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What did the soldiers eat during WWI? The answer can vary a lot depending on time, place and the army in which the men were enlisted. In Stimmen aus den Schützengräben #15 we try to give a first impression on this topic with some original documents relating to the year 1917.

The first witness of the week is Captain Howard B. Ward, of the British army (see episodes #2 and #14). In an original recording he explains what British soldiers ate in 1917 on the western front and how the food was brought to the first line. The field kitchen was situated about 50 yards behind the line, and the cooks prepared the same meal more or less everyday: meat, potatoes, sometimes potatoes and cabbages, bread and margarine, sugar, bacon and cheese. Soldiers lived and ate by night, and „everything happened by night“; the day was mostly spent sleeping. Each soldier had a mess tin in which the stew was poured. By day the soldiers could only eat some bread with cheese or bacon, but Howard states that the food was overall „not too bad“. The full recording is available at: http://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/2020601/attachments_66347_4980_66347_original_66347_mp3.html

British soldiers eating hot rations in the Ancre Valley during the Battle of the Somme, October 1916 (Imperial War Museums)

The second witness of the week is German soldier Johann Görtemaker (see episodes #5, #12, #13 and #14). On the 1st of April 1917 he wrote a letter to his parents from Belgium, in which he describes the food ration of a German soldier on the western front: a hot lunch everyday, and every two days a 3 pound bread (about 1,4 Kg), butter and marmalade. Görtemaker writes: „even if it’s definitely not much, it’s still enough“. The letter provides additional information on food shortages among the civilians: „the fact that the food becomes scarcer and scarcer is maybe the saddest thing in this war. As a soldier, one does not notice it…“. Food was saved for the soldiers on the front line, and eventually the Central Powers run out of supplies. Towards the end of the war, both soldiers and civilians were literally starving. The lack of flour was compensated by adding sawdust and straw to the bread, and the broth was less and less nourishing. The lack of hygiene and poor storage conditions were also lessening the food’s quality. The full transcription of Johann Görtemaker’s letters is available at: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/de/contributions/462

Austrian Soldiers having lunch on the Marmolada. 24 September 1917 (Österreichische Nationalbibliotek)

The last witness of the week is Italian Lieutenant Paolo Caccia Dominioni, who wrote a war diary later published under the title: „1915-1919. Diario di guerra„. The entry dated 20th of September 1917 provides us with interesting information on the organisation of the Italian army and the food on the Karst Plateau front. The soldiers were given every day a disgusting broth with rice, and they started protesting. After being cooked, the rice was carried on muleback for two hours and when it reached the trenches it looked like a disgusting white jelly. Caccia Dominioni sent an order to the kitchens asking to prepare the broth without the rice, and thus managed to appease the soldiers. The rice, however, was still a problem. The Army was bound by a contract and it was not possible to terminate it. The bags were piling up in the warehouse, and there was no way of getting rid of them. Caccia Dominioni tried to ask permission to sell the rice to the civilians, and use the money to buy better food for the troop. He was harshly rebuked by his commanding officer, and told it was against all rules of the Army. He was then suggested to use the rice to feed some mules, which he did, and for a while everybody was happy. However, Caccia Dominioni reports in the following entry of his journal that the mules, only fed with rice, got sick and died.

-Credits-

Editing: Larissa Schütz , Matteo Coletta.
Commentary: Matteo Coletta

Voices in this episode: Hannes Hochwasser als Johann Görtemaker, Matteo Coletta as Paolo Caccia Dominioni, Howard B. Ward as himself.

Jingle:

Music: Gregoire Lourme, “Fire arrows and shields”
Concept: Matteo Coletta
Voices: Hanes Hochwasser, Matteo Coletta, Roman Reischl, L.J. Ounsworth, Norbert K. Hund.

Aufgrund der technischen Schwierigkeiten – die weit komplexer waren als wir bei der Lösungsfindung im Studio gedacht hatten – und der unbewussten Eingabe doch noch ein Stück Musik mitzunehmen, gab es nun am 6. Oktober anstatt einem Vorstellungsgespräch (ob die uns wohl genommen hätten?) die erste(?) Live-Kochshow in der Radiofabrik.

Weiterlesen →

„Out of nothing is not an unknown place. Out of nothing is maybe a state of mind.“ – Am 8. und 9. sowie am 14. und am 15. Oktober steht das Magazin um 5 ganz im Zeichen des tanz_house Festivals 2014. Passend dazu gibt es Künstler und Kuratoren im Interview und Ausschnitte aus den Artist Talks.

Mit dabei sind freischaffende KünstlerInnen und Kompanien aus Österreich, Frankreich, USA, Deutschland Slowenien, Türkei, Slowakei und Griechenland. Ziel des tanz_house Festivals ist ein Dialog innerhalb der choreografischen Plattform tanz_house, mit eingeladenen Künstlern und dem Publikum.

Freut euch also auf viele spannende Programmpunkte im Magazin um 5 rund um das zweiwöchige tanz_house Festival.

Infos: https://www.facebook.com/YusufCatStevens
http://www.stadthalle.com/events/YUSUF-CAT-STEVENS/7962

Yusuf / Cat Stevens

Peace Train…Late Again Tour

http://www.tempodrom.de:

Cat Stevens war der überragende musikalische Poet seiner Zeit. Er schuf einen einzigartigen Songkanon, der ihn weltberühmt machte. Als Yusuf Islam fand er später seine persönliche spirituelle Erfüllung, die Fans bewahrten ihn jedoch in ihrer Herzen stets als den ultimativen Folkrock-Troubadour.

Weiterlesen →

Tja, eigentlich der Super-GAU für eine Musicbox: wir sitzen im Studio, noch ca. 1 1/2 Minuten Zeit, eigentlich alles startklar (wir haben ja ausreichend geübt) – und dann kommt die Musik nicht aus dem Studio-PC raus und ins Mischpult rein, um on air zu gehen. G.s.D. hatte Erik eine echte CD dabei – und das war dann alles, was wir spielen konnten. So wurde aus der geplanten 1. Sendung eine Stunde mit Greg Kochs neuer CD. Was wir für heute vorbereitet hatten, gibts dann am Montag, 3. November, um 21.00 Uhr. Weil dann nehmen wir alles, was wir an Musik spielen wollen, auf USB-Stick UND auf CD mit … Danke für die vielen Ermutigungen im Radiofabrik-Studiochat! Schönen Herbst – ’n keep tuned up! 😉

Nur noch wenige Stunden – und „Tuning Up“ ist „on air“: Montag, 6. Oktober, um 21.00 Uhr auf der Radiofabrik. Erik & Paul haben das gesamte Wochenende noch an der Setlist für ihre erste Sendung gefeilt … UND: wenn Zeit bleibt, gibt es neben der fixen Rubrik „This month´s tune – TMT“ sogar noch eine Draufgabe: das Geräusch des Sommers.

Am Donnerstag (2.10.) ist es so weit. Das „My Sound of Music“ Festival startet in Salzburg. Mit dabei sind viel verschiedene Programmhighlights rund um die Themen Klassik, Human Rights, Sowjet-nOSTalgie und Sex in der Volksmusik. Passend dazu gibt es Konzerte, Filmvorführungen und Workshops zu erleben. Außerdem gibt es am Abend des 4. Oktober eine große Konzert- und Clubnacht in der Arge Kultur.

Das Magazin um 5 präsentiert dazu in der Sendung vom 1. Oktober einen ersten Programmüberblick mit allen Hintergrundinfos. Und wer trotz allem nicht dabei sein kann, für den gibt es das Beste am Dienstag den 7. Oktober  im Magazin um 5 zum nachhören.

Unter folgendem Link könnt ihr außerdem ein Interview mit 2 der Veranstalterinnen, Selina Nowak und Teresa Meikl, nachhören:

http://cba.fro.at/267448

Also, ob im Kino, im Konzertsaal, auf der Straße oder auf der Radiofabrik.

Willkommen bei My Sound of Music!

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In Stimmen aus den Schützengräben #14 we introduce a very important theme: postal censorship. Huge and costly efforts were made by the belligerents to keep the morale high, both on the frontline and in the homeland (see episode #4). Mail was one of the few comforts a soldier could have on the frontline, and often the most cherished. Letters, however, could also convey classified information or undermine the moral on the homefront. For that reason, post censorship occurred in many of the countries involved in the war.

The first document of this week is an original interview with Captain Howard B. Ward (see episode #2), recorded in 1982. In the selected passage, Howard explains how the letters written by British soldiers on the Western Front were censored. Every letter had to be checked by an officer to ensure it didn’t contain classified information, such as the position of the soldier. After reading the letter, the officer would seal it and sign the envelope. Only officers were granted a special priviledge: their letters were sent to a post office behind the lines, where only a small number was randomly opened and checked. The officers had to give their word that their letters didn’t contain any classified information, and if they were found guilty they would be court-martialled.
The full interview is available at: www.europeana.eu/portal/record/2020601/attachments_66347_4980_66347_original_66347_mp3.html

Censored Italian letter (www.liceograssi.it)

The second document of the week is a short letter from German soldier Johann Görtemaker (see episodes #5, #12 and #13), dated 4th of May 1917. He doesn’t explicitly mention the censorship but writes: „I am not allowed to write about the war anymore“. Soldiers were well aware of postal censorship, and most of the time they would write very simple letters to make sure they would reach the families. Censorship, however was not always effective at discouraging the soldiers or destroying confidential information. Many letters managed to slip through the net, and they are today a vivid testimony of those tragic times.
Görtemaker correspondence is available at: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/de/contributions/462

Announcement  of the Austro-Hungarian Military Censorship (Österreichische Nationalbibliotek)

The third document of this week is a passage of a letter written by French soldier Henri Bouvard on the 3rd of December 1917. He urges his wife not to write about war in her letters, to make sure they reach him. The censorship examined both incoming and outgoing mail. In the best-case scenario, the unauthorised parts were covered with black or purple ink. Often, however, the whole letter was destroyed.
The rules were very strict, and applied not only to military information but also on feelings and impressions of the war. In many cases censorship rejected passages in which soldiers related the horrors of war, because they would endanger the propaganda. The morale of the civilians was as important as the morale of the troops, for several reasons. Civilians not only encouraged and their relatives and friends on the frontline, but also supported the state economy subscribing to war bonds. This could only be possible if they believed in a quick victory.

Henri Bouvard’s letter is reproduced in „Paroles de poilus : lettres et carnets du front 1914 -1918“ by J.P. Guéno, page 92.

The last document of this week is a passage from Attilio Frescura’s „Diario di un imboscato“(see episodes #2 and #3 ). In may 1917 he was assigned for a few day to censorship duty. In the letters he found many funny mistakes and weird expressions which he copied in his journal. He also witnessed all the vile practices of human soul, and could unmask through the lines the lies and infidelity of wives and husbands. Frescura’s war journal is available at: teca.bncf.firenze.sbn.it/ImageViewer/servlet/ImageViewer?idr=BNCF00004006672#page/75/mode/1up

-Credits-

Editing: Larissa Schütz , Matteo Coletta.
Commentary: Romana Stücklschweiger

Voices in this episode: Hannes Hochwasser als Johann Görtemaker, Matteo Coletta as Attilio Frescura, Howard B. Ward as himself.

Jingle:

Music: Gregoire Lourme, “Fire arrows and shields”
Concept: Matteo Coletta
Voices: Hanes Hochwasser, Matteo Coletta, Roman Reischl, L.J. Ounsworth, Norbert K. Hund.