Blockade of Germany (1914–1919)
The Blockade of Germany, or the Blockade of Europe, occurred from 1914 to 1919. The prolonged naval blockade was conducted by the Allies during and after World War I[3] in an effort to restrict the maritime supply of goods to the Central Powers, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. The blockade is considered one of the key elements in the eventual Allied victory in the war. In December 1918, the German Board of Public Health claimed that 763,000 German civilians had already died from starvation and disease caused by the blockade.[4][5] An academic study done in 1928 put the death toll at 424,000.[1] An additional 100,000 people may have died during the post-armistice continuation of the blockade in 1919.[2]
Both Germany and the United Kingdom relied heavily on imports to feed their population and supply their war industry. Imports of foodstuffs and war materiel to the European belligerents came primarily from the Americas and had to be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean, which made Britain and Germany aim to blockade each other. The British Royal Navy was superior in numbers and could operate throughout the British Empire, while the German Kaiserliche Marine surface fleet was mainly restricted to the German Bight, using its commerce raiders and submarine warfare elsewhere.
Nazi Germany drew on the experiences of World War I in order to avoid a repeat of 1918, given the importance of securing food supplies for the German home front.[6]
Impact on children[edit]
The impact on childhood was assessed by Mary E. Cox by using newly discovered data, based on heights and weights of nearly 600,000 German schoolchildren, who were measured between 1914 and 1924. The data indicate that children suffered severe malnutrition. Class was a major factor, as the working-class children suffered the most but were the quickest to recover after the war. Recovery to normality was made possible by massive food aid organized by the United States and other former enemies.[47][48][49]
This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence: "The blockade of Germany". 301540920.
