The Rutabaga Winter (Kohlruebenwinter in German) of 1916/1917 was something that German WWI survivors never forgot for the rest of their lives. I was born after WWII and still remember my father vehemently refusing to eat carrots because they reminded him of rutabagas. I have never attempted to prepare this cousin of broccoli for dinner, but reading about the Rutabaga Winter is making me curious. I just might give this humble root vegetable a try after all.
What is a Rutabaga?
Known as Swede or rutabaga in North America, its scientific name is Brassica napus napobrassica. https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/106302/#b. It is part of the cruciferous family of vegetables and supposedly a cross between a cabbage and a turnip. With its purple top and beige bottom, the rutabaga does not look particularly tempting, although it is not without some health benefits. Just one cup meetsalf our daily vitamin C requirement.
The rutabaga winter (Kohlruebenwinter) of 1916/1917 was one of the most difficult periods for the German civilian population during WWI. www.walled-in-berlin.com
Why the Rutabaga Winter of 1916-1917?
Since the summer of 1914, Germany had waged a two-front war with France and Britain in the West and Russia in the East. Then, in Fall of 1916, fierce autumn storms and ceaseless rains led to a dismal potato and wheat harvest. Much of the produce rotted in the ground. Germany desperately tried to import these foods. But the British navy thwarted all efforts by blockading the North Sea approaches. For Germany’s civilian population, the continuous Sea blockade meant a constant threat of starvation. Malnourishment and illness claimed thousands of lives. Eighty thousand children died of starvation. The winter of 1916–1917, which became known as the “Rutabaga Winter” (Kohlruebenwinter), was one of the most difficult periods for the German civilian population during WWI.
What Made the Germans Turn to Rutabagas?
By February 1917, the potato and wheat supplies had run dry. Luckily, 80 million tons of rutabagas had survived the winter in storerooms. Now, the humble vegetable had to jump to the rescue. To overcome the population’s image of the rutabaga as animal fodder, the war ministry’ propaganda machine touted it as “Prussian Pineapple.” Suddenly, recipes for rutabaga jam, cake, bread, casseroles, soups, beer and coffee appeared. People had rutabaga soup for breakfast, rutabaga “steak” for lunch and rutabaga cake for dinner. To make it easier to digest, the war ministry advocated chewing 30 bites for 30 minutes (about 2,500 times). Decades later, most Germans still could not stand the sight of rutabagas because of their association with hardship and misery.
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.
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.
