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An estimated 13.6 million soldiers, including a few women, served in the Wehrmacht, the German military forces, during World War II—drawn from a German population of about 80 million. [22] 4.3 million were killed during the war [23] The heavy military demand for manpower caused severe shortages of labor in Germany for both industry and ...
The government made preparations to ration food in 1925, in advance of an expected general strike, and appointed Food Control Officers for each region.In the event, the trade unions of the London docks organised blockades by crowds, but convoys of lorries under military escort took the heart out of the strike, so that the measures did not have to be implemented.
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the German government instituted rationing which resulted in the restricted availability of food. Occasional shortages of food occurred during the war; thus, a black market developed. However, supplies were generally adequate, especially in comparison to the situation in some other European countries.
Rationing aimed to reduce the supply of imported food and meat so that more resources could be devoted to the war. [41] The Ministry of Food recognized that rationing would likely cause increases in the price of food to consumers and decided to subsidize the prices of many foods, thereby reducing inflationary pressures.
An anti-hoarding, pro-rationing poster from the United States in World War II. The work of issuing ration books and exchanging used stamps for certificates was handled by some 5,500 local ration boards of mostly volunteer workers selected by local officials. Many levels of rationing went into effect.
In addition, reduced foreign trade meant rationing of consumer goods like poultry, fruit, and clothing for many Germans. [ 4 ] The Nazis believed in war as the primary engine of human progress, and argued that the purpose of a country's economy should be to enable that country to fight and win wars of expansion. [ 5 ]
The whaler on HMS Sheffield being manned with an armed boarding party to check a neutral vessel stopped at sea, 20 Oct 1941. The Blockade of Germany (1939–1945), also known as the Economic War, involved operations carried out during World War II by the British Empire and by France in order to restrict the supplies of minerals, fuel, metals, food and textiles needed by Nazi Germany – and ...
Germany in the 1930s, like other European countries, was not self-sufficient and relied on foreign imports to feed its population, [6] a situation worsened with the outbreak of war as the military recruited labourers, requisitioned tractors and horses, and was first priority for fuel. Overall food consumption needed to be reduced.