Nutritional Deprivation of Children Across Germany

Abstract

When nutritional deprivation is severe enough and of a long duration, evidence for deprivation should be found in the growth patterns of children. Anthropometric measurements were collected across Germany during and following the First World War. This chapter analyses the changing heights and weights of school children, both male and female, across Germany from 1914 to 1924. Comparisons are made using 1914 as a baseline, comparing growth curves to modern standards. As a whole, most German children were shorter and lighter than German children of similar ages before the war, suggesting the war had a negative impact on the growth of children. These data also allow for comparisons of changing heights and weights between different socioeconomic groups across Germany. The timing of deprivation varied most according to social group, with different groups reaching their nadir and zenith in different years. Finally, these data make it possible to consider as well the mitigating effects international aid had on children’s growth.