1 The home front: surviving hunger and fear The war caused a decrease in the production and importation of food . Governments set limits on the prices of basic items and employed rationing: each person was assigned a daily amount of food . To obtain this food , people needed to show their ration books in certain shops. The lack of products led to a huge surge in the black market (the market for contraband products). Despite this, thousands of people died of star vation . In addition to having a poor diet, people were constantly afraid of dying in an aerial bombing. France and Britain suf fered most from these bombings, but Germany was also attacked in this way. (14) Governments used propaganda to keep up the morale of the population . Posters were put up in cities. In this propaganda , victories were highly praised , defeats were minimised and the enemy was shown as a monster to be destroyed . Bad news was often censored to avoid demoralising soldiers and civilians. In addition , families were encouraged to write letters to the soldiers in an attempt to lift the soldiers' spirits. Analyse the wartime economy. How did it affect women? Use the image to explain war propaganda. K E Y Q U E S T I O N S Investigate • Find out more about the trenches. What structure and zones did they have? What materials were used to make them? Do you think Valle Inclán's description of the trenches is realistic? • Investigate life in the trenches: the tasks done during the day and at night, what the supply of food and hygiene were like, where the soldiers slept, etc. • Describe the photos. • Read the soldier's letter. How does he feel? Why? How would you have felt in that situation? Imagine you are a soldier in the trenches. Write a letter to your family. 18th Januar y 1918 My dearest Madeleine, I am dead tired . All day and night a deluge of iron and steel falls upon us. We lie on the ground (when we can). The days go by sadly amidst the filth , the f leas and the pestilence. How have I not died a hundred times already? I do not know. There is no water. Food rarely reaches us because of the almost constant gunfire that prevents it. You can't wash or change your clothes. For ten days now, my meals have been reduced to a tin of sardines in oil shared with a companion . I cannot take it anymore. I want to get out of here. I want to live and see the light of day. Letter from a soldier in Bénédicte des Mazery, La vie tranchée (Adapted) 14. British propaganda poster about German airships 15. Trench in 1916 33
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