Tulip Bulbs War Food Holland 1944-1945 (silent film) ~
My mother did not tell me much and no details on her experiences in World War 2, except for the Hongerwinter (“Hunger winter”) – the Dutch famine of 1944–45 – that she had to eat tulip bulbs.
The famine was caused by a German blockade plus the harsh winter blocking alternative water routes, that cut off food and fuel shipments to the western Netherlands were food stocks rapidly ran out in the large cities of The Hague, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. Tulip bulbs and sugar beets were commonly consumed.
March 25 this year I posted a more detailed ‘biography’ and the silent film ‘Eating Tulip Bulbs’ (20200325) a silent film using photographs captured during this ‘Hunger winter’ 1944-1945 by Menno Huizinga in Holland (mainly in The Hague).
Today I found this Dutch cinema news reel from Polygoon-Profilti published March 1945 with an impression of the daily food ration for the starving population of Holland at the end of the hunger winter. One sees the preparation of tulip bulbs, sugar beets, peas and cabbage soup. Also the use of an emergency stove. Courtesy of Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Open Images).
Tulip Bulbs War Food Holland 1944-1945 | 20201226 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com

Updates

20220604 – Changes credit line