CZECH FOOD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 24, 16 November 1943, Page 7

CZECH FOOD

BEING SHIPPED TO GERMANY AS POPULANCE GOES HUNGRY

In replying lo questions submitted by. iloscoe Drumninml of the. Christian Science .Monitor,, Dr. .1. V. Hyka. chairman of the C/.eehoslovak delegation lo the Food Con-/ ference at Hot Springs, said the fol- I lowing in regard lo food conditions I in occupied Czechoslovakia:— According to informal ion received toy the Czechoslovak Government in London, German food rationing gives, the Czech population in Bohemia and Moravia a' little better ration of bread, potatoes, and : meat than in 1917. 13ut very often there is nothing in the shops and ration cards bear the remarks "if available." There is a complete laelv of edibjle l fats. Butter is practically nonexistent. The usual procedure is for Ger-. man occupying authorities to .seize all butter at the dairies and to ship it to Germany.. The same applies to all food products-, but in the case of all war industries,, the Germans give the Avork ing population just, enough to eat in order to keep up production. The slaves must be fed in order to be able to work. 1 n normal times Czechoslovakia produced high-quality foodstuffs in great quantities. This production has been reduced as a result of various factors—lack of manpower, lack of fertilisers, draft ' animals, and agricultural machinery. In addition, a great proportion, of all fooddstuffs is confiscated for the Germans so the Czech population gets only a fraction of its normal needs. Lack of fodder brought about a reduction in the animal population. This was further aggravated by slaughtering on a large scale, so that now the livestock population is only a portion of what it was before the Germans came. As a result, meat and fat production has been | lowered and from this lowered produdction the Germans, take a lion's share. The indomitable coura'ge of the Czeeli people is best illustrated bv the fact that papers published, by German authorities in Prague, print daily names of Czech peasants and others shot or hanged by the. Germans because they refused to give up food or other supplies, to the German, occupants, or because they possess arms.