About Meat Rations

In Belgium, the meat ration has been reduced to 20 grams per day. – 11-1-45

I really feel sorry
For the poor people of Belgium,
Because a Belgian can only consume
Twenty grams of meat each day.

The newspaper states it in black and white
And one can read
Belgium has almost nothing to eat,
Compared to that

The Netherlands is still in good shape:
Here, they are a little less frugal,
Twenty grams is much too little,
And therefore the Belgians are

Certainly terribly malnourished,
Although they have been freed
From the cruel Kraut hordes,
For a long time things are not going well for them.

In Antwerp, they sit now
Without meat and without soups,
The allied troops
Took away meat and gravy.

Thank God in this country
We are not in the Belgians’ shoes,
The meat rations are higher,
Seyss himself guarantees

That we will continue to receive
One hundred grams per week,
And I say, even though I am a layman,
Seyss takes care of our interests.

One hundred and twenty-five grams,
– The minimum remains one hundred –
I stood grateful and amazed,
I was filled with enthusiasm and excitement.

Likewise, it should be possible to allocate 125 grams of meat, the Dutch livestock has decreased by 30% compared to 1939. The valuable barns, however, have been preserved for the Dutch people, although large areas have been torn apart. A ration of 125 grams of meat can be maintained without a significant reduction in the Dutch livestock. In any case, we can count on 100 grams. – 10-1-45

But then I examined the matter
A little more closely,
If I calculate it precisely,
It doesn’t appeal to me.

One hundred and twenty-five grams
Is – as I think to myself –
Less than the Belgians receive,
Our sandwich is paltry.

And I hope and speculate:
Beautiful, glorious dreams of the future,
Because when the British come one day,
We will receive …
Fifteen grams more.