When reading about the precautions taking when preparing for warm I could not help but realize that it greatly resembled the preparations taken when expecting to be hit by a hurricane. Living on an island on the east coast of Florida, this is the closest similarity I could draw to what was being described in Berlin at War, by Roger Moorehouse.
Everyone is initially shocked:
Moorehouse writes, “For most Berliners, therefore, the mood on the outbreak of war was one of shock;. Yet, though many had not realised the horrors the invasion of Poland portended, there was nonetheless a quiet determination to adapt to the new reality.” The same happens when a hurricane hits: no one really believes that it is happening and no one knows how bad the outcome will be, yet everyone is determined to survive it and adapt to the “new reality.” Everyone automatically switches to a fight or flight mentality.
Everyone Scrambles for Supplies:
At the onset of the war ration cards were distributed and many people scrambled to stock up on necessities. Moorehouse tells the story of how one boy was “lucky to leave with his booty in tact.” The same is true when preparing to survive a hurricane, everyone scrambles to buy as much as they can. It’s almost as bad as when you go to a grocery store the day before Thanksgiving, you’re lucky if you get out with your dignity.
Everyone Prepares for Impact:
Moorehouse mentioned in the book that seemingly overnight thousands of sand bags appeared lining the streets and everyone worked together to set everything up. The same thing happens in my hometown. All of a sudden thousands of sheets of plywood and metal shutters appear and everyone splits up setting up their own houses and helping out their neighbors.
The Sirens Sound and Everyone Scatters:
Once the air raid sirens sounded for the first time, the “streets of the capital were completely deserted” and the mood was “serious but calm and optimistic.” The same happens when a hurricane comes, once the sirens sound everyone retreats back their barricaded houses and waits for the calm of the storm.
I drew 2 paralells from your reflection Meg:one being to tornadoes and the other being to snow storms, both something that I have less worry about once I moved to Florida from Missouri. Tornadoes are somewhat common where I live, and many of the same situations play out as they do in preparing for war. The initial shock, preparation for impact, and sirens and chaos that follows are all happening during a tornado induced storm, but they happen in a MUCH smaller time frame. While these war preparations can take place over a few months, the realization of a tornado can happen just moments or usually just hours at most before the big impact. There isn’t much time to prepare yourself or gather supplies, you do the best with what you have within those few moments. A war declaration more so relates to preparing for a big snow storm in the Midwest. While you usually also have a much smaller time frame between the knowledge of a storm and it’s impact, you have usually anywhere from 1-5 days to prepare. Grocery stores run out of essentials as people stock up for nearly a week after the storm so they won’t have to drive out until the ice is melted and roads are cleared. The same type of chaos ensues because people, especially on the back roads where I live, think that once it begins to snow, they won’t be able to leave their house for a week. Even though the Dept. of Transportation will clear the roads as quickly as they can, usually getting them back to 100% after only 2 days, the hype of a snow storm changes people to frantic and irrational, as I would assume people were in Berlin after the invasion of Poland.
I think this is an interesting comparison–weather events to war. We should keep it in our heads as we visit the bomb shelters, etc. You can see where the comparison is really strong–the hurricane that hit Haiti, for example, Certainly the biggest difference is that wars can last for years, but weather events end much sooner.
Meg, outstanding reflection. Growing up in Central Florida I too can relate to the “Hurricane Hype” caused when a storm is on the way. The consumer falls victim to price gouging (until legislation was instituted to otherwise curb this practice, circa 2005) and there’s this massive rush to obtain all of the necessitates required to weather the storm. Growing up on the coast, I’m sure you’ve been advised to evacuate, stock up on dry goods, and have enough water for at least three days.
Upon the declaration of war upon Poland, the people themselves were somber, tired and apathetic to the idea of striking out on another armed conflict. Similar to Hurricane Season 2004, by the time the last hurricane had arrived, the storm was greeted almost with an air of tired apathy. Like the Germans desired for a state of prolonged peace, Floridians desired for a time of clear weather.
The flip side to this is some people under-prepare, and even prematurely celebrate if a storm is heading out to sea or (at least) not barreling towards their home. When the rumors of peace spread throughout Berlin, the attitude changed completely. Like with storms, people breathed a huge sigh of relief and began to celebrate for a small time before returning to their normal lives.