Bueckware is a German word that translates into “Stoop Merchandise.” It is a clever expression that alludes to the need for the sales person to have to stoop beneath the counter to unearth the goods.
Bueckware – WWII
The term originated at the onset of WWII when Germany’s Nazi government rationed certain items, in particular foodstuffs and textiles. Producers and shop owners reacted by holding back some merchandise and storing it out of view. Generally, these were luxury items, such as chocolate, eggs or sausage. By hiding the goods from view, they were officially no longer on hand. When it came to finally selling the coveted items – and they were sold only to a select group – the shop owner had to literally stoop (buecken in German) beneath the counter to come up with the goods.
Bueckware – East Germany
During the communist era of East Germany the situation was similar. Bueckware referred to items that were locally scarce, could only be obtained through bartering, or were intentionally held back for friends, relatives and important persons. In those days, Bueckware often consisted of daily necessities. Shop owners would stoop beneath the counter to unearth hard-to-come-by items, such as exotic fruits, building materials, electrical outlets and replacement parts for cars. Bueckware also referred to items that were sold illegally, such as record albums from West Germany. Matthias Kaiser in Der Eichsfeld Report, Art de Cuisine, Erfurt 2009, states, “the pigs must have grown up without livers during those years because these popular innards were so scarce that they were available only as Bueckware.”
Bueckware – West Germany
Bueckware also existed in West Germany during those days. But the term had a slightly different connotation. During West Germany’s post WWII economic miracle, Bueckware referred to illegal items, such as pornography.
Bueckware – Today
The term has not disappeared. These days, Bueckware refers to the cheaper no-name brands of merchandise that are located on the bottom shelves at your grocery store. While the pricy brand-name products with higher profit margins are located at eye level, customers are forced to stoop down to the lower shelves if they wish to purchase the less expensive items. http://www.abendblatt.de/region/norderstedt/article132543192/Bueckware-ist-oft-billig-aber-meistens-wirklich-gut.html
Learn a new word and let me know if you need help with the pronunciation.
Bueckware at Ralphs,
Photo © J. Elke Ertle 2015
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
