Hunger games: or how the Allied blockade in the First World War deprived German children of nutrition, and Allied food aid subsequently saved them

At the onset of the F irst W orld W ar, G ermany was subject to a shipping embargo by the A llied forces. Ostensibly military in nature, the blockade prevented not only armaments but also food and fertilizers from entering G ermany. The impact of that blockade on civilian populations has been debated ever since. G ermans protested that the A llies had wielded hunger as a weapon against women and children with devastating results, a claim that was hotly denied by the A llies. The impact of what the G ermans termed the Hungerblockade on childhood nutrition can now be assessed using a newly discovered dataset based on heights and weights of nearly 600,000 G erman schoolchildren measured between 1914 and 1924. Statistical analysis reveals a grim truth: G erman children suffered severe malnutrition due to the blockade. Social class impacted risk of deprivation, with working‐class children suffering the most. Surprisingly, they were the quickest to recover after the war. Their rescue was fuelled by massive food aid organized by the former enemies of G ermany, and delivered cooperatively with both government and civil society. The ability of former belligerents to work together after an exceptionally bitter war to feed impoverished children may hold hope for the future.