ALMOST STARVING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 December 1943, Page 4

ALMOST STARVING

PEOPLE OF NETHERLANDS NEARLY ALL FOOD SUPPLIES TAKEN BY GERMANS A Dutchman who recently escaped from Holland and arrived safely in London reports that, at the time of his escape, the export to Germany of Dutch cattle was still considerable and that in addition large quantities of slaughtered animals 'were crossing the frontier. He declared that he had been in a position to observe this barefaced robbery of food vitally needed by the people of Holland themselves as he was connected with the Veterinary Service examining animals and meat, prior to their exportation to Germany. He confirmed statements made by other recent escapees about the fruit and vegetable position saying that, although Holland had had an excellent fruit season, throughout the summer fruit was quite unobtainable. The Germans had taken all, disregarding the urgent petitions made to them by Dutch doctors who pleaded that some portion be reserved for home consumption as the health of the Netherlands people was suffering owing to the acute shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables. “In our country, once famous for the quality and variety of its vegetables,” the escapee declared, “there has been a scarcity throughout the summer, with people queuing up for hours on end to purchase the few cabbages which the Germans left in Holland owing to their bulk. At the approach of autumn, the food position had become such that the majority of people in Holland had too little for living and not little enough Tor dying.” Asked what the people in Holland ate nowadays, he said: “Breakfast, for most families, consists of a couple of slices of bad bread or porridge. Lunch is the same, “enriched” with inferior quality jam or a soft cheese substitute in microscopic quantities. Dinner is usually a mixture of mashed potatoes and cabbage leaves flavoured with synthetic gravy.”