American Family Experiment With German Non-Combatant Rations; A Nasty Week Recently received information on German war rations prompted the "New York Daily News" to carry out an experiment in which a typical American family lived for one week on the food allowance decreed by the Nazi high command for all German non-combatants.
Willing "guinea pigs" for this test were Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Rogers, a son, Stuart Jr., 19, and a daughter, Naomi, 16, of Red Band, N. J.
At all times during the experiment they were under the observation of a dietician and a reputable physician, who had power to withdraw one or all members of the family from the test should their health be endangered.
An account of their physical and mental reactions to the first day of German war time fare is given below.
One day of wartime food as rationed in Germany knocked all the pleasure out of eating in the Stuart Rogers household, The first three Nazi meals left the four members of the family without actual pangs of hunger, But there were squawks and complaints aplenty.
"Sherman was right!" growled 206-pound Stuart Sr., who loves a Juicy steak, "These rations fill you up, but there's no kick in eating any more,"
Patiently and cheerfully Mrs, Rogers, who began to work near miracles in the kitchen with her limited supplies, tried to stretch the rations as far as possible and make them palatable, But she put down her own cup of substitute coffee half finished with the remark: "I simply can't drink it, I'd rather have nothing at all, What a difference a little cream would make,"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.