Open Access

Jan-Holger Kirsch

• ›We want to live / not to die like dogs‹ was one of the slogans chanted at a large demonstration in Munich on 23 January 1948, which is depicted on the cover of this issue. The exceptional drought of the summer of 1947 led to a food crisis in the following winter with considerable social and political consequences, which Victor Jaeschke examines in his article using the example of the Bizone. The American and British military governments in occupied Germany initially underestimated the situation. The shortage of seeds, animal feed and fertiliser, water for agriculture, power stations and fire brigades, as well as the poor harvests of 1947 (not only in Germany) gave rise to fears of a famine, created distribution conflicts and jeopardised the legitimacy of the occupying powers. Massive US food imports, especially from December 1947 onwards, alleviated the hardship somewhat, but at the time of the demonstration depicted on the cover, the situation remained dire. Jaeschke’s article not only contributes new insights into the history of Allied occupation policy in Germany; it also draws attention to the fact that the experiences of the ›hunger winter‹ and ›drought summer‹ in the early post-war period already triggered scientific discussions about possible ›climate change‹ in Europe. Because of the obvious topicality of this issue, Jaeschke argues for broader research into droughts and how they were dealt with politically in contemporary history.