Berlin During WW1
German soldiers and wives on their way to the station
Before the start of WWI Berlin was a rapidly growing and expanding place. From 1880 to the start of the war in 1914 the population doubled. Because of the rapid migration of people commerce took off and Berlin became a very industrialized country. There were a little over 2 million people in Berlin when the war started on July 28, 1914. The Germans to some extent got pulled into the war by alliance agreements. They figured the war would be over quickly and were not prepared for other countries to enter the fight or for the war to be drawn out. The other countries weren't the only ones who had influence on the war though. The citizens of Germany, Berlin especially, though were influenced by the war also played a big role in it and the ending of it. The other countries getting involved and the war being drawn out caused many problems for the Germans back home, the biggest of which was food. Berlin had imported about one-third of their food and most of their fertilizer, so when their supplies were blockaded they lost a large portion of their food right away and couldn't grow the rest very well. Though there was support for the war at the beginning it quickly disappeared because of the food shortage, and people started not trusting the government.
In January of 1915 they started rationing food. They mostly rationed bread and potatoes, which were the main source of nutrition for the working class, but later it spread to meats as well. Along with the rationing the government also started printing propaganda saying that there was enough food for everybody. This made the citizens happy for a bit until they realized there wasn't enough food and that the merchants were raising prices. In October of 1915 riots, which became known as the "butter riots", broke out in the streets. The protestors, of which a good majority were women, were protesting the high prices of food, especially butter. When the government realized their previous efforts had failed they started to print propaganda that blamed the citizens for the food shortage. The government also started to try and persuade people to do what they called "hard labor jobs", which were jobs that helped the war effort. They would give the people who did those jobs extra food. Eventually they weren't able to come through with that promise. Towards the end of the war the citizens stopped believing any positive announcements from the government. They also began to increasingly protest and riot. On Nov. 9 1918 there was a huge uprising and Kaiser Wilhelm II is forced out and the Kaiser Reich falls, ultimately bringing the war to an end
Quote from Princess Evelyn Blucher, Nov. 1915: "Women are realizing the enormous burden imposed upon them. They have to do men's work as well as their own, and when they have earned their pay it all goes into the pockets of others who sell them food at enormous prices."
This quote from Princes Evelyn points out the significance that women specifically had in Berlin During WW1. Since many of the men had to go and fight in the war, the women were left to pick up the slack. They had to work harder and pay more for less food. As i mentioned earlier they also made up a majority of the protesters and rioters
In January of 1915 they started rationing food. They mostly rationed bread and potatoes, which were the main source of nutrition for the working class, but later it spread to meats as well. Along with the rationing the government also started printing propaganda saying that there was enough food for everybody. This made the citizens happy for a bit until they realized there wasn't enough food and that the merchants were raising prices. In October of 1915 riots, which became known as the "butter riots", broke out in the streets. The protestors, of which a good majority were women, were protesting the high prices of food, especially butter. When the government realized their previous efforts had failed they started to print propaganda that blamed the citizens for the food shortage. The government also started to try and persuade people to do what they called "hard labor jobs", which were jobs that helped the war effort. They would give the people who did those jobs extra food. Eventually they weren't able to come through with that promise. Towards the end of the war the citizens stopped believing any positive announcements from the government. They also began to increasingly protest and riot. On Nov. 9 1918 there was a huge uprising and Kaiser Wilhelm II is forced out and the Kaiser Reich falls, ultimately bringing the war to an end
Quote from Princess Evelyn Blucher, Nov. 1915: "Women are realizing the enormous burden imposed upon them. They have to do men's work as well as their own, and when they have earned their pay it all goes into the pockets of others who sell them food at enormous prices."
This quote from Princes Evelyn points out the significance that women specifically had in Berlin During WW1. Since many of the men had to go and fight in the war, the women were left to pick up the slack. They had to work harder and pay more for less food. As i mentioned earlier they also made up a majority of the protesters and rioters