Between Employer and Self-Organisation: Belgian Workers and Miners Coping with Food Shortages Under German Occupation (1940–1944)

Abstract

Food shortages were from the start of the occupation a persistent problem in Belgium in World War II, especially for miners and the industrial workforce who were key to the German war effort. Workers and miners tried to cope individually with food shortages but, from an early stage of the occupation, food shortages became a political issue, which workers addressed collectively with strikes and trade union organisation at the factory level. They expected their employers or the authorities (Belgian or German) to provide them with sufficient food. The chapter analyses the dynamics of this process, focussing on the negotiation process between workers, and is based on edited and archival sources from workers, employers, social workers and social scientists who monitored food shortages for the employers.