Effect of The Siege of Leningrad On The City - Food Shortages

Food Shortages

On September 2 rations were reduced: manual workers had 600 grams of bread daily; state employees, 400 grams; and children and dependants (other civilians), 300 grams per day.

After the massive German bombings during August, September, and October 1941 all main food warehouses were destroyed and burned in massive fires. Huge amounts of stored food reserves, such as grains, flour and sugar, as well as other stored food, were completely wiped out because of bombings and fires. The fires continued all over the city, because the Germans were bombing Leningrad non-stop for many months using various kinds of fire-bombs and heavy air-bombs during 1941, 1942, and 1943.

In the first days after the siege began, people finished all leftovers in "commercial" restaurants, which used up to 12% of all fats and up to 10% of all meat the city consumed. Soon all restaurants closed, food rationing became the only way to save lives, and money became obsolete. The carnage in the city from shelling and starvation (especially in the first winter) was appalling. One of Nikolai I. Vavilov's assistants starved to death surrounded by edible seeds so that the seedbank (with more than 200,000 items) would be available to future generations.

On September 12, 1941, it was calculated that the provisions both for army and civilians would last as follows:

On the same day, another food reduction took place: the workers received 500 grams of bread; employees and children, 300 grams; and dependants, 250 grams. Rations of meat and groats were also reduced, but the issue of sugar, confectionery and fats was increased instead. The army and the Baltic Fleet had some emergency rations, but these were not sufficient, and were used up in weeks. The flotilla of Lake Ladoga was not well equipped for war, and was almost destroyed in bombings by German aviation. Several barges with grain were sunk in Lake Ladoga in September 1941 alone. A significant part of that grain, however, was later lifted out of the waters by divers. This dampened grain was delivered to Leningrad at night, and was used in bread baking. When the city ran out of reserves of malt flour, other substitutes, such as finished cellulose and cotton-cake, were used. Oats meant for horses were also used, while the horses were fed wood leaves.

When 2,000 tons of mutton guts had been found in the seaport, a food grade galantine was made of them. Later, when the meat became unavailable, it was replaced by that galantine and by stinking calf skins, which many survivors remembered till the end of their lives.

During the first year of the siege, the city survived five food reductions: two reductions in September 1941, one in October 1941, and two reductions in November 1941. The latter reduced the daily food consumption to 250 grams daily for manual workers and 125 grams for other civilians. Reports of cannibalism began to appear in the winter of 1941–1942, after all birds, rats and pets were eaten by survivors. Starvation-level food rationing was eased by new vegetable gardens that covered most open ground in the city by 1942.