The German occupiers launched the coupon system at the earliest in Kraków. This took place on 13 November 1939. In Warsaw, it did not start until 15 December. It covered the non-agricultural population, but not every resident of the General Government could receive coupons. Only people with confirmed employment were entitled to them. In practice, the aim was not to ration food but to starve Poles.

It was mainly bread that was sold for ration cards. Its daily ration was between 150 and 300 grams. It was popularly known as “sound bread” because it caused flatulence. It was unpalatable and thin, black, sour, loamy and bitter. Some mentioned that it resembled a block of concrete rather than food. There were also other names that gave a good account of the quality of the bread baked for the Poles, e.g. coke-oven because it resembled coal. The bread was also ridiculously called ‘governor’ in ‘honour’ of Hans Frank.

Another product for ration coupons was marmalade. Nobody knew what it was made of. This German ‘delicacy’ was either watery or terribly hard in consistency, and tasted like candles. It probably contained beetroot paste and other such fillers. German propaganda maintained that marmalade was a great, wholesome product made from fresh fruit with added sugar.

Other products such as flour, sugar, pasta, meat and sweets were also issued symbolically on coupons. Once a year, a child was given one sweet. If Poles had fed only on what was offered in ration coupons, they would have died of starvation due to small rations and poor quality products.

In reaction to the food system demanded by the Germans, contraband, smuggling and smuggling of food from the countryside to the cities flourished. During the occupation, Warsaw became the centre of a black market. Some sold whole wagons of goods, others a few grams of sausage. Everyone traded – Poles, Jews and Germans. Apart from food, moonshine was an important commodity on the black market. With humour, this occupation reality is reflected in the words of a song: “Now it’s war, whoever is alive he trades. If I sell chopped meat, pork fat, black pudding, I’ll drink moonshine too”. Of course, the occupying forces and their services prosecuted this trade, but they could not stop it completely. On the contrary, many Germans profited from it, collaborating with all sorts of profiteers, swindlers, prostitutes and marginalized persons.

The coupon system returned to Poland in the People’s Republic of Poland.