The end of food rationing in Germany

East Germans no longer require ration books to purchase food

Food was rationed in Germany between the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and the end of the 1950s. This meant that the government imposed strict restrictions on what people could buy and issued shoppers with coupons to ensure that they only purchased their allotted share. Enforced to ensure the equitable distribution of limited food stocks, the limits were reduced as the war progressed. This system did not end in 1945, as the food supply had all but collapsed during the last months of the war and the occupying powers were forced to continue rationing. Hundreds of thousands of Germans died during the “hunger winter” of 1946/47.

Improvements to the economic system in West Germany by the end of the 1940s saw the end of rationing in 1950. In East Germany on the other hand, continuing supply problems – exacerbated by the collectivization of agriculture – meant that food controls were maintained until 29 May 1958. Ongoing problems with producing sufficient supplies led to the resumption of rationing for certain foods at the beginning of the 1960s. Controls remained on some foodstuffs, such as selected cuts of meat, until 1967. Despite the end of rationing, the supply situation in the DDR remained poor and queuing for food continued to be an integral part of everyday life until 1990.