Abstract
‘Everything is Ours’: Anonymous Letters concerning the Food Supply in the Netherlands during World War IIThe input of the Dutch population in the formation of food policy in the Netherlands during World War II is often unduly neglected. People did not simply undergo policies from above, but actively tried to exert influence on these. Writing anonymous letters was one of the strategies used to this end. A corpus of anonymous letters sent between 1940 and 1944 to the head of the Dutch rationing authority offers rare alternative access to the moral codes and perceptions of the food issue at grass-roots level in the occupied Netherlands before the Hunger Winter. The analysis of this corpus of anonymous letters confirms the existence of a strong anti-German Dutch consumer identity, but also goes to reveal a socially more complex image of the moral perceptions of the food issue in the occupied Netherlands. The letters show that the food issue gave birth to social tensions earlier than has generally been assumed. The image of anti-German unity masks a great deal of social division. Various social groups held different views on the food issue. The perceptions of these groups may have been diverse, but they all shared a preoccupation with equality.
Highlights
‘Everything is Ours’: Anonymous Letters concerning the Food Supply in the Netherlands during World War II The input of the Dutch population in the formation of food policy in the Netherlands during World War II is often unduly neglected
Writing anonymous letters was one of the strategies used to this end
A corpus of anonymous letters sent between 1940 and 1944 to the head of the Dutch rationing authority offers rare alternative access to the moral codes and perceptions of the food issue at grass-roots level in the occupied Netherlands before the Hunger Winter. The analysis of this corpus of anonymous letters confirms the existence of a strong anti-German Dutch consumer identity, and goes to reveal a socially more complex image of the moral perceptions of the food issue in the occupied Netherlands
Summary
In dit artikel staan 83 brieven centraal die gericht werden aan directeurgeneraal Stephanus Louwes, bewaard in een speciaal daartoe aangelegde map in het archief van de Voedselvoorziening in Oorlogstijd.[17]. Een aantal briefschrijvers gingen in op het waarom van die anonimiteit. Toch voelden vele briefschrijvers de behoefte om aan het eind van de brief iets over hun identiteit prijs te geven aan Louwes. Aan de hand van sociale stereotypen identificeerden de briefschrijvers zichzelf met het oog op een maximaal retorisch effect. Om de draagwijdte van hun brief te versterken, gaven zeker veertien briefschrijvers aan in naam van een grotere groep te schrijven (bijvoorbeeld ‘De Nederlandsche vrouwen’). Dat het merendeel van de Hollandse brieven door bewoners van de grote steden geschreven werd, versterkt die indruk alleen maar. Er zijn smeekbedes of suggesties om de voedselpolitiek op het een of andere punt bij te sturen in de brieven te vinden maar ook rechtstreeks protest tegen Louwes’ politiek of tegen het onoorbare gedrag van deze of gene. Blijkbaar waren de briefschrijvers tot de overtuiging gekomen dat zij daar hun grieven kenbaar moesten maken
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