The Turnip Winter (German: Steckrubenwinter) of 1916-1917 was a period of severe civilian food hardship in Germany during the First World War, named for the widespread substitution of turnips, normally used as livestock fodder, for potatoes and grain as a staple food. A poor harvest, driven in part by bad weather, combined with the Allied naval blockade that had sharply reduced food imports, the wartime conscription of farm labor and horses, and a shortage of fertilizer caused by the diversion of nitrogen to explosives production; by the summer of 1917 the average German civilian diet provided only around 1,560 calories a day, falling to roughly 1,000 calories in the following winter.
Facts
Classification
Type/ClassificationAgricultural Famine or Disaster 1 Connections
Associated With
Potato, Crops Germany's Turnip Winter of 1916 to 1917 followed the failure of the potato crop to blight and wet weather, forcing wartime reliance on turnips as a substitute staple.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Germany, found in there.
Sources
1. Turnip Winter (Wikipedia)
Intro, first sentence
of 1916 to 1917 was a period of profound civilian hardship in Germany during World War I
Introduction
For the duration of World War I, Germany was constantly under threat of starvation
lead description (milestone-kind)
The Turnip Winter (German: Steckrubenwinter) of 1916-1917 was a period of severe civilian food hardship in Germany during the First World War, named for the widespread substitution of turnips, normally used as livestock fodder, for potatoes and grain as a staple food.
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