Note: This is a guest posting from Maren Robinson, production dramaturg for our winter MainStage production of Hunger.
Rehearsals for Hunger started after Thanksgiving and going into other holidays there was plenty of food in the rehearsal room. The abundance of food at our American holidays reminds me how far removed we are from real hunger. Most of us don’t even go a day without food; much less endure a prolonged famine during an unrelenting winter. (At left: residents of Leningrad with a still smoking bombed building behind them)
On July 8, 1941, Hitler wrote in his journal that he wanted to raze Leningrad. On September 4, 1942 the Germans began to bomb the city.
The Siege of Leningrad was the only time a major city in an industrialized, western, nation underwent this level of starvation and death from famine. Though estimates of the number of deaths vary, and Soviet reporting may be have been optimistically low, most believe between six hundred thousand and one million people died during the siege.
The city was blockaded by the German army for almost 900 days. The city was regularly bombed and the occasional evacuation routes, such as the ice road or “road of life” over the frozen Lake Lagoda was often bombed by the Germans as well. The winter of 1941-1942 was particularly harsh winters and the residents of Leningrad were without power only increased the suffering and death from the ongoing famine. On January 27, 1944 the liberation of Leningrad was complete. (Right: trucks on the ice road over Lake Lagoda)
The physical symptoms of starvation can take many forms, often related to the lack of nutrients and vitamins available in the meager food supply. The body will attempt to fend off starvation by consuming the body itself. An adult can lose up to half his or her weight. Symptoms of starvation include, shrinking of organs such as the lungs, heart and testes or ovaries, chronic diarrhea, anemia, loss of muscle mass and muscle weakness, sensitivity to cold, irritability and difficulty concentrating, decreased ability to digest food, swelling from fluid under the skin, and immunodeficiency.That was about one third of the population of Leningrad.
Symptoms at the final stages of starvation include: hallucinations, convulsions, severe muscle pain and changes in heart rhythm. Additionally, those who are starving are susceptible to other illnesses such as scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency, and succumb more easily to colds and other diseases. (At left, Sophia Petrova before the war and after the siege)
When I am falling asleep I always see bread, butter, pies and potatoes in my dreams. . . These days my whole nature seems somehow to have changed abruptly. I have become sluggish, feeble, my hand trembles when I write and when I walk my knees are so week that it seems to me that if I took another step it would be the last and I would fall down.
– Yura, a Leningrad schoolboy, November 9-10, 1941
It is hard to imagine what the minimal rations the people of Leningrad were living on during the siege. The table below shows the bread rations. It is important to know that the bread was heavily mixed with saw dust and had a gray color and little nutritional value.
Rations of Bread During the Siege (in grams)
|
Date |
Workers & |
Workers in |
Office Workers |
Dependents |
Children |
|
July 18, 1941 |
800 |
1000 |
600 |
400 |
400 |
|
Sept. 2, 1941 |
600 |
800 |
400 |
300 |
300 |
|
Sept. 12, 1941 |
500 |
700 |
300 |
250 |
250 |
|
Oct. 1, 1941 |
400 |
600 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
|
Nov. 13, 1941 |
300 |
450 |
150 |
150 |
150 |
|
Nov. 20, 1941 |
250 |
375 |
125 |
125 |
125 |
|
Dec. 25, 1941 |
350 |
500 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
|
Jan. 24, 1942 |
400 |
575 |
300 |
250 |
250 |
|
Feb. 11, 1942 |
500 |
700 |
400 |
300 |
300 |
|
Mar. 22, 1942 |
600 |
700 |
500 |
400 |
400 |
800 grams is about 28 ounces 200 is about 7 ounces
Sources and for Further reading:
“Leningrad Under Siege,” and “The 900 Days”