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Memories of the war year 1916 including meatless days (a dog confronts a turnip), bank notes for loans, and rations cards for cooking fats, potatoes, dried vegetables and bread. The winter of 1916–1917 was Germany's Turnip Winter.
Text:
Erinnerung aus dem Kriegsjahre 1916
Fleischloser Tag!
Fettkarte, Kartoffelkarte, Darlehenskassenschein, Trockengemüse
Meatless Day!
Cooking Fat Card, Potato Card, Loan Bank Note, Dried Vegetables
Memories of War Year 1916
Reverse:
Verlag Rudolf Johannes Leonhardt, Dresden-A.I. Militäramtlich genehmigt.
Publisher Rudolf John Leonhardt, Dresden-A.I. Officially approved by Military.

Memories of the war year 1916 including meatless days (a dog confronts a turnip), bank notes for loans, and rations cards for cooking fats, potatoes, dried vegetables and bread. The winter of 1916–1917 was Germany's Turnip Winter.

Image text

Erinnerung aus dem Kriegsjahre 1916



Fleischloser Tag!

Fettkarte, Kartoffelkarte, Darlehenskassenschein, Trockengemüse



Meatless Day!

Cooking Fat Card, Potato Card, Loan Bank Note, Dried Vegetables



Memories of War Year 1916



Reverse:

Verlag Rudolf Johannes Leonhardt, Dresden-A.I. Militäramtlich genehmigt.

Publisher Rudolf John Leonhardt, Dresden-A.I. Officially approved by Military.

Other views: Larger, Larger

Saturday, January 13, 1917

"At the same time, victualling left something to be desired. Potatoes seem to have become a thing of the past; day after day, when we lifted the lids of our dishes in the vast mess hall, we found nothing but watery swedes. Before long, we couldn't stand the sight of them. Even though they're better than they're cracked up to be — so long as they're roasted with a nice piece of pork, and plenty of black pepper. Which these weren't."

Quotation Context

German Ensign Ernst Jünger was wounded in September and November, 1916, returning to his regiment in the village of Fresnoy-le-Grand on December 18. The regiment spent four weeks in Fresnoy, during which Jünger was awarded the Iron Cross First Class.

Bad weather in the autumn of 1916 led to a poor potato crop in Germany, some of which was not harvested, and some of which was diverted to the troops. Turnips or swedes served as substitutes in Germany's Turnip Winter of 1916–1917. The swede (called a rutabaga in the United States) is similar to the turnip, but turnips are usually smaller, with a higher water content. Swedes are generally larger, with a darker, tougher outer skin, and a more yellow flesh.

Source

Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger, page 120, copyright © 1920, 1961, Translation © Michael Hoffman, 2003, publisher: Penguin Books, publication date: 2003

Tags

1917-01-13, 1917, January, turnip, swede, turnip winter, Turnip Winter