Nazi Christmas 1942

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It was a Christmas that carried little of the cheer that had traditionally been a part of the German celebration of the birth of Christ. Fritz Nadler reported that in the shops of Nuremberg nothing was left to buy – only the dummies once used to display clothing remained in the windows. For children, there were only the primitive toys made by the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls. For Bavarians in general, the approach of the Christmas season carried no emotional lift – weariness and a sense of crisis brought a “somewhat sentimental” mood, said a Sicherheitsdienst report. Ursula von Kardorff spent Christmas eve in the Gedächtniskirche in Berlin, the great church crowded with women and many soldiers-“all the women were weeping.”

The family of Josef Fischer in Cologne wondered whether they would ever really be able to think of Christmas as a festival of peace – but they did have a Christmas tree brought in by sled from the woods and decorated with six candles, which still delighted the children. One aspect of life was a little better. The regime sought to cushion coming bad news by improving the food provisions. Sugar shortages were avoided by the importation of 110,000 tons from Hungary, and the shortage of wheat in the old Reich, due to the severe past winter, was offset by the importation of 750,000 tons from the new Gaus of Posen and West Prussia created after the conquest of Poland. Fat shortages were reduced by importing sunflower seeds from the Ukraine and the Don and Kuban areas of Russia. And, best of all, the potato harvest was regarded as good enough to allow a ration increase from two and one-half kilograms to four and one-half kilograms per person, per week.

Another source of food at home came with the provision of furlough packages of food for soldiers on leave. These so-called “Führer packages” included two and one half kilograms of wheat flour, one kilogram of sugar, one kilogram of meat, and one and one half kilograms of other food supplies. Along with special Christmas rations, slight increases of bread and meat rations, and issues of wine, there was some improvement of morale-the people for the first time in a long while were able to eat their fill again. Children in Nuremberg got a pound of apples as a special ration. The Nadlers fell into luck when Fritz provided books for a neighbor from a farming family and received a five-pound duck for Christmas. The Fischers might have bought a hen if they had got there in time-they came from Poland -but had to settle for a small rabbit, along with fifty grams of coffee per person, “booty from France.” The Messerschmitt works in Regensburg still had a Christmas festival for their employees and gave presents to the children

 

 

Christmas Dinner in Stalingrad

Home / Christmas / Christmas Dinner in Stalingrad

In late 1942 the German army reached the Russian city of Stalingrad on the Volga. A Russian counterattack in November led to an encirclement of the German forces by the Red Army. This is how some starving and freezing Wehrmacht troops marked Christmas.

Lieutenant Sachonbeck, a 20-year-old officer with the 24th Panzer Division, took some comfort in the preparations he had made for the festivities. “On December 24th there were about fifteen men in my bunker. That morning, under fairly heavy fire, I had managed to dig up a little pine tree buried in the snow of the steppe – probably one of the very few Christmas trees in the entire Kessel. That spring, when I’d been billeted with a priest in Brittany, I’d scrounged three church candles that were just the right size to fit into my backpack. I had no idea why at the time, I just liked the look of them. It got dark very early. The candles were burning as I told the Christmas story and spoke the Lord’s Prayer. A little later, the crackly loudspeaker transmitted a Christmas message from the Forces’ radio station in Germany. It was being broadcast everywhere from the North Pole to Africa. At that time an enormous part of the world belonged to us. When Stalingrad was called we began to tremble though we were indoors in the warm that evening. Then when the words ‘Stille Nacht, heilige Nacbt…’ were sung, our tears started to flow. We cried for a long time. From that moment, no one said so much as a word – maybe for a whole hour.”

 

Another German soldier, Wilhelm Hoffman of the 267th Regiment of the 94th Infantry Division, made a last entry in his diary, writing: “The horses have already been eaten. I would eat a cat; they say its meat is also tasty. The soldiers look like corpses or lunatics, looking for something to put in their mouths. They no longer take cover from Russian shells; they haven’t the strength to walk, run away and hide. A curse on this war.”

 

Central European Christmas Markets

Home / Christmas / Central European Christmas Markets

There is nothing like being immersed in medieval splendour to remind one that people have been doing Christmassy things for a very long time.

In Prague’s Old Town Square, the first of my stops to investigate Central European Christmas markets, I am surrounded by the town hall, the site of two famous instances of throwing politicians out the window (1419 and 1618); the wonderful astronomical clock (built in 1410); the baroque Church of St. Nicholas (1704); and the Gothic spires of the Church of Our Lady Before Týn (1380).

Historians argue about the date of the first Christmas market. Some say Vienna’s December fair of 1296 was the earliest, others say it was Bautzen, in Saxony, in 1384, while still others point to Dresden in 1434. There is no doubt, however, that shopping in outdoor venues for seasonal food, toys, and gifts has been going on for centuries, spreading from the German-speaking lands to the rest of Europe and, now, around the world.

Such markets reached a peak of popularity in the 19th century, but were hit by the rise of department stores whose mass-produced goods were cheaper than hand-made items and which offered what seemed to be a more elegant setting for consumption than outdoor booths.

By the early 20th century, Christmas markets were seen as scruffy, rowdy, and lower-class. Astonishingly, what saved them, at least in Germany, was the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s—the Nazis disliked department stores, which they believed were Jewish-owned, and encouraged citizens to patronize local merchants. They revived and glamourized the Berlin and Nuremberg Christmas markets, making them experiential sites for nostalgia, community feelings, and sentiment rather than mere commercial exchanges.

After World War II the popularity of Christmas markets spread, and today they serve as major tourist attractions, some in dramatic settings such as Vienna’s Rathausplatz or the Schönbrunn Palace, with stalls selling regional food and drink, ornaments, clothing, toys, and souvenirs. Visitors can also experience light shows, listen to Christmas music, go ice skating, watch Christmas tree lightings, see artisans at work at forges or looms, and ride Ferris wheels.

Most European cities will hold multiple markets, some large and impressive, some on a smaller scale meant for local shoppers. To travel, as I did recently, from one country’s offerings to another is to see both the national and regional differences on display and the international appeal of Christmas.

Every visitor to a Christmas market is going to be assaulted by waves of wonderful aromas emanating from vats of soup, spits of roasting pork, and ovens full of gingerbread. Every eye will be caught by the pans of toasted chestnuts, rows of chocolates, heaps of dumplings (sweet and savoury), and stacks of giant pretzels.

In Prague you will be enticed by the sight of trdelniki (variously translated as funnel cake, chimney cake, or spit cake), a delicious sugary confection which can be filled with ice cream, Nutella, chocolate or nuts. You can taste them, as well, in Bratislava, Vienna, and Budapest—and everywhere you will be assured that this treat was invented locally and copied by jealous neighbouring countries.

Everywhere, you will be tempted by flatbread and potato pancakes but the toppings will intriguingly vary—try them with pulled pork, sour cream, cheeses of various sorts, or bacon and onion. Central Europe is heaven for sausage-lovers, and those who go for the barbecued klobása in Czechia will find the zatocená pikantná klobása, the twisted spicy sausage of Slovakia, the Käsekreiner of Austria, and the paprika-flavoured Hungarian gyulai equally alluring.

In Prague try the carp soup, in Bratislava sample the goose, in Vienna the Christstollen, and in Budapest, don’t miss the goulash. Mulled wine is going to be delightfully different from market to market and it is often served in souvenir mugs which can be retained. (There is a commitment to sustainability on display in all of these markets. Emphasis is placed on the local sourcing of food and goods on sale, and on using recyclable material for wrapping or utensils.)

If the visitor is looking to bring home a unique but inexpensive reminder of a Central European Christmas market, look for oplátky in Prague (called oblátky in Bratislava). These are unleavened wafers in a variety of sweet flavours, stamped with images of the Nativity or some other Christmas scene. It is traditional at the Christmas Eve meal for the father of the family to break off the first piece and then to pass it around the table while prayers are said and good wishes expressed.

In Budapest, don’t pass by the szaloncukor, chocolates filled with jelly or fondant wrapped in shiny coloured foil and used to decorate the Christmas tree. Collectors of snow globes will appreciate the fact that they were invented in Vienna and are plentiful at Christmas markets in that city. Those with larger budgets might wish to come away with handmade wooden Czech nativity scenes, embroidered ethnic table cloths from Slovakia, Austrian glass ornaments, or Hungarian ceramics.

Despite the term Christkindlmarket—the Christ Child Market—do not expect to be overwhelmed by any Christian religiosity in these places. There will be an obligatory life-size replica of the Bethlehem manger scene somewhere on the premises (and the largest of the Vienna markets has some modern takes on the Nativity by Austrian artists) but these are largely secular venues. A visitor is more likely to hear Eartha Kitt singing “Santa Baby” over the loudspeakers than “Silent Night.”

And do not expect to see much evidence of Santa Claus, either. The Christmas gift-bringer in Central Europe is usually St. Nicholas or the Baby Jesus and his angels, so local carvers have little time for the North American Santa. They are more likely to produce Nutcracker figures or images of the Russian-inspired Grandfather Frost as tokens of the season.

So what are they selling, these purveyors of food and drink and tokens of Christmas past? Hope, that the crowds will come, that hearts will be a little lighter, and wallets too. And that treasure may still be found.

 

Some Christmas advice

Home / Christmas / Some Christmas advice

From E.B. White (1899-1985), American author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little:

The only way the American Christmas could be simplified would be to change the date from December 25 to February 29. Then it would come every four years. I’ve advocated this for a long time but nobody pays attention to me.

E. B. White, Letter to Mrs. Cushman, 17th January 1984