Nutritional Deprivation in Urban Leipzig

Abstract

This chapter describes how statisticians and nutritionists did their best to calculate the total number of raw calories available in Germany before, during, and immediately following the war. Given their estimates, if calories had been distributed equally among the population there should have been enough calories for everyone in Germany. Yet it was recognized that distribution was not equal, and that some groups of people probably suffered more than others. Because of the unique data that survives for urban Leipzig, it is now possible to examine more closely caloric distribution across Leipzig society (intrahousehold allocation) and inequalities within families (interhousehold allocation). Through a study of the amount of calories that were available to specific households in Leipzig, physical activity levels (PAL) are estimated, as well as individual measures of chronic energy deficiency (CED) as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO). With these analyses it is now possible to see more specifically how different groups and households were impacted by reduced food supplies.