Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

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Futurist
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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#16

Post by Futurist » 24 Jun 2020, 22:01

They were sent to Treblinka if they were not killed in the Warsaw Ghetto itself, correct?

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wm
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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#17

Post by wm » 12 Aug 2020, 22:04

The majority were sent to work camps. Only so-called "non-productive" Jews were killed.
The 1943 liquidation of the Ghetto wasn't a real liquidation but relocation of the workforce to the countryside.


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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#18

Post by Futurist » 12 Aug 2020, 22:30

wm wrote:
12 Aug 2020, 22:04
The majority were sent to work camps. Only so-called "non-productive" Jews were killed.
The 1943 liquidation of the Ghetto wasn't a real liquidation but relocation of the workforce to the countryside.
What % of this workforce subsequently survived, though? I mean survived the entire war.

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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#19

Post by hambubger » 12 Aug 2020, 23:01

Interesting post. Horses were also a factor. Horse transport was responsible for a highly-significant amount of logistics transport on the Eastern Front (for both sides). The Lebensraum idea was in effect more in early 1941 than 1942, by which I mean more labor and agricultural capital had been made available, sent east, and planned to produce food. The biggest difference was 1942 vs 1943, in which a lot of the horses used for not just logistics but also as farm labor had been eaten during the winter sieges.
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." – Mark Twain.

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wm
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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#20

Post by wm » 12 Aug 2020, 23:55

Lots of those horses came from occupied Poland, so one might say they were "traitors."

Futurist wrote:
12 Aug 2020, 22:30
What % of this workforce subsequently survived, though? I mean survived the entire war.
I suppose a few percent.

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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#21

Post by Sid Guttridge » 13 Aug 2020, 00:47

Hi Futurist,

I expect mobilization and the outbreak of war disrupted the 1939 harvest. The first reservists were called up as early as March/April 1939.

The 1940 harvest wouldn't have been helped by the fact that the Germans were holding hundreds of thousands of men as POWs.

Sid.

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wm
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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#22

Post by wm » 13 Aug 2020, 09:35

Although the war and mobilizations happened after the harvest.

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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#23

Post by Sid Guttridge » 13 Aug 2020, 14:44

Hi wm,

The Polish harvest is usually reckoned to be over by about 15 August.

Four infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade were mobilised in March 1939. Throughout the summer other reservist were called up for exercises.

Cheers,

Sid.

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wm
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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#24

Post by wm » 13 Aug 2020, 16:50

Four infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade were nothing in such a large country.

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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#25

Post by Sid Guttridge » 13 Aug 2020, 18:32

Hi wm,

Maybe, but they are still tens of thousands of men not available for farming, and that doesn't include the reservists called up temporarily for exercises.

Cheers,

Sid.

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wm
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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#26

Post by wm » 13 Aug 2020, 20:41

Unemploymend was up to 30 percent in rural areas. That was millions of people with nothing to do.

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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#27

Post by Sid Guttridge » 13 Aug 2020, 22:15

Hi wm,

Except at harvest time?

Sid

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wm
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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#28

Post by wm » 15 Aug 2020, 22:15

Peasants and their families did it. They didn't need many farmhands and anyway, most of them couldn't afford them.

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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#29

Post by Sid Guttridge » 16 Aug 2020, 07:18

Hi wm,

Peasants and farmhands also got mobilised at prime harvesting age.

Cheers,

Sid.

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Re: Why was the harvest in Poland in 1942 so much better than it was in 1941?

#30

Post by gebhk » 16 Aug 2020, 10:04

Peasants and farmhands also got mobilised at prime harvesting age.
Their wives and children did not. There is a reason why poor agricultural families had and still tend to have many children 8O

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