Hongerwinter
The Hongerwinter ( German Hungerwinter ) or the Dutch Famine in the winter of 1944/45 was a famine in World War II that occurred towards the end of the German occupation of the Netherlands between October 1944 and April 1945. The densely populated Holland was particularly affected .
From September 1944, a German blockade prevented this region from being supplied with food and fuel from the more rural regions of the Netherlands. The famine that began in October 1944 affected 4.5 million people whose food supplies had already been rationed in the previous years of the war. The number of people who died as a result of this famine is now estimated at 18,000 to 22,000. Older sources cite 200,000 starved people as consequences of the famine; this figure was refuted in 1999 by the Dutch historian David Barnouw . The supply of food and fuel to the population only improved after the Achterveld armistice on April 30, 1945.
The effects of the famine on the people who suffered it are the subject of long-term medical studies that began immediately after the end of World War II. The results of these studies include the finding that a phase of hunger during prenatal development affects the physical and mental development of a person throughout their life and that effects can still be found in the following generation.
course
The railway strike
In September 1944, the Allies attempted a quick advance to the Rhine as part of Operation Market Garden , which failed. Only the south of the Netherlands was liberated. In the part of the Netherlands that remained occupied until the end of April 1945, the living conditions of the population became much tougher. There was a series of reprisals by the occupying power against the population, at the same time the clashes between the people of the resistance and the Germans became increasingly bitter. Resistance fighters caught were shot immediately and the houses they were using burned down.
On the orders of Prince Bernhard and the Dutch government-in-exile in London, the Dutch railway workers went on strike that same month and went underground to paralyze the German supply. This general railway strike had been prepared for a long time. Even before Operation Market Garden began, the Allied headquarters had asked the Dutch government-in-exile in London to call for such a strike. The aim of the strike was to disrupt German military transports as sensitively as possible and thus also to prevent the transport of V weapons from Germany to the west of the Netherlands. The action had been prepared by the Dutch railway management since D-Day ; the majority of the 30,000 Dutch railroad workers managed to go underground.
The Dutch government in exile had called for a railroad strike, knowing that this would jeopardize the transport of coal and food to the west of the Netherlands. However, it was assumed that not much time would pass before the country was completely liberated. The two most important Dutch officials, Hans Max Hirschfeld and Stephane Louise, who were responsible for the food supply, also successfully resisted German pressure to speak out against the railway strike. In response to the strike and the refusal of the Dutch officials, the German Reich Commissioner for the Netherlands Seyss-Inquart banned the use of inland waterways to transport food and fuel from the north and east of the country to the west. At the same time, the Germans began to flood important parts of the Netherlands in order to prevent the liberation of the Netherlands by the Allies, or at least to make it more difficult.
Effects on the population
During the occupation of the Netherlands, a close-knit allocation system had been set up with the aim of distributing increasingly scarce resources in such a way that nobody went hungry. At the same time, a black market had inevitably emerged, which the population did not consider reprehensible, as it was argued that otherwise the Germans would requisition even more food. For the poorest strata of the population there had been central food stalls since the winter of 1940, which were initially hardly used, but which played a major role in supplying the population during the hunger winter of 1944/45.
The predominantly urban population of West Holland, which was dependent on food and fuel and remained occupied by German troops until Germany surrendered, suffered from the transport stop . In West Holland, the effects of the transport stop were already felt in October. One million households in the west of the Netherlands ran out of gas or electricity from October because supplies were exhausted. Only hospitals, central kitchens and German facilities were supplied. Lacking fuel, the Dutch people began to fire with peat again and to search the stations for coal grit and coke. Trees in parks and green spaces were illegally felled and the wooden sleepers of the tram routes were stolen. Woodwork from empty buildings was also removed. This also resulted in building collapses, in which people were killed.
The situation of the food supply developed in a similarly dramatic way: Butter was also missing in October 1944, other animal fats ran out a little later. The short-term easing of the transport stop in November, when the German occupiers temporarily allowed food to be transported over the waterways again, was not able to alleviate this need. The early onset and particularly cold winter caused the canals to freeze over before the food reached the needy population. From September to March each person in West Holland had only 1.3 liters of oil available, the equivalent of a small cup a month, which was barely enough to prepare meals. Food cards for potatoes were handed out, but very soon there were none left and the cards could only be exchanged for watery soups in soup kitchens. By the end of November, the daily calorie intake was only 1000 calories per day, significantly less than the 2300 or 2900 calories that are considered appropriate for a physically active woman or a physically active man. Increasingly, raw materials that were previously not used in human nutrition were consumed: first, sugar beets were processed, later also flower bulbs. The monthly bread allocation fell to 800 grams per month per person in November and was halved again in April 1945. The financially weaker classes were particularly hard hit by the famine; Groceries were still available on the black market for those parts of the population who could afford this financially.
The first cases of hunger edema were hospitalized in January 1945. Special clinics were created in February to accommodate people who had lost more than 25 percent of their weight. They received additional rations in these clinics. However, one of the medical officials admitted that, given the general food shortage, there was little relief for those in need. Many of the needy died at home or in the streets. A total of 18,000 to 22,000 immediate fatalities as a result of the famine are assumed.
The tulip later became the symbol of this famine. This was mainly due to the imagery: the tulip was the Dutch product at the time. The use of tulip bulbs as substitute food had a special background. Since the West Netherlands was cut off from the rest of Europe and the export of tulip bulbs came to a standstill, large quantities were in stock. After Dutch doctors declared that tulip bulbs were safe to eat, tulip growers sold them as food. The taste of these onions was - compared to that of the sugar beet, which was also eaten as a substitute - so unusual that it was talked about a lot.
Relief efforts
Single and elderly people were particularly hard hit by the famine, as they were often unable to go on the hamster rides with which part of the population in rural provinces used to beg or barter food. Private organizations, the majority of which had their origins in the church sector, tried to organize food in the countryside, which was distributed fairly in the urban areas. Malnourished city children were sometimes evacuated to farmers in the country, where they sometimes stayed until the Netherlands was completely liberated.
Since the German occupiers were obviously unable to ensure an adequate food supply for the population in the west of the Netherlands, the Dutch government in exile urged the Allies to intervene with relief measures. A grain truck that was coming from southern Germany to supply the Netherlands via the Rhine ultimately got stuck because the Allies refused to declare the Rhine a neutral zone. It was not until March 1945, almost five months after the start of the famine, that the International Red Cross managed to reach an agreement between the various parties involved. The cargo of the two Red Cross ships, which had already reached the northeast of the Netherlands from Sweden at the end of January with flour, pearl barley, peas, margarine, milk powder and dried vegetables on board, has now been distributed. In the first week of March each person in the hunger-stricken areas was given 800 grams of bread and 125 grams of margarine free of charge.
Finally, at the end of April, Operation Manna carried out supply flights over the occupied territory for ten days. After laborious negotiations, an armistice for a limited time and place could be negotiated with the German Reich Commissioner. The Royal Air Force began Operation Manna on the morning of April 29, before the armistice was certain. The supply flights had already been announced by the BBC on April 28th so that the dropping points could be marked by the Dutch and enough personnel would be available for collection and further transport. Since there was not enough parachute silk available, the goods had to be dropped at low altitude without a parachute. First there was a test supply flight by initially two Lancaster bombers , which flew low over the German air defense, dropped their supplies and returned to their airfield without incident. The RAF then flew a total of 3,156 Lancaster flights and 145 Mosquito flights, during which 6,684 tons of supplies were dropped.
The US-American Operation Chowhound (dt. Feed sack ) began due to poor visibility on May 1st, when ten bomber groups of the 3rd Air Division of the Eighth Air Force dropped about 4000 tons of food during 2268 flights.
Importance of Famine to Science
The Dutch famine winter of 1944/45 is one of the rare cases of famine in a modern and developed society in which various data on the health of the population have been and are being regularly collected. It is also one of the few cases where the start and end of the famine could be clearly identified.
The American physician Clement Smith of Harvard Medical School was one of the first to recognize that the Dutch famine in the winter of 1944/45 would offer an opportunity to understand the long-term effects of maternal malnutrition on the development of the unborn and their later disease history. From this consideration the "Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study" emerged, an international long-term study which is continued to this day and in which several leading departments of the medical college in Amsterdam as well as the Medical Research Council of the University of Southampton are involved. As early as May 1945, doctors from the USA and Great Britain began corresponding examinations in the Netherlands, which initially determined, as expected, that birth weight and maternal malnutrition are strongly correlated with one another.
Studies in the 1960s
In the late 1960s, a group of scientists studied the effects of the famine on men who were born or conceived during the famine. Due to the extensive data that the Dutch government collected on their population, the medical histories of 100,000 men could be examined in more detail. All of these men had undergone extensive tests as part of their military aptitude tests that examined both their physical and mental health. The scientists began their investigation with the working hypothesis that children born or conceived during the famine would have a lower IQ than children of the preceding or following cohorts.
The scientists found that the famine had significantly reduced the birth rate. It was only a third of the normal birth rate. This was expected. The study also showed that an expectant mother physically absorbs the first effects of famine. Only when their malnutrition exceeds a certain level will the fetus be harmed. Fetuses whose development was impaired during the first trimester were more likely to be born prematurely. The number of stillbirths was also statistically striking. The infant mortality rate was also unusually high for these children. Children who survived were more likely to have damage to the central nervous system. On the other hand, there was no restriction in intellectual development.
Studies in the 1970s
Research into those conceived or carried to term during the famine continued into the 1970s. This study focused on the question of how the subsequent weight development progressed in the men who were affected by the famine during their prenatal development. The data of conscripted men that had been collected in the 1960s were analyzed. It turned out that the effects were largely dependent on the stage of development the embryo was in when its mother was malnourished. If he indirectly suffered from famine in the first half of prenatal development, the probability was higher that he was more overweight at the age of 19 than men who were not affected as an embryo. Individuals affected by famine in the second half of their prenatal development were lower in body weight than those unaffected by it.
Research results from the 1990s
Investigations continued into the 1990s. 700 people who were now in their fifth decade and whose prenatal development partly fell during the famine months were examined more closely. The research results of the 1970s were confirmed: even women whose first half of prenatal development fell during the famine months had a higher body weight and a larger waist circumference than women who were not affected by it. Both men and women to whom this characteristic applied had higher cholesterol levels with a poorer ratio between HDL and LDL cholesterol. Adults who were affected by famine in the second half of their prenatal development showed a metabolism that was more difficult to process carbohydrates. Other studies found that malnutrition in the prenatal phase increased the risk of later developing mental illness or developing lung or kidney problems. Women were found to be at increased risk of developing breast cancer.
Current focus of investigation
The scientific research of the " Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study " now focuses on the epigenetic effects of famine. Basically, the first results of the studies show that the children of people who suffered from famine during their prenatal development also have health problems more often than the offspring of women who did not go through this famine during their pregnancy. Differences can be found, for example, with insulin-like growth factors , especially with IGF2.
literature
- David Barnouw : The Netherlands in World War II: An Introduction . Agenda Verlag, Münster 2010, ISBN 978-3-89688-427-5 .
- Richard C. Francis: Epigenetics: The Ultimate Mystery of Inheritance . WW Norton & Company, New York 2011, ISBN 978-0-393-07005-7 .
- Sharman Apt Russel: Hunger: An Unnatural History . Perseus Books, New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-465-07163-0 .
- Adam Rutherford: A Brief History of Everyone who ever lived - The Stories in our Genes . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 2016, ISBN 978-0-29760-939-1 .
Single receipts
- ↑ Uitzending Gemist - Vroeger & Zo De Hongerwinter - 1944 ( Dutch ) Retrieved on 29 October 2016th
- ^ Rolf-Dieter Müller: At the side of the Wehrmacht: Hitler's foreign helpers in the "crusade against Bolshevism". P. 142 . 2007, Ch. Links Verlag (Fischer Taschenbuch 2010, ISBN 978-3-596-18150-6 ).
- ↑ David Barnouw (1999): De hongerwinter. P. 52 , ISBN 978-90-6550-446-3 .
- ^ David Barnouw: The Netherlands in World War II , p. 93.
- ^ David Barnouw: The Netherlands in World War II , p. 94.
- ↑ Horst Lademacher : History of the Netherlands. Politics - Constitution - Economy . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1983, ISBN 3-534-07082-8 , p. 451.
- ↑ a b David Barnouw: The Netherlands in World War II , p. 95.
- ↑ David Barnouw: The Netherlands in the Second World War , p. 96.
- ↑ a b c David Barnouw: The Netherlands in the Second World War , p. 97.
- ^ Rutherford: A Brief History of Everyone who ever lived . Chapter Fate . Ebook position 4367.
- ↑ a b c Francis: Epigenetics , p. 2.
- ↑ a b c David Barnouw: The Netherlands in the Second World War , p. 98.
- ^ Rutherford: A Brief History of Everyone who ever lived . Chapter Fate . Ebook position 4374.
- ↑ Russel: Hunger . P. 169.
- ↑ The History of the Netherlands 1940–1945: Chapter Famine on NetherlandsNet, website of the University of Münster.
- ^ David Barnouw: The Netherlands in the Second World War , p. 99.
- ^ The Bad Penny Crew of Operation Manna , Canada, accessed February 22, 2016.
- ^ Jon Lake: Lancaster Squadrons 1944-45 , Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 978-1-84176-433-7 , pp. 84 ff.
- ↑ Bergen - Abandoned, Forgotten & Little Known Airfields in Europe , accessed March 3, 2016.
- ^ Francis: Epigenetics , p. 163.
- ^ Francis: Epigenetics , p. 3.
- ↑ Russel: Hunger . P. 170.
- ↑ a b c Russel: Hunger . P. 171.
- ^ A b Francis: Epigenetics , p. 4.
- ^ Francis: Epigenetics , p. 7.