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Images - Scarcity and Moral Uncertainty in Occupied Germany
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1.   Everyday life in a Berlin Camp for ethnic Germans (1945)
For the nearly 9.5 million ethnic Germans who had been expelled or fled from formerly German territories in eastern Europe in 1945, life in camps was the norm, and standing in line was a tiresome....
Everyday life in a Berlin Camp for ethnic Germans (1945)
2.   Worldly Goods in a Knapsack (1945)
With society in ruins, a knapsack to carry one's most important possessions in was an indispensable commodity for all sorts of people – refugees, expellees, returnees, the homeless. Photographer....
Worldly Goods in a Knapsack (1945)
3.   Permission to Ride a Bicycle (July 24, 1945)
In Berlin in the immediate postwar period, Germans were allowed to ride bicycles only in exceptional cases, with special permission. Here is a precious certificate entitling the holder to use a bicycle....
Permission to Ride a Bicycle (July 24, 1945)
4.   Coveted Possession: A Woman Defends her Bicycle (1945)
In 1945, bicycles were a coveted means of transportation and in Berlin, a special permission was required....
Coveted Possession: A Woman Defends her Bicycle (1945)
5.   Food being Served to Children at a Hamburg School (1946)
In February 1946, the authorities in the British occupation zone began providing schools with food from army supplies in order to alleviate the worst hardship among children. The Red Cross and CARE....
Food being Served to Children at a Hamburg School (1946)
6.   A Cobbler in Potsdam (1946)
A cobbler offers his services on the street and assesses the shoes of a female customer. The destroyed Potsdam train station can be seen in the background. Photograph by Friedrich Seidenstücker.
A Cobbler in Potsdam (1946)
7.   Two Boys with Pilfered Cabbages (1947)
The scarcity and disorder of the postwar period brought about a marked increase in youth criminality. In his 1946 New Year’s Day sermon, Archbishop Josef Frings of Cologne expressed sympathy for....
Two Boys with Pilfered Cabbages (1947)
8.   Scene in Front of the Train Station in Hamburg-Altona (1947)
In June 1945, the Communist Party of Germany [Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands or KPD] became the first political party to reorganize in Hamburg. Although the KPD had gained prestige through....
Scene in Front of the Train Station in Hamburg-Altona (1947)
9.   Waiting for Special Rations: Line in Front of a Butcher Shop in Hamburg-Winterhude (1947)
Hunger, deprivation, cold, and diseases resulting from dietary deficiencies were part of everyday life in postwar Germany. In Hamburg, the worst hardship occurred from late 1945 to early 1947. The....
Waiting for Special Rations: Line in Front of a Butcher Shop in Hamburg-Winterhude (1947)
10.   Opening a CARE Package (1948)
In November 1945, more than twenty American aid organizations established the Cooperative for American Remittances for Europe (CARE) in order to organize aid deliveries to the suffering civilian....
Opening a CARE Package (1948)
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