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I am seeking to recreate the rations of the Wehrmacht, SS and your average German at home, but am having some trouble understanding what it was that they ate.

This is a partial list of items I am looking to recreate :

Milchkaffee
Deucher Tee
Kondessuppee "Tomate"
Glucksklee Kondensmilch
Graubrot
Fleisch
Kase
Kandiezucker
Knackerbrot
Leberwurst
Ersatz Chocolate
Frucht Gelee
Larkritzen
Malz Komellen
Pfeffernusse
Zitronendrops
Eintopf

I know that there were also vegetables, jam, honey, hazelnut spread, butter, ordinary sugar, tinned hardbread, tinned fish or meat, chocolate, fruit bars and bon bons, but I do not know the terms for these items.

Companies that still produce products contained in some rations are schokakola and bahlens Leibniz, and if you know of other companies still producing, I would love to learn about them.

There are likely many other ration items that I am missing or simply am not aware of.

I am not sure what the actual ration they ate was, as well as quantities, only what little I have been able to glean from online sources, so if someone has additional information, please feel free to share.

I am also interested in civilian rations, what the average German ate on the homefront.

Does anyone have photographs of how these items were packaged?

Does anyone have photographs of the crates these items were shipped in? I have seen one person selling recreation crates, but I have no idea if those are accurate.

Welcome to the forums Schokakola! Unfortunately about the only resource I have found is the website http://www.reprorations.com which has re-produced German Wehrmacht rations for sale along with those of nearly every other country during WW2. They are not the most accurate rations, however they do have descriptions of what many units were eating in the field which are pretty accurate. Good luck!

Thank you for the welcome.

On a related note, what is the legality of purchasing German rations and WW2 related memorabilia in Germany?

I will be touring the country and I will have the opportunity to pick up things during my trip. I intend to export some cases of Scho-Ka-Kola among other ration components that are readily available, as there will be no problems with that.

Anything with the swastika is banned, however, and I would imagine that a foreigner possessing anything Nazi related would be arrested and probably expelled and banned from the country as a troublemaker. Given that authentic rations are at times packaged with the SS symbol and even without one, are WW2 related, I'm guessing the probability of someone actually obtaining these items in Germany, let alone getting them out of the country, is not only slim at best, but possibly a crime to boot.

Unless of course anyone here knows if it is possible to do so and where would be a good place to go looking for these items?

Schokakola, first of all, welcome to forums.

Schokakola wrote:Thank you for the welcome.

On a related note, what is the legality of purchasing German rations and WW2 related memorabilia in Germany?

The whole world is calling us "Evel Nazi Germans", our politicas still apologize for 70 years and paying Bazillion of € and $ to any crappy country and do you really belief, you can purchase ANY WW2 related mamorabilia here?!?!

(No offense!)
You don´t even find any memoriable stone or ANY other "sign" of WW2 over here. WW2 is "erased" in Germany.

If do you really want to buy any German WW2 related memorabilia, you have to go to our former enemy countries like the UK but best are East German countries like Poland. If the German Wehrmacht have had all the things and equipment they sale as allegedly German WW2 staff, we wouldn´t have lost the war
There is a realy big business in faked German staff like colored (1960) Police uniforms black and pretend, they are genuine SS- Uniforms. Old fire department helmets as WW2-SS-helmets (even today, our fire department helmets have the same shape), Early German SWAT helmets as WW2 Paratrooper helmets (they had the same shape) etc...
There is a big market in faking German WW2 staff and sell it as "genuine" to rip peoples off
You can browse at ebay.de "Germany 1918-1945" to see, what you can get over here without being called (and suspicious) being a "Neo-Nazi" (a crime over here).

I will be touring the country and I will have the opportunity to pick up things during my trip. I intend to export some cases of Scho-Ka-Kola among other ration components that are readily available, as there will be no problems with that.

If do you need/want tips where to travel to see any "left overs", PM me
You will get Schokakola at every gas station or just order it from Amazon

Anything with the swastika is banned, however, and I would imagine that a foreigner possessing anything Nazi related would be arrested and probably expelled and banned from the country as a troublemaker.

Not more than an "Arabic guy" entering in US asking for the best place to join Al Qaida

Given that authentic rations are at times packaged with the SS symbol and even without one, are WW2 related, I'm guessing the probability of someone actually obtaining these items in Germany, let alone getting them out of the country, is not only slim at best, but possibly a crime to boot.

It´s not a crime - you just will not find ANY.
The best former German WW2 rations you will get are from reprorations.com.
There is also a nice book:"Rations of the German Wehrmacht in World War II". You get all the info you need about.

Unless of course anyone here knows if it is possible to do so and where would be a good place to go looking for these items?

PM me for closer info

Schokakola wrote: but am having some trouble understanding what it was that they ate.

This is a partial list of items I am looking to recreate :

I give you a (quick) hand with this

Milchkaffee = milk coffee, Just mix milk and coffee. I drink this every day
Deucher Tee I guess you meant "Deutscher Tee", there is no "Deucher". That just means "German Tea", but there are no tea plants growing in Germany, so it was just a brand
Kondessuppee "Tomate" "Kondens" actually just means is concentrated
Glucksklee Kondensmilch Still avialable today in every grocery. It´s concentrated milk
Graubrot Old German word for a rye bread. We have +600 different kinds of bread.
Fleisch It´s just "meat"
Kase It´s just "cheese"
Kandiezucker It´s "rock sugar"
Knackerbrot It´s "Knäckebrot", a very hard, crisp bread slice. Still available everywhere in every grocery
Leberwurst liver pate, still avialable everywhere
Ersatz Chocolate When ever it starts with "Ersatz" means, due to shortage in resources, Germany had to "replace" them with any other, products. So Ersatzschokolade was made from e.g. sugar bees... (yuck)
Frucht Gelee Fruit jam
Larkritzen licorice (yuck)
Malz Komellen It´s "Karmellen", a norther word for "bonbon", so it`s just a malt candy
Pfeffernusse That means "Pepper nuts" but this aren´t realy nuts. Peffernuß is a christmas bakery like ginger bread
Zitronendrops lemon candy
Eintopf stew

So you want to "copy" the reprorations

I know that there were also vegetables, jam, honey, hazelnut spread, butter, ordinary sugar, tinned hardbread, tinned fish or meat, chocolate, fruit bars and bon bons, but I do not know the terms for these items.

There were no "fruit bars" like we know them today. Back in "these" days, you grabbed fruits where and when they grew.
What "terms" you are looking for? Just the German word for "sugar" etc.?

Companies that still produce products contained in some rations are schokakola and bahlens Leibniz, and if you know of other companies still producing, I would love to learn about them.

Don´t use reprotations.com as a reference. The feeding of German troops where mostly from field kitchens, except in a siege like Stalingrad. The troops weren´t fed from single rations like we know it from today. "We" had field bakery and butchers at every company.
If do you really want to know what "our" Grandpa´s ate in WW2, read the (German) "Lexikon der Wehrmacht"

I am not sure what the actual ration they ate was, as well as quantities, only what little I have been able to glean from online sources, so if someone has additional information, please feel free to share.

The above use link will answer all your question about this.

I am also interested in civilian rations, what the average German ate on the homefront.
Does anyone have photographs of how these items were packaged?

Civilan "rations"? Back in WW2 in Germany? I bet no country had any "civilian rations" 70 years ago. They ate what they got in their local grocery store, had preserved in their basement or what grew in their gardens.

Does anyone have photographs of the crates these items were shipped in? I have seen one person selling recreation crates, but I have no idea if those are accurate.

Back in 1930... 1940... they used mostly wooden crates

Hi Schokakola....great stuff in itself!!! I'd advise getting a copy of Vol 1 and/or 2 of "Rations of the German Wehrmacht in WW2" by Jim Pool. Its a super book packed with illustrations and text about all you've described and more. It will give you much insight into the packageing processes and design as well as labeling styles and what types of foods were available at the time. I found both editions to be SUPER interesting. Its available on amazon.....i don't think you'll regret the investment. Best.....Rich

housil wrote:Schokakola, first of all, welcome to forums.

Schokakola wrote:Thank you for the welcome.

On a related note, what is the legality of purchasing German rations and WW2 related memorabilia in Germany?

The whole world is calling us "Evel Nazi Germans", our politicas still apologize for 70 years and paying Bazillion of € and $ to any crappy country and do you really belief, you can purchase ANY WW2 related mamorabilia here?!?!

(No offense!)
You don´t even find any memoriable stone or ANY other "sign" of WW2 over here. WW2 is "erased" in Germany.

If do you really want to buy any German WW2 related memorabilia, you have to go to our former enemy countries like the UK but best are East German countries like Poland. If the German Wehrmacht have had all the things and equipment they sale as allegedly German WW2 staff, we wouldn´t have lost the war
There is a realy big business in faked German staff like colored (1960) Police uniforms black and pretend, they are genuine SS- Uniforms. Old fire department helmets as WW2-SS-helmets (even today, our fire department helmets have the same shape), Early German SWAT helmets as WW2 Paratrooper helmets (they had the same shape) etc...
There is a big market in faking German WW2 staff and sell it as "genuine" to rip peoples off
You can browse at ebay.de "Germany 1918-1945" to see, what you can get over here without being called (and suspicious) being a "Neo-Nazi" (a crime over here).

I will be touring the country and I will have the opportunity to pick up things during my trip. I intend to export some cases of Scho-Ka-Kola among other ration components that are readily available, as there will be no problems with that.

If do you need/want tips where to travel to see any "left overs", PM me
You will get Schokakola at every gas station or just order it from Amazon

Anything with the swastika is banned, however, and I would imagine that a foreigner possessing anything Nazi related would be arrested and probably expelled and banned from the country as a troublemaker.

Not more than an "Arabic guy" entering in US asking for the best place to join Al Qaida

Given that authentic rations are at times packaged with the SS symbol and even without one, are WW2 related, I'm guessing the probability of someone actually obtaining these items in Germany, let alone getting them out of the country, is not only slim at best, but possibly a crime to boot.

It´s not a crime - you just will not find ANY.
The best former German WW2 rations you will get are from reprorations.com.
There is also a nice book:"Rations of the German Wehrmacht in World War II". You get all the info you need about.

Unless of course anyone here knows if it is possible to do so and where would be a good place to go looking for these items?

PM me for closer info

The Germans are not a bunch of evil Nazis. That would be like blaming the entire population of any country for what their "leaders" do, which is never what the people actually want them to do.

I think it is nothing short of genocide that after Germany was defeated, everyone except the Germans themselves had a say in what goes on in Germany. We erased your history, which is a form of genocide. For better or worse, Germans should be able to talk about their own history. I think it is nothing short of hypocrisy, when Germans can not bring up WW2, but Hillary Clinton can go just a few days ago and publically say that Putin and the Russians are like Hitler. Strange how the rules the victors of war set for the Germans are not to be followed by their conquerors.

My travel plan includes going into the other European countries as well, as I am going to see the concentration camps and other Nazi related sites, such as where the Nuremburg Rally was held, for myself. Most people would not consider such tourism a vacation, but I think it is extremely important to know history from all sides and not just the official American government propaganda version.

I will certainly send you a PM.

housil wrote:

Schokakola wrote: but am having some trouble understanding what it was that they ate.

This is a partial list of items I am looking to recreate :

I give you a (quick) hand with this

Milchkaffee = milk coffee, Just mix milk and coffee. I drink this every day
Deucher Tee I guess you meant "Deutscher Tee", there is no "Deucher". That just means "German Tea", but there are no tea plants growing in Germany, so it was just a brand
Kondessuppee "Tomate" "Kondens" actually just means is concentrated
Glucksklee Kondensmilch Still avialable today in every grocery. It´s concentrated milk
Graubrot Old German word for a rye bread. We have +600 different kinds of bread.
Fleisch It´s just "meat"
Kase It´s just "cheese"
Kandiezucker It´s "rock sugar"
Knackerbrot It´s "Knäckebrot", a very hard, crisp bread slice. Still available everywhere in every grocery
Leberwurst liver pate, still avialable everywhere
Ersatz Chocolate When ever it starts with "Ersatz" means, due to shortage in resources, Germany had to "replace" them with any other, products. So Ersatzschokolade was made from e.g. sugar bees... (yuck)
Frucht Gelee Fruit jam
Larkritzen licorice (yuck)
Malz Komellen It´s "Karmellen", a norther word for "bonbon", so it`s just a malt candy
Pfeffernusse That means "Pepper nuts" but this aren´t realy nuts. Peffernuß is a christmas bakery like ginger bread
Zitronendrops lemon candy
Eintopf stew

So you want to "copy" the reprorations

I know that there were also vegetables, jam, honey, hazelnut spread, butter, ordinary sugar, tinned hardbread, tinned fish or meat, chocolate, fruit bars and bon bons, but I do not know the terms for these items.

There were no "fruit bars" like we know them today. Back in "these" days, you grabbed fruits where and when they grew.
What "terms" you are looking for? Just the German word for "sugar" etc.?

Companies that still produce products contained in some rations are schokakola and bahlens Leibniz, and if you know of other companies still producing, I would love to learn about them.

Don´t use reprotations.com as a reference. The feeding of German troops where mostly from field kitchens, except in a siege like Stalingrad. The troops weren´t fed from single rations like we know it from today. "We" had field bakery and butchers at every company.
If do you really want to know what "our" Grandpa´s ate in WW2, read the (German) "Lexikon der Wehrmacht"

I am not sure what the actual ration they ate was, as well as quantities, only what little I have been able to glean from online sources, so if someone has additional information, please feel free to share.

The above use link will answer all your question about this.

I am also interested in civilian rations, what the average German ate on the homefront.
Does anyone have photographs of how these items were packaged?

Civilan "rations"? Back in WW2 in Germany? I bet no country had any "civilian rations" 70 years ago. They ate what they got in their local grocery store, had preserved in their basement or what grew in their gardens.

Does anyone have photographs of the crates these items were shipped in? I have seen one person selling recreation crates, but I have no idea if those are accurate.

Back in 1930... 1940... they used mostly wooden crates

I am interested in learning the terms for the other German ration items that I do not know the German names of. I know that sugar is zucker, but I do not know the other terms and I do not want to butcher the German language.

By Civilian rations, I mean what the Germans ate at home after purchasing those items by using their ration stamps and such. Information on what the Americans and British were limited to is common knowledge, but trying to find out how the Germans lived during this time is like pulling hens teeth!

What did the field kitchens cook and what was distributed to each man in what quantities?

I know they used wooden crates, but were those crates stamped with any designs? How much did each crate hold of each item? What sizes did these crates come it? The details interest me.

It is terrible some of the kids you get here in America. They like to dress up like a decorated SS Veteran when they are 15 years old or so, like it is a trendy fashion statement and generally do not have the faintest clue, nor interest in learning about what life was actually like for the Germans themselves.

Granted the uniforms were designed by Hugo Boss, but I am sure that you still understand how ridiculous they look. Clothes do not make the man and I think that our stolen valor laws should apply to foreign armies as well, if our out of mutual courtesy.

armorrich wrote:Hi Schokakola....great stuff in itself!!! I'd advise getting a copy of Vol 1 and/or 2 of "Rations of the German Wehrmacht in WW2" by Jim Pool. Its a super book packed with illustrations and text about all you've described and more. It will give you much insight into the packageing processes and design as well as labeling styles and what types of foods were available at the time. I found both editions to be SUPER interesting. Its available on amazon.....i don't think you'll regret the investment. Best.....Rich

I took a look at that book on eBay and it appears to be quite the reference book. I'm something of a book collector, so this book too will join my collection.

If I know anything about history, German civilians in major cities were down to eating leather, wallpaper, and sawdust the last years of the war. Farmers may have had a it a bit better, but not much. By the end of the war, their last horse was probably only a memory.

I'm a Vietnam War veteran, and almost nobody living there today has any memory of that war. The people of Germany today are a whole generation beyond even that. It was a horrendous era for ANYBODY. Let it pass into oblivion.