Crusty Bread Bites with Mud-Crusted Garnish
“– And I know a few words in German.
– Oh, where did you learn them and which ones?
– Well, I know how they say bread, Pole, vodka, or pig. Sometimes when they passed by, they would call out something German, similar to my regular name, and throw pieces of bread crusts into the mud. We hardly ate at that time, so I took them. My mother once, during that first year, I remember, cooked some broth. An army unit passed by and one soldier threatened with a pistol, demanding that she kill our last hen, which sometimes laid a few eggs, and make broth from it for him. She didn’t want to, but she had to, so she killed it. By the time the broth was ready, the German had already gone somewhere. After that, we were afraid to eat for a long time, fearing he would come back and want it. We only ate it two days later. And towards the end of the war, things were a bit different. They made us dig trenches. The older people said they were trenches for the Russians. For digging all day, we got a small bottle of vodka and sometimes a bit of fat. I was 14, so I didn’t want the vodka, but there was no choice.”
* Mrs. Stefania. Tarnów. Poland. World War II. / Visual History Archive, Shoah Foundation
Famine in Poland during World War II:
The German occupation policy was deliberately designed to create hunger among the Polish population. The Germans implemented a food confiscation system that involved seizing crops and agricultural products from Polish farmers to feed their own armies and civilian population. Often, through brutal reprisals, they forced residents to surrender their own food, leading to a drastic reduction in available supplies.
The German and Soviet occupations caused massive destruction to agricultural and industrial infrastructure. Due to wartime actions and the brutal measures of the occupiers, many agricultural areas were devastated, and crops were either destroyed or significantly reduced.
Additionally, mass deportations and expulsions of the population, as well as forced labor, impacted production capabilities and further worsened the food supply situation. People were forced to work under very harsh conditions, which diminished their ability to produce food and made it difficult to obtain basic foodstuffs.
The situation was further aggravated by severe difficulties in food distribution and German restrictions on transportation. In cities where the population was densely concentrated, access to food was particularly limited, and the black market became the only way to obtain something to eat, often at exorbitant prices.
In summary, the famine in Poland during World War II was the result of both the direct actions of the occupiers and the wartime destruction that shattered the country’s ability to feed itself.