[Germany, winter 1916/17] The British naval blockade caused great suffering in Germany. This winter, the need was dramatic. A rainy autumn had caused a potato slight and only half of the harvest could be saved,
Moreover, there was far too little coal. Thus, the households had no coal to heat, and the railroad no coal to operate the locomotives. This made it difficult to transport the few potatoes from the farmers to the consumers. Moreover, parts of the already small harvest got rotten during transportation.
As a substitute, turnips were distributed. Although many people ate them in the morning, at noon and in the evening, they did not get enough calories and thus strength for the heavy work that had to be done every day. Moreover, this winter was freezing cold, for weeks the temperatures were far below zero. Public soup kitchens were the last resort from starvation, even if the food was not good.
https://emigrants.rhinedragon.de/turnip-winter-in-germany/
Great history. Thank you.