That's like, half a days worth of vodka
Seriously. It's what I'm buying for myself for a gaming evening if I don't want to get drunk.
0.5 liter of vodka? What were they supposed to do the other 29 days of the month?
Let alone the rest of the first day?
ah 12 packs of cigarettes and a half a litre of vodka. a complete balanced breakfast.
That is around 970 calories a day if you take 1/30th of each edible item on the Table.
It's not enough, but surprisingly almost half the needed amount.
If Poland is anything like the US, families were expected to keep a garden where they grew many vegetables and fruits, and often kept chickens.
You supplement it with potatoes, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers and other veggies. And some apples and seasonal fruit.
Things sucked but people weren't malnourished back then.
Also not shown here: gasoline was also rationed, as were cars themselves.
I find it funny that a lot of people seem to be assuming that this is everything that they were allowed to eat. Fruits and veggies have been completely banned, in this world! Haha
More on the history of this photograph here: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/food-rationing-communist-poland/
Thank you for the effort, that was an interesting read.
12 packs of cigs seems like a huge luxury
For a month? It's just dried shredded leaves wrapped in paper, cigarettes are super cheap to produce, tax makes them expensive.
I was trying to figure out how to make it work for week but a month?
Alright, where are the anti capitalist tankies defending this?
This has little to do with socialism/capitalism and more with that fact that the economy was centrally (terribly) governed and most of the products were exported to the "friend nation USSR"
75% of sugar output exported to the Sovs while the citizens of Poland 'enjoyed' sugar rationing.
75% of sugar output exported to moscow and leningrad, you think the people of anywhere outside the immediate vicinity of those two cities got to see any of it? Let alone anywhere east of the Urals?
Their priorities were fucked up. Cigarettes and alcohol, obviously, but more sugar than rice? Huh?
Also, lots of meat but no other food groups?
Elsewhere in the comments it's mentioned that these were just the rationed things; there were unrationed foodstuffs.
Rice is not precisely native to Poland... The staple food is potatoes, which weren't rationed.
Unpopular opinion: we need to ration electricity consumption as well as fuel today, even in capitalists countries. Because that stuff actually has incredible impact on the planet, and will (must) drive consumption down, so that companies / individuals start integrating "efficiency" into their thinking
I don't see any other solution to the "exponentially growing power consumption" problem.
I don’t see any other solution to the “exponentially growing power consumption” problem.
In the U.S., at least, power generation has been roughly flat for the last 20 years, not growing exponentially:
Four and a half kilos of carbohydrates and sugars, goddamn.
For a month, that’s only about 600 kcal/day from carbs. Maybe potatoes are unrationed.
This is what Conservatives around the world want and glory hallelujah we are almost there! The only difference is all those rations will not come from the government but from corporations paid for by the government.
- 4 boxes Kraft Mac and Cheese
- 6 cans Heinz Beans
- Etc.
Half a liter of vodka monthly? Aren't the Poles known for their consumption of vast quantities of the stuff?
Yeast is not on the list but the 2kg of sugar wasn't just for cakes I'm sure.
I'm not gonna say that's anywhere near sufficient, but as a US citizen where do I sign up
To be ration-limited by what you can purchase? I'm sure that's a fad diet somewhere.
I wonder how they used it. Fancy baked goods the first days, then a rush to bake long lasting good before the perishables spoil? Did widowers ask family to bake with their rations?
Can someone calculate the calories in that? I'm too lazy.
Maybe don't include the sugar. That's a shit ton of sugar to go through in month.
Ballpark estimate, excluding the sugar:
2.5kg beef: ~6265 Calories
0.5l vodka: ~1082 Calories
1.3kg white rice: ~4743 Calories
1.3kg flour: ~4732 Calories
500g butter: ~3585 Calories
300g cooking oil (Google says rapeseed oil is popular in Poland so I used that): ~2652 Calories
250g chocolate: ~1338 Calories
Total: 24,397 Calories or ~813 Calories per day
Some other people online also did the math and came up with similar numbers. For example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37027027 came up with 33,063 Calories (including the sugar)
Vodka and cigarettes are not necessities. Different times, obviously. If the vodka was being made either from potatoes or grain, even if of lower quality, those would be better put towards adding extra available calories for people.
p.s
This made me remember being told there was a time, my country being at war then, where cigarette packs were distributed to soldiers with a banner stamped on it that stated "Have a cigar and relax".
They weren't starving, most fresh produce wasn't rationed at all and was readily available. The items you see here are the just what was rationed due to supply.
I'm as anti-capitalist as it comes but how the hell would this even last half a week, let alone a night with the vodka, rice, and sweets
These are just the goods that are rationed/limited. These were the goods with the highest demand and lowest supply. There are unrationed goods that could still be purchased, like potatoes.
This makes so much more sense.
They have almost as much sugar as starch, 2.5kg of meat, and no other protein?
Looks equivalent what you'd get at a Canadian food bank nowadays that's meant for 3 days.
Reminds me of the leftist venezuelan regime monthly rations in the form of cajas clap.
Absolutely disgusting food.
Thank goodness I was able to escape the dictatorship with my family
Oh, she looks so happy!
HistoryPorn
If you would like to become a mod in this community, kindly PM the mod.
Relive the Past in Jaw-Dropping Detail!
HistoryPorn is for photographs (or, if it can be found, film) of the past, recent or distant! Give us a little snapshot of history!
Rules
- Be respectful and inclusive.
- No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
- Engage in constructive discussions.
- Share relevant content.
- Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
- Use appropriate language and tone.
- Report violations.
- Foster a continuous learning environment.
- No genocide or atrocity denialism.
Pictures of old artifacts and museum pieces should go to History Artifacts
Illustrations and paintings should go to History Drawings
Related Communities: