Coffee in the Winter 1945

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Maxschnauzer
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#16

Post by Maxschnauzer » 06 Jul 2014, 08:05

Stephanie625 wrote:a bit off topic, but was tea rationed? What sorts of tea did they drink?

And what about cigarettes, rationed? What country did their tobacco come from?
Hello Stephanie,

While it doesn't answer your questions, this link contains an interesting timeline on the history of tobacco in the 20th century which you may find useful in your research: http://archive.tobacco.org/resources/hi ... y20-1.html

Here I have excerpted the entries related to the TR:
1936: GERMANY: German cigarette manufacturer CIGARETTEN BILDENDIENST offers coupons in cigarette packs which are redeemable for a coffee-table book on Hitler. More coupons bought "home album" pictures suitable for pasting into designated spots. Goebbels oversaw production of the book. (Fahs, Cigarette Confidential)

1939: GERMANY: Fritz Lickint, in collaboration with the Reich Committee for the Struggle against Adictive Drugs and the German Antitobacco League, publishes Tabak und Organismus (Tobacco and the Organism). Proctor calls the 1,100 page volume "arguably the most comprehensive scholarly indictment of tobacco ever published." It blamed smoking for cancers all along the Rauchstrasse ("smoke alley")--lips, tongue, mouth, jaw, esophagus, windpipe and lungs, and included "a convincing argu ent that 'passive smoking' ( Passivrauchen. . . ) posed a serious threat to nonsmokers." [Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer]

1939: GERMANY: Franz Muller presents "the world's first controlled epidemiological study of the tobacco-lung cancer relationship." --Proctor.Tabakmissbrauch und Lungencarcinom ("Tobacco Misuse and Lung Carcinoma") finds that "the extraordinary rise in tobacco use [is] the single most important cause of the rising incidence of lung cancer." A brief abstarct is published in the Sept. 30, 1939 issue ofJAMA Franz Hermann Muller of the University of Cologne's Pathological Institute finds extremely strong dose relationship between smoking and lung cancer. (Mller FH. Tabakmissbrauch und Lungencarcinom. Zeitschrift fr Krebsforschung 1939;49:5785.)

1939: GERMANY: Hermann Goring issues a decree forbidding the military to smoke on the streets, on marches, and on brief off duty periods.

1940: GERMANY: 5% of the German tobacco harvest is "nicotine-free tobacco."

1941: GERMANY: Tobacco taxes account for 1/12th of all revenues flowing into the national treasury. (Proctor)

1942: GERMANY: The Federation of German Women launch a campaign against tobacco and alcohol abuse; restaurants and cafes are forbidden to sell cigarettes to women customers.

1945: GERMANY: Cigarettes are the unofficial currency. Value: 50 cents each

1945-04: GERMANY: Karl Astel, founder of the Scientific Institute for Research into the Dangers of Tobacco, committs suicide, presumably to avoid facing the consequences of his activities as a leading racial hygienist in the Third Reich. The Institute is soon disbanded.
Cheers,
Max

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Karelia
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#17

Post by Karelia » 06 Jul 2014, 23:50

PiretBCN wrote:The card posted above looks more generous (at 1st glance) that the one we had in Estonia at the end of the Soviet occupation. Yes, I have the experience of drinking fake coffee because there was no real coffee. Therefore I sometimes buy fake coffee. I get nostalgic. Funnily enough, fake coffee usually costs more than real coffee these days.

About old methods of making coffee, I vaguely remember that about 20 years ago a Finnish coffee brand 'Kulta Katriina' had one type of coffee that was a bit coarse and much lighter than other coffees. It was meant for traditional coffee making - coffee + hot water; no filters, no machines. I have been trying to find a picture online but without luck. I suppose nobody drinks it anymore?

I also wonder about the coffee machine shown at the beginning of this episode of "Obersalzberg": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL9XUhXvgqs Was this the typical model used in the offices of the 3rd Reich?
https://www.google.fi/search?q=kulta+ka ... 61&dpr=0.9

Have a look at there. That brand is very much alive and kicking. Most coffee brands have different versions for filter brewing and for traditional coffee pan brewing - as well as e.g. organic and darker versions.

The traditional way is the better way compered to the filter machines (am not talking about espresso or such but the typical Finnish type of coffee which Piret is talking about). Only benefits the machines give are the convenience and speed, but the coffee enthusiasts still prefer the old method.
Last edited by Karelia on 07 Jul 2014, 15:15, edited 1 time in total.


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Karelia
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#18

Post by Karelia » 07 Jul 2014, 14:17

Some related info about coffee - or rather lack of it - in Finland during the War(s):

"In 1939, the beginning of World War II led to a severe rationing period. The import of foreign goods into the country, coffee included, decreased dramatically. A sudden need for coffee substitutes emerged, and Finnish roasteries established an organization to promote the farming and drying of chicory, the distribution of which was not regulated in any way (Sipil� 119). In 1941, the selling of real coffee was prohibited altogether, as all the available coffee was used to make ersatz coffee (Sipil� 16), which was a mixture of real coffee and coffee substitutes (see the section on Substitutes and Ersatz Coffee).

In 1945, the first batch of coffee since the beginning of the rationing period arrived in Finland (Pulla 79), but it was allocated to loggers in hopes of speeding up post-war reconstruction and in order to get lumber with which war reparations could be covered. In 1946, the first batch to be distributed to the general public arrived at Turku harbor, receiving unprecedented attention (Jaatinen 40). However, as the importation of coffee was rationed, the imported amounts were small at first, and coffee could only be bought with ration coupons (Sipil� 19). The rationing did not end until 1954 (Ignatiew-Aukia and Manninen 52), when the importation of coffee was deregulated (Sipil� 58). "

https://www15.uta.fi/FAST/FIN/GEN/to-coffe.html

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Karelia
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#19

Post by Karelia » 07 Jul 2014, 14:19

During and straight after the war coffee was very rare, since it was the second commodity to get rationed (after sugar) and the last one to be freed. Coffee rationing started on 28th October 1939 and finally ended 1st March 1954!

At first people could buy 250 g of coffee per month, but later the only "coffee" available was the coffee "substitute", which had 15 % of real coffee. From 1943 on only coffee "equivalent" was available, which did not have any real coffee at all.

The first coffee ship after the war arrived Finland on 24th February 1946. It's voyage and arrival were headline news. A police chain was needed to secure the unloading of the ship.

Today the Finns consume the most coffee (counted by coffee bean consumption) per person in the world.

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 6&t=199219

Felix C
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#20

Post by Felix C » 07 Jul 2014, 22:52

I am guessing coffee and tobacco came from either Spain or Turkey or both.

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Karelia
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#21

Post by Karelia » 08 Jul 2014, 16:52

Felix C wrote:I am guessing coffee and tobacco came from either Spain or Turkey or both.
AFAIK there was no official import of coffee or tobacco to Finland at all during the war. (Very) small amounts of coffee could be obtained by individual exchange with the German soldiers, by personally bringing it to the country (only possible to those very few who were able to travel) or by receiving it as a gift by post. The same goes with tobacco.

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Karelia
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#22

Post by Karelia » 08 Jul 2014, 16:54

Karelia wrote:...

At first people could buy 250 g of coffee per month, but later the only "coffee" available was the coffee "substitute", which had 15 % of real coffee. From 1943 on only coffee "equivalent" was available, which did not have any real coffee at all.
...
Sorry, a mistake.

Should have been, that the coffee "substitute" had 25 % coffee, not 15 %.

Seppo Koivisto
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#23

Post by Seppo Koivisto » 08 Jul 2014, 22:14

I checked from the Finnish Statistical Yearbook the amount of coffee and tobacco imported during the war years. 1942-45 very little coffee was imported, while the import of tobacco decreased much less.
  • Import of coffee
    1938.......26248 tons
    1939.......26472
    1940.......13850
    1941.........6425
    1942..........249
    1943..........111
    1944.............6
    1945..........200
    1946.........3757
  • Import of raw tobacco
    1938.......3972 tons
    1939.......3860
    1940.......3456
    1941.......4214
    1942.......2672
    1943.......2173
    1944.......1738
    1945.......1399
    1946.......1958
http://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/69224 (page number 170, 154/283 of PDF)

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Karelia
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Re: Coffee in the Winter 1945

#24

Post by Karelia » 09 Jul 2014, 18:20

Thanks very much, Seppo, most interesting!

I always thought that the import stopped totally. Obviously that was not the case, although with coffee practically true.

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