FAMINE.

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Hunger bun marking the famine of 1816-17. This small "Hungersemmel", produced in German-speaking countries during the famine of 1816-17, illustrates the severity of the food shortage. It was kept as a memento of the hardship, as the accompanying note explains: "This 2-penny bun is from the expensive time of the year 1817, stored here as a memorial, on the 12th of July. Paid by Carl Weißenbach" (our translation).The price of such famine buns remained unchanged throughout the period, but their size decreased as the stock of flour dwindled. Bakers supplemented their scarce flour with inedible material such as sawdust, straw, and tree bark, and added whiteners such as alum, chalk, gypsum, and burnt bones (Angerer, p. 165). They were often passed through families to remember the dead, although some public institutions such as churches and town halls also displayed them. The famine resulted in the first wave of German emigration in the 19th century, with many fleeing to Poland, Russia and the United States. "Hunger pastries" are scarce survivals. The Museum der Brotkultur in Ulm holds five similar examples. Four more are traced in the Historical Museum in Regensburg and two in the Gerätemuseum in Ahorn near Coburg (Angerer, p. 162).The note in German reads: "Diese 2-Pfennigsemmel ist von der theuren Zeit des Jahres 1817. Als Andenken hierin aufbewahrt, am 12. July. Von Carl Weißenbach bezahlt".

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