4. Food Supply in Dordrecht
Below are various items related to food supply. Resistance groups used couriers to distribute printed messages, hoping to obtain ration coupons which they could then use to feed people in hiding. The document from the “Kruidenier” ( Grocer ) is likely an example of this. The date “16 February 1945” is written on the back, right in the middle of the hunger winter that also affected Dordrecht, which was still not liberated. The sugar beet recipe is also an interesting document. As basic food items were scarce during the hunger winter, people had to resort to eating unconventional things. The most well-known examples are sugar beets and tulip bulbs. This document provides information on how to prepare sugar beets. Then there is the"Massa voeding" document. ( Feeding the masses ) As the document explains, not everyone had the means to cook meals. Mass food distribution aimed to provide meals to Dordrecht residents who had nothing during the hunger winter. Community kitchens were established at various locations, as described on the back of the document. Finally, there is a document that lists the contents of a U.E. Dray Fields box. This document is likely related to Operation Manna. In April and May 1945, the Allies had made an agreement with the German occupiers to airdrop food supplies into occupied Netherlands. The situation was so severe that there was hardly any food or clothing available. The food drops in April and May of that year were therefore crucial for the Dutch population. (Click on the photos to enlarge)
