Ljubljana's Food Supply 1941-1945

Abstract

After the occupation, the citizens of Ljubljana found themselves in a difficult situation as far as their food supply was concerned. At that time, the new state border cut off Ljubljana's economic hinterlands from the city, which only had modest reserves at its disposal, and it, overrun by thousands of refugees, lost its last remaining link with the surroundings after it had been encircled in barbed wire. The authorities attempted to alleviate the distress of the people with various measures, and at the same time they advised them to help themselves in the struggle for survival. Despite all efforts, the city's isolation and the consequences of war called for the increasingly strict rationing or even cancellation of more and more basic necessities of life, and the prices went up. Thus in the final months of the occupation, the metropolis saw starvation. Malnutrition manifested itself in poor health conditions and a high mortality of tuberculosis patients.