13.4: Impact of the First World War on civilian populations of two countries from the region between 1914 and 1918

Question 1

effect of mobilisation on male labour and seasonal workers in GER

2p

Answer 1

1. general mobilization drew an estimated 40 percent of the male labor force away from the German agricultural sector.
2. the number of seasonal workers dropped from approximately 0.44 million in 1913 to approximately 0.15 million in 1918 (65.9%)

Question 2

extreme measures in GER

Answer 2

The situation became so difficult that German authorities had to send agricultural workers and landowners on home leave to enable them to help with the harvest.

Question 3

In addition to labor shortages:

animals

Answer 3

large numbers of working animals such as cattle and horses were channeled towards military supplies and could not be used for production or consumption

Question 4

Nitrogen supply shortages & competition

Answer 4

Nitrogen was used both as a fertilizer in agriculture and as the basis for explosives in the armaments industries.

When war broke out, GER authorities expected the conflict to endure only for weeks or a few months.

Once the authorities realized their own inability to achieve this goal, they were forced to reallocate nitrogen supplies towards the production of explosives.

This discrimination against agriculture was one of the crucial factors explaining the deep slump in German agricultural production

Question 5

summary of agri problems

Answer 5

1. not enough workers
2. working animals went to war effort; not in farms
3. nitrogen shortages; fertilizer

Question 6

shortages of resources in general and the losses of war resources during the materiel battles in 1916 led to the development of the Hindenburg-Programm.

Answer 6

In August 1916 the new Supreme High Command under Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff launched a massive campaign for war production known as a program of “total mobilization.”

Question 7

Hindenburg and Ludendorff aim

Answer 7

The new commanders came to power determined to match the Entente “man for man and gun for gun

Question 8

Using August 1916 level as a base, Hindenburg demanded that by May 1917:

Answer 8

industry double the monthly output of:

1. gun powder to 12,000 tons
2. of light artillery to 3,000 pieces

and triple that of
1. machine guns to 7,000

Question 9

The Auxiliary Service Law of 5 December

Answer 9

instituted the conscription of all men between the ages of seventeen and sixty for civilian war service.

Question 10

Industry: male and female labour

Answer 10

Male labor supply experienced the most severe decline (minus 25.8 percent), while female employment increased by 45.6 percent.

Question 11

civilian, intermediate and war-related industries

Answer 11

1. civilian industries lost approximately: 40% of their labor
2. intermediate industries lost approximately 21%
3. war-related industries increased their labor force by an estimated 44.1% during the war

Question 12

Total employment in industry declined by:

Answer 12

approximately 10 percent; from 7.4 to 6.6 million from 1913 to 1918

Question 13

substitute products in Ger

Answer 13

1. Various Ersatzprodukte (substitute products) replaced the habitual diet.
2. Ersatz bread (K-brot) made with large addition of potato flour became a staple food.
3. Coffee was made of tree bark; pepper contained 85 percent ash; milk and beer were diluted by water.
4. By the end of the war there were about 11,000 ersatz foods.