A-Z of the Second World War

R

Rationing. As much of the food we needed in the war came from abroad and the German u-boats were attempting to sink them food and other goods were rationed. This meant all food could only be bought along with the use of a ration book. This meant only a set amount of food could be had in a week. Other things were rationed too. Even your bath water was limited to 6 inches!

A weeks ration

Resistance. Not everyone who was invaded by the Germans accepted nazi rule and some actively fought back. In Yugoslavia, General Tito did this with the aid of arms dropped to him by the allies, he fought a full scale war against the nazis in the mountains of Yugoslavia. In France many resistance fighters would commit acts of sabotage such as blowing up train lines etc. to make the system work badly for the Germans. Some resistance may be just making deliberate mistakes at work to slow down or damage production. All such acts were extremely dangerous for the people doing them as it may only need suspicion from the German army to result in your arrest and possible execution.

  Russian resistance fighters preparing to blow up a rail line.