Five Brothers and a War

Ration Card

Holland instituted its first ration cards immediately before the outbreak of the war. In order to combat theft, corruption, and people who were hiding from the Germans (“onderduikers”), a Tweede Distributie Stamkaart (“Second Distribution Ration Card”) system was instituted.

Jan’s Tweede Distributie Stamkaart. These cards could only be obtained by going to the government office in person with a valid identification card. The government worker would then stamp the card, in an attempt to force people out of hiding. The idea was to starve the people in hiding. Jan’s card was initially taken from him after his arrest for hitting the German soldier on January 1, 1941. It took the efforts of Leendert’s NSB employee to get it back.

van Pelt

Ration stamps for aardappelen (“potatoes”), boter (“butter”) and visch (“fish”)

Toward the end of the war, it didn’t matter if a person had ration cards for unavailable goods. The cards were completely useless.

Five Brothers and a War

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