not Jewish, with blond hair and blue eyes. The Nazis regarded the Aryans as the incredible human race.
Parks and gardens have been dug up to create vegetable gardens.
Per capita food intake fell to 25 in 1941.
Clothing, rationed since November 1939, was so scarce that Nazi officials raided homes if they saw a surplus, especially shoes.
There was a shortage of coal, which was severe in the unusually cold winter of 1939-1940. To save fuel, other people were only allowed hot water twice a week.
Rationing has led to a thriving black market. closeblack market A black market is when goods are traded illegally. The wealthy could easily get their hands on luxury clothes and perfumes.
Due to the scarcity, many storefronts were displayed “as decoration only”. Dairies displayed rows of milk bottles filled with white salt to make it look like they contained milk.
In general, rationing was accepted with little opposition, especially since food rations were quite generous until the middle of the war. In fact, some other people ate more during the war.
However, in the last year of the war, ration cards were no longer respected and shortages of food and clothing were severe.
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