I found the discussion about the unusually cold winter in 1939-40 interesting. Moorhouse in Berlin at War gave me the impression he was trying to create an image that Berliners were unaccustomed to the level of chill the city experienced. I guess in some cases this could indeed be true. However, I think a large aspect to the feeling of unpreparedness came from the reduction of food and supplies such as coal and wood that would otherwise have kept Berliners warm to the extend they were actually accustomed to.<\/p>\n
Taking into consideration that both of these reasons could combine to largely explain why Berliners struggled in January 1940, I also got curious about if that winter was indeed one of the worst in Berlin\u2019s history. I discovered that it depends on the time of winter! Along with the winters of 1823 and 1838, 1940 had the coldest recorded temperatures in January. However, over the sum of winter months, the winter of 1829-30 was actually colder than the first winter of WWII.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019d like to read more on record low temperatures in Germany, as well as other warring countries in WWII, here\u2019s a link:<\/p>\n