The Economic State of Families, Examples from Berlin (1946/47)

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How many families could still buy light bulbs in the winter of 1946/47 (for 5 to 10 RM a piece) in order to find their way around their dark apartments during blackouts? Articles of daily use that can be purchased with ration coupons or freely in retail stores also cost, for the most part, several times more than before, for example:

1 simple wool sweater 50–75 RM (previously 6–15 RM),
1 simple cotton dress for a child 110 RM (previously 7 to 15 RM),
1 kitchen towel 10 RM (previously 0.60–0.90 RM),
1 scouring cloth 4–5 RM (previously 0.30–0.50 RM),
1 simple teacup 10–20 RM (previously 0.30–0.50 RM),
1 shopping bag for housewives, depending on quality 7–75 RM (previously 2–5 RM),
1 writing book for business purposes 3 RM (previously 0.30 RM),
1 liter liquid soap 2.50 RM (previously 0.30 RM),
1 pound of soap powder 8 RM (previously 0.75 RM),
1 candle 5–10 RM (previously 0.20 RM),
1 roll of darning yarn with a ration coupon 0.75 RM (previously 0.10 RM),
1 board on wheels with shaft = so-called wagons to transport coal or potatoes 45–100 RM (previously about 7–10 RM).

[ . . . ]

Let us supplement this survey with a few average prices on the black market from the spring 1947:

1 pound butter: 250–350 RM
1 pound bacon: 350–460 RM
1 pound rye flour: 18– 25 RM
1 pound wheat flour: 40– 60 RM
1 rye bread (3 pounds): 35–45 RM
1 pound barley groats: 25–40 RM
1 pound of sugar: 80–100 RM
1 pound meat: 120–150 RM
1 egg: 15– 20 RM
1 pound onions: 10– 12 RM
1 centner briquettes: 50– 80 RM
1 roll of sewing thread: 30– 50 RM

[ . . . ]

Nearly all these prices represent a more than hundred-fold increase over official prices.

[ . . . ]

Already this cross section should prove that the great majority of wage and salary earners cannot pay these black market prices from their earnings.

[ . . . ]



Source: H. Thurnwald, Gegenwartsprobleme Berliner Familien [The Current Problems of Berlin Families]. Berlin, 1948, pp. 63-67; reprinted in Christoph Kleßmann, Die doppelte Staatsgründung. Deutsche Geschichte 1945-1955 [The Founding of Two German States: German History, 1945-1955]. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986, pp. 379-81.

Translation: Thomas Dunlap