Blockade On Germany Research Paper

In the years before the first world war, Germany was a large importer of grains to support its agricultural sector. Annually, over 5.5 million tons of grains were imported (Welch 126). A large portion of this went to feeding livestock around the country, as well as making goods directly derived from the grain. While this was a third of the total grain used by the country, this was not an unusually high proportion to be importing for the time period (Heinzelmann 236). However the over dependence on a steady supply of foreign grain would create trouble for Germany in the war years to come.
Offended that Germany dared to try matching their maritime might, Britain placed a blockade against Germany as soon as the war broke. Unlike blockades of
the past, this one included a blockage on foodstuffs in addition to supplies for military purposes and angered some as breaking international laws. The ultimate goal of the blockade became quite clear as Winston Churchill stated his goal to “starve the population – men, women and children, old and young, wounded and sound – into submission” (Peterson 83). Stationed in the North Sea, Britain vigilantly searched and documented all trade ships’ cargo and destinations. Looking at former import amounts, Britain carefully measured how much could go to each of the neutral countries for fear that any surpluses were going to Germany. Once approved, or ransacked of forbidden material, a British ship would lead the merchant safely around minefields to their destination (National Archives).
Despite the neutral countries agreeing to the embargo, they did not wholeheartedly abandon their long time ties with Germany.
Sweden gave Britain some headaches by not being forthcoming with all requested information and Norway, Denmark and Sweden all continued to trade with Germany when possible (War Cabinet). Even this small amount of trading was viewed as detrimental to British victory and attempted to be brought to an end. Perhaps Sweden and Norway were sympathetic that Germany, within a few years of the war’s beginning, would face widespread malnutrition and starvation. Within a very short time period, the blockade had noticeable effect on the German economy as agricultural production dropped 25% from lack of needed supplies, such as fertilizer (“Germany, Home Front”). In response to the blockade against them, German started a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. The campaign was largely unsuccessful in breaking the blockade and further hastened the loss of the war as the United States entered due to the submarine
activity.
Expecting a repeat of the short Franco-Prussian War in 1870/1, Germany failed to adequately prepare for a lengthy war as displayed by not even making a plan for long term food distribution until six months into the war. Partly due to a good harvest in 1913 and the government avoidance of preparations for fear of affecting morale, german citizen actually consumed more throughout 1914 than they had pre-war (Welch 110). In actuality, the agricultural sector was rather bleak. Only 75-80% of the population’s food needs were covered domestically before the war and with the blockade in place this gap grew even wider (“Germany, Home Front”). Aside from losing imports, conscription pulled agricultural workers as well as horses off the land and factories that once made farming equipment and parts now focused on weapons. Total decrease in crops due to war-related shortages are estimated at 22% (Grebler 85). Those crops that were harvested, particularly perishable items, risked going to waste as the railways used for national distribution now were prioritized for military use. In addition to production problems, there had been no precedent for rationing or other policies for dealing with shortages.
Increasing food prices was an initial method of decreasing public consumption but fears that civil uproar over rising prices and threats from the Social Democratic party soon lead way to price ceilings and a nationalized food system (Welch 110). Unfortunately price ceilings were not very successful, as it often meant that those artificially lower priced foods were rapidly used and soon government agencies were created to oversee rationing of food items. The first of the many items to be controlled was grain and consequently bread. Starting in February 1915, the government put laws into place banning use of wheat and rye for fodder, requirements on farmers to report grain amounts and urging of all citizens to minimize waste (Welch 111). By July of 1915 all of the country would be under bread rations.
Knowing people would refuse to give up bread, the government had to devise a way to extend grains for as long a possible while still keeping the populace in good spirits.
Potatoes quickly became cheaper and in higher supply than any grain, so laws were passed starting in October of 1914 that bread had to have a minimum of five percent of the ingredients be potato (Heinzelmann 237/8). Kriegsbrot or K-brot was the promoted bread, as it was made of easily grown rye and higher percentages of potato than other bread. The dense loaf was praised for its unusually long shelf life and nutritiousness, leading it to be used both on the homefront and as a regular part of soldier’s rations (Museum der Brotkultur). Heavy promotion by the government lead to much of the middle and upper class enthusiastically endorsing the bread, which lead the British to comment that their fervor for potato bread was as alarming as their militarism (Heinzelmann 238). The lower classes were likely less enthusiastic as they could not afford many of the pricier goods available to make K-Brot more palatable. Kriegsbrot changed its composition throughout the war based on available supplies, which were increasingly of inferior quality or downright strange to be found in bread, which included over the years of the war “maize, peas, beans, soybeans, tapioca, acorns, swedes and even animal blood” (Heinzelman 238). It is easy to see how dire the situation becomes by the end of the war looking at this list of
ingredients and how seemingly anything was used to create a bread-like substance. Even ground straw and other desperate adulterates were used to keep something in the thinning bellies of the people (Cornish). K-Brot had gone from patriotic food to symbol of scarcity. Germany’s grain supplies did not adequately supply the nation throughout the war in part due to poor rationing, misreporting and mismanagement.
With no precedent to base it on, the rationing system in Germany was poorly executed. Despite the urgency of war, the decisions were slow to be approved and enacted due to excess bureaucracy and often were not as well planned as they ought (Allen 371). Rather than have one powerful coordinating agency, in the early years of the war the individual states and regions had the responsibility of enacting laws, which often meant they had to figure out how to make up any differences between given allocations (Heinzelmann 238). [ADD MORE ABOUT SYSTEM AND SET UP]
Who got how much of what was largely dependent on how important you were considered to the war. The bulk of the available food went to soldiers,who consumed 70 percent of the total food by 1917, though even that was below the needed amount of calories for the work (Heinzelmann 239). After soldiers, agricultural and industrial workers had larger shares than the rest of the civilian population, who felt the brunt of the rationing system. Based on new scientific studies on calories and proteins, rations focused on supplying the amount needed for the degree of labor done. However as the war continued, these rations got lower and lower, often below the necessary amount to sustain the body. Before the war, average calorie consumption had been 2276 daily whereas by the summer of 1917 the rationed calories were only 1100 a day, less than half of what they had been before the war (Grebler 78).