France, Paris, once the fashion capital. (-< Shuhai Pavilion >-Net.)
As the sun appears on the eastern horizon, spreading light and heat to the world, a new day begins again.
There are only a few pedestrians on a narrow street behind Saint-El Church in the south of Paris. In the middle of the street, there is a three-story brick-concrete structure to the east. The heavy wooden door painted black was slowly pushed open from the inside. A man of medium height and blond hair was there.
A beautiful girl with blue eyes came out, with a touch of melancholy on her flawless face.
"Hi, Catherine, would you like to queue up with us to buy bread?" Two white boys wearing felt hats who had been waiting at the door hurried forward to say hello.
"Tom, Jack, my mother is sick. She has a fever, but I don't know where to buy medicine." Catherine said extremely distressed.
"ah!?"
The two boys looked at each other and saw deep worry in each other's eyes - Catherine, like them, was now studying at the nearby Mulan Middle School. The difference was that their parents were both here, and Catherine's father died.
During the war against Germany in 1939, her mother Lisa worked as a conductor at the Montepas train station. Lisa's illness meant that Catherine's family was about to collapse.
At the request of the Germans, all hospitals in Paris are now open for business. However, due to the extreme lack of medicines, patients cannot receive effective treatment even if they see a doctor. Often, hundreds of people will die in Paris during an influenza epidemic. The German army has
Drug supervision is very strict, and drugs are classified as military supplies almost as soon as they leave the factory. There are a small amount of them sold on the black market, but the high prices are not affordable by ordinary people.
In fact, the situation in France as a whole, including the "City of Peace" Paris, is very bad. France, once one of the great powers, has essentially become a semi-colonial country.
Looking back on the early days of the war, "Where is the war?" was still a question commonly asked in French cities and villages, because life at that time had basically not changed. Although the army had been recruited, the French still seemed to be playing a game rather than really
Go and fight a war.
At that time, elegant Parisian women tried to make the war chic and beautiful. The latest and most fashionable evening wear in France in the second half of 1938 was the tailoring suit with the Royal Air Force crest. The hostesses in the social world used it. They knew how to use it.
Ways to contribute to the war effort, throw a glittering charity ball for the Red Cross or the Army.
In the same spirit, top women's fashion designers quietly closed their salons and hired seamstresses to make gloves and knitted garments for the military, each finished with the designer's unique label.
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The effects of the war are coming quickly!
In the winter of 1938 to 1939, the temperature was very cold and the supply of coal was insufficient. However, the French were still very optimistic and believed that the war would not last long. Many families crowded into a windproof room facing the south to save valuables.
Although there was no shortage of food or wine to warm up and strengthen the body at this time, French cakes gradually became difficult to find because the bakers turned all their attention to bread rather than cakes.
Containing bran, coarse semolina has not yet become popular at this time.(-<
Shuhai Pavilion >-Net.)
In early 1939, France faced a severe decline in industrial production, class antagonism and war indifference. The government ordered to freeze prices and implement fuel and food rationing. The purpose was to establish some kind of national unity and gain by stopping inflation and ensuring that all citizens shared.
Working class support for the war.
The continuation of the war has fully dampened the appetite of the French!
The French are famous for their love for food, but the laws promulgated by the government to restrict eating and drinking have hit the French hard. Parisian citizens are strictly limited to two dishes when dining in hotels and restaurants, of which only one dish can be
The sale of meat, vegetables, and wine is strictly limited to four days a week.
Parisians will also be subject to restrictions on eating at home. Government-issued ration cards have come into use, and food items including bread, French pastries and chocolates are either strictly limited in portion size or simply banned from sale.
The disaster brought about by the war has finally arrived in full force!
Since France was defeated and occupied by the German army in June 1939, the Vichy government began to implement wartime economic policies extensively throughout France. All economic sectors must implement wartime economy without exception to serve as the German war machine.
Services, from agricultural products, meat, and wine to military products and aircraft engines, made in France began to provide a steady flow of blood to Germany's war machine.
The Germans also levied so-called occupation fees from the Vichy government, which amounted to 400 to 500 million francs per day. These occupation fees accounted for about 35% of France's national income during the same period. In addition, France also paid monthly payments to Italy.
Approximately one billion francs in occupation fees.
As the Germans plundered a large amount of French funds and supplies, coupled with huge war reparations, France's wealth and resources were rapidly depleted.
After France's defeat, the Allied navies blocked ocean transportation lines with all their strength. As a result, France lost 90% of its imported textile raw materials, 60% of its pulp supply, and all its imported coal. The imported coal had been consumed since 1938.
Sixty-eight million tons slowly dropped to 23 million tons. In the end, only very inefficient substitutes could be used. As a result, the entire industrial production declined year by year.
Calculated based on the industrial production index of 100 before the outbreak of the war, it dropped to 70 in April 1st and was estimated to be only 55 in 1942. The magnitude of the decline is shocking. After becoming a vassal of Germany, the Nazi government reduced France to 100.
Seventy-four percent of the iron ore, 61 percent of the steel, and 64 percent of the cars were stolen.
Most of the supplies organized by the Vichy government into France through Mediterranean ports fell into German hands. Pétain protested in a radio broadcast in August of the previous year that the British blockade was starving the French to death.
, and also announced a proposal by the German government-all grains allowed to be shipped in from overseas will be
It was left to French civilians. By coincidence, just one day later, the German government demanded that the non-occupied areas of France immediately hand over 500,000 cattle, 1.5 million pigs, and other supplies.
Areas with these things cannot even achieve self-sufficiency in food during normal times, let alone when they are flooded with refugees.
In the winter from 1939 to 1940, the food rationing situation in Paris was already very serious. Whole trains of food and coal were sent from the non-occupied areas to the "peaceful city" of Paris. By the winter of 1942, almost most of the
The citizens of Paris are suffering from hunger and cold.-< Shuhaige>-Net.
Most of the young adults in the French countryside were recruited by the Nazi government and entered factories and military logistics departments to serve in the war effort. There was a serious shortage of labor in agriculture, as well as an extreme shortage of agricultural tools and fertilizers, which resulted in a significant decline in production. As of last year, French agricultural products
The total output value decreased by 40% compared with before the war. The total output value of wheat, barley, oatmeal, and cereals
Output has generally declined. For example, last year's total wheat output more than doubled from 98 million quintals before the war to 45 million quintals. The number of livestock has decreased significantly, such as the number of pigs before the war.
The number of head was more than 7 million, but last year it was only more than 4 million. Due to the continuous decline in agricultural harvests, there is a shortage of agricultural products and the prices of agricultural products have risen.
France's foreign trade since its fall can be said to have completely revolved around the needs of Germany and Italy. France has obtained a large amount of food and imported raw materials from its overseas territories through its port cities in Africa and the northern Mediterranean.
Eighty percent of the goods went to Germany and Italy, and all the goods imported by France to North Africa, such as food and fuel, were even used to fund the German and Italian troops in Libya.
The biggest shortage in France is food.
Just like Parisians today, for daily necessities such as bread, fruits and vegetables, sauces, textiles and cigarettes, they need to use several ration cards at the same time and then queue endlessly, but there is no guarantee that the goods on the card can be purchased.
Within months of the German occupation, butter, potatoes, and meat were gradually disappearing from store shelves.
The Vichy government began rationing food in September 1939, and later expanded it to include fuel, soap, and many other commodities. By January of the following year, France's bread ration was reduced to 300 grams per person per day.
Due to the lack of fuel, rubber and motorcycle carriages, it is difficult for rural food to be transported smoothly to the city, or it simply rots on the road. What is lacking in the city is not only bread and vegetables, but also meat. The only meat that can be purchased in the city is
Small animals that can be kept in the house,
Such as pigeons, rabbits, etc., and even the former pet guinea pigs and cats. The people were too hungry, the cat meat trade became more and more popular, and the ingredients of the sausages became more and more suspicious. People suspected that they might contain human meat, so more and more people
More and more people are becoming vegetarians, either actively or passively.
In the autumn of 1939, due to the lack of various common supplies, there was no soap. Housewives used lye as detergent. There were very few new shoes in France. All the hides of animals that were slaughtered were saved to make shoes for the German army and private cars.
Because there is no gasoline, it can basically be idle. The beer in Carlsbad, Denmark
A company owner used two horses to haul his Rolls-Royce when there was no gasoline, which inspired others to follow suit. Many people adapted to the shortage of gasoline and commuted to and from get off work by riding bicycles with a trailer attached, with a "driver" pedaling in front. The bicycle and the small trailer behind it have become a sight in the fashionable capital of Paris.
During the war, due to the lack of food, caloric intake was generally insufficient, and winter seemed to be extremely cold. Since heating oil was unavailable, coal became a commodity in short supply. People rummaged through garbage and searched for precious small coal along the railway. Some people used waste
Paper or scrap wood can be used as fuel. The best and most economical way to keep warm is to wear thick clothes at night, lie in bed and read to kill the cold time.
By last year, the food calories of Paris citizens were only about 40% of what they were before the war. Children were generally malnourished, stunted, and short in stature. People with low immunity lack resistance to infectious diseases, and epidemics often spread.
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The lack of supplies has led to a rampant black market. The way to avoid hunger is to purchase food on the black market at a price that is ten times higher than the official price of rations. However, because wages in France are still at pre-war levels, most people cannot afford to buy black market goods - Paris on the Fourth
The policy of freezing wages has been implemented for one year. The Germans have prohibited companies from increasing wages. Because wages are low, they can use higher wages to attract workers to work in Germany. Now each family in Paris only has an average of more than 800 francs, which is only enough to make money on the black market.
Buy four and a half pounds of butter.
At this time, the French spend 70% of a family budget on food. A toothbrush is 23 times more expensive than before the war, a shirt is 140 times more expensive, and soap is 90 times more expensive than before the war.
Times, washing powder is forty times more expensive. And because of the embarrassment of life, the number of prostitutes has increased tenfold.
The huge profits in the black market have made it even more difficult for food to enter the legal circulation field. The year before last, 30% of the butter, eggs, pork, potatoes, and chickens produced by French farmers entered the black market. Last year, only 1.15 million tons of meat were slaughtered and processed in France.
190,000 tons entered the legal market, making ordinary people's lives even more difficult.
All of this is the current situation in Paris. Just imagine, even the food that satisfies the hunger cannot be guaranteed. What can the children do to buy more expensive cold medicine?
Jack, who was once an aristocrat in his family, thought for a moment and said, "Catherine, why don't you go to my house to get an antique porcelain and exchange it for it at a nearby pawn shop? I think there is the cold medicine you urgently need there."
Tom was very surprised: "Jack, I remember that all the valuable things in your home were used by your parents to exchange for money and then went to the black market to buy food and daily necessities. No one else accepted those antique porcelain and vases... You said you could exchange them for valuables
Cold medicine, is this true?”
Jack shrugged and said with some uncertainty: "I also heard from my neighbor, Uncle Michael... In the past, in coastal cities, there were special pawn shops to collect antiques, and the exchange items included food, clothes, shoes, medicines, etc. It is said that
There are also nylon stockings! Half a year ago, pawn shops for purchasing antiques appeared near the Guimet Museum, the Eshelie Palace, and the Louvre north of the Seine. After this year, the Rodin Museum near us, the Place Joan of Arc and the streets behind us started to appear.
Three more similar pawn shops were opened.”
A glimmer of light flashed in Catherine's bright eyes: "Is one of them the newly opened store on Mann Street near the train station where my mother works? I passed by there two weeks ago and saw someone holding a new cotton coat from inside.
When I came out, I thought it would be great if I had such a cotton-padded coat as a birthday gift for my mother, so that she wouldn’t have to wear thin clothes to go to work in the snow!”
"That's it!" Jack answered.
When Tom heard this, he quickly said: "I also have a few old gadgets at home that my grandfather brought back from Africa. He said they might not be able to get some cold medicine!"
"It's a pity that I don't have anything at home, but there are a lot of books -" Catherine's eyes suddenly lit up and she shouted "Wait for me", then she turned around lightly. After a while, she was holding several thick thread-bound books.
Walked out: "My grandfather brought this back from China. He served as a bishop in a church in Shanghai and stayed in the East for more than ten years..."
The three of them quickly gathered their belongings and arrived at the pawn shop on Mann Street. When they entered the inconspicuous door, they were surprised to see the dazzling array of merchandise on the surrounding shelves.
There were already more than ten people in the pawn shop. They lined up and put porcelain, vases, paintings, sculptures, etc. on the appraisal table. Regardless of whether they were satisfied with the price given, they all reluctantly took the suit.
Shirts, leather bags, leather shoes, tea, candies, butter and coffee left in a hurry.
Half an hour later, it was finally the turn of the three of them. Catherine put a few of her books on the table. An Asian in his thirties glanced casually, said "Huh", and looked up at Catherine: "This book
It should be a set, right?”
Catherine said nervously: "There are many books at home, but I don't know their prices... I want to buy some life-saving cold medicine and anti-inflammatory medicine, and I want to buy a warm cotton coat for my mother!"
The Oriental said calmly: "These books are a complete set. If they are just sold in pieces, the value cannot be guaranteed! Well, if it is not convenient for you to take them, we will send someone to your house to move all the books. I will also
So I can give you a correct estimate, otherwise I can only exchange these few books for a box of cold medicine and a box of sulfonamide tablets."
"Okay, sir, come to my house now!" Catherine said happily.
The Oriental nodded, and soon six strong French employees followed Catherine home. An hour later, it took two small trucks to move all the books back.
It took nearly two hours to sort out the books, and finally the price given by Oriental for all 5,986 books was:
Ten boxes of cold medicine, ten boxes of sulfonamide tablets, two boxes of panoxicillin injections, four sets of cotton coats and trousers, two sets of quilts, 20 meters of cotton cloth and cool cloth of the same size, two pairs of ladies' high-heeled leather shoes, two pairs of ladies' shoes
Sneakers, two pairs of nylon
Socks, four toothbrushes, four bags of washing powder, four bars of soap, two towels, ten cans of beef and mutton, two cans of butter, two cans of candy, two cans of tea and two cans of coffee, and four hundred can be redeemed at the pawn shop in the future
Credentials for baking bread.
The pawn shop sent a car to deliver the items to Catherine's house, which caused a huge stir among the citizens on the street. They had many beautiful visions for the pawn shop and began to rummage through boxes and cabinets to find out if there was any exchangeable items.
Catherine was very satisfied with this harvest. In addition to daily necessities, the family would no longer have to worry about it, and she would not have to go hungry for a long time. Unfortunately, the little girl did not pay attention to the coveted, hungry wolf-like eyes around her.
Tom and Jack also exchanged two pieces of antique porcelain and two pieces of ancient Egyptian metal ornaments for four meters of cotton cloth, twenty loaves of bread, ten bags of instant noodles, two toothbrushes, two towels and two pairs of leather shoes.
When the delivery truck came back, the Oriental man, who had always been very indifferent, quickly ordered a temporary suspension of business, closed the shop door, and sorted out the harvest. He knew that he had caught a big fish this time, so he said nothing else except the nearly six thousand fish.
This book includes 3,532 volumes of "Yongle Dadian", accounting for almost one-third of the total 11,095 volumes. It can be said to be priceless.
In addition, the remaining books include the Collection of Ancient and Modern Books, the original fragments of Sikuquanshu, the fragments of the Song version of Zizhi Tongjian, local chronicles of various parts of China in the Ming and Qing dynasties, etc. The harvest is huge.
Unimaginable.
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