# WWII Ration Chocolate Bars **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 31, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800 "2023-05-31T00:52:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/1 "2023-05-31T00:52:47Z")
I just learned today (from something that popped up on a news site) that the chocolate bars they issued with rations during WWII were – well, awful > [@](#): > > Colonel Logan had four requirements for the D ration bar. The bar must: > > 1. Weigh 4 ounces (113.4 g) > 2. Be high in [food energy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_energy) value > 3. Be able to withstand high temperatures > 4. Taste “a little better than a boiled potato” (to keep soldiers from eating their emergency rations in non-emergency situations) > **[Military chocolate (United States)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_chocolate_(United_States))** > > Military chocolate has been a part of standard United States military rations since the original D-ration bar of 1937. Today, military chocolate is issued to troops as part of basic field rations and sundry packs. Chocolate rations served two purposes: as a morale boost, and as a high-energy, pocket-sized emergency ration. Military chocolate rations are often made in special lots to military specifications for weight, size, and endurance. The majority of chocolate issued to military personnel is ... > [@](#): > > In 1937, the U.S. Army approached the Hershey Company about creating a specially designed bar just for its emergency rations. According to Hershey’s chief chemist Sam Hinkle, the U.S. government had just four requests about their new chocolate bars: They had to weigh 4 ounces, be high in energy, withstand high temperatures and “taste a little better than a boiled potato.” The army didn’t want the bar to be so tasty that soldiers would eat it in non-emergency situations. > **[How Hershey's Chocolate Helped Power Allied Troops During WWII | HISTORY](https://www.history.com/news/hersheys-chocolate-allied-d-day-rations-wwii)** > > In search of a lightweight, nutritious and high-energy snack for soldiers, the U.S. Army turned to Hershey. The results weren't exactly a sweet treat. Okay. But I remember hearing all those stories about GIs making friends by giving their chocolate to kids: [https://www.ww2online.org/image/us-soldier-gives-candy-children-caserta-italy-1943](https://www.ww2online.org/image/us-soldier-gives-candy-children-caserta-italy-1943) > **['American candy meant the world to us' – Post-war Germany through the eyes of...](https://www.army.mil/article/236213/american_candy_meant_the_world_to_us_post_war_germany_through_the_eyes_of_a_german)** > > WIESBADEN, Germany -- When the alarm sounded in the middle of the night, a young woman and her two kids knew exactly what to do: Grab everything they c... > **[Chocolate and World War 2 – A Personal History](https://chocolateclass.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/chocolate-and-world-war-2-a-personal-history/)** > >     History may be told from many viewpoints.  The past can be seen through the lens of war, art, sports as well as technology.  What about through the lens of food? Can we look back at h… If the chocolate was as bad as the articles make it out to be – awful tasting, hard to chew (some people shaved it thin and let it melt in the mouth), and gave people constipation – how much of a treat could it have been? I see several possibilities 1.) GIs actually _hated_ those kids 2.) The kids were so desperate for treats that even unappealing-as-a-potato chocolate tasted good 3.) They were actually giving away chocolate from some other source, like Red CRoss packages, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/2 "2023-05-31T01:05:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The kids were so desperate for treats Treats? Many were desperately in need of food of any kind. Any kind of sugar for civilians was rare in a war zone. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/3 "2023-05-31T01:29:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I see several possibilities > > 1.) GIs actually _hated_ those kids > 2.) The kids were so desperate for treats that even unappealing-as-a-potato chocolate tasted good > 3.) They were actually giving away chocolate from some other source, like Red CRoss packages, or something. 4.) The kids were starving and that made the stuff taste damn good, along with supplying actual nutrition. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/4 "2023-05-31T03:37:30Z")
The D-Rations were basically a sort of proto energy bar; they were high calorie and dense, so soldiers could keep a few on themselves without adding significantly to their load. They were made with oat flour, which is in keeping with the energy bar concept. They were extremely hard and not the sort of thing they gave out to children. They also got regular chocolate as part of Red Cross care packages as well. In fact, M&Ms were developed during the war as a sort of chocolate that wouldn’t melt so readily. They also got bubble gum and other candy as well. [“Chocolate is a Fighting Food!” – Chocolate bars in the Second World War | National Museum of American History](https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/chocolate-bars-second-world-war) ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/5 "2023-05-31T03:52:11Z")
Nobody wanted the D Ration bars. Better than starving, but they were aka “Hitler’s Secret Weapon”, apparently the contractors somehow succeeded in making them taste little better than a boiled potato. It is probably a sound strategy to not make survival rations too tasty, lest they be eaten due to boredom or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/6 "2023-05-31T05:59:06Z")
In the book “Unbroken”, the author said that those nasty “chocolate bars” were actually included in a pocket on the inflatable rafts that were used when a boat or plane went down. One of the other sailors ate all of that chocolate on the first night, IIRC because he didn’t think his fellow soldiers would want it anyway, and that they would be rescued quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/7 "2023-05-31T08:00:35Z")
Perhaps the OP is unaware of the extent of hunger, as well as outright starvation, in WWII. There was, for example, the [Hunger Plan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_Plan) which was a delibrate plan to starve _millions_ of Soviet citizens. There was the [Dutch “Hunger Winter” of 1944-45](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_famine_of_1944%E2%80%931945). Plus numerous other instances of people in bombed-out cities lacking access to food, or fleeing refugees lacking food, or people in various camps lacking food… Literal millions went hungry in WWII, and literal millions actually staved to death. People were eating some pretty unpleasant things to simply survive. Compared to that, chocolate that tasted “slightly better than a boiled potato” would have been heaven-sent and highly desired. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/8 "2023-05-31T11:48:08Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Perhaps the OP is unaware of the extent of hunger, as well as outright starvation, in WWII. The OP is aware, but the stories I’ve heard didn’t suggest the GIs were treating acute starvation – they said the GIs were ingratiating themselves with the kids. That’s very different. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/9 "2023-05-31T12:55:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > he GIs were ingratiating themselves with the kids. Hungry, starving kids. The entire populations were hungry and starving, why would you assume that the kids were not? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/10 "2023-05-31T13:03:34Z")
I believe the chocolate being handed out to kids for goodwill were mostly the K-rat/tropical bars, not the D-rat bars. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/11 "2023-05-31T13:06:02Z")
People on the verge of starvation would often suffer extreme gastrointestinal distress when suddenly ingesting a hefty amount of very rich foods that their systems were not used to. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/12 "2023-05-31T13:44:50Z")
While there was definitely hunger in the winter of 1944-1945, I’m not convinced that all the tales of friendly GIs giving out chocolate, candy, and gum to local kids in Europe during the war was them giving out unwanted D-rations to starving kids. If nothing else, I suspect their officers/NCOs would have something to say about them just ditching their emergency rations like that. And I also suspect the narrative would be different. It wouldn’t be friendly GIs giving sweets to local kids, it would have been friendly GIs keeping kids from starving, as they may not have enjoyed the D-rations much. And the whole GIs show up with candy, chocolate, and other stuff narrative was the case when the USAAC showed up in Britain in 1942-1943 as well. In fact, the ubiquitous C rations of WWII actually had candy and/or chocolate as part of the ration, and not D-ration chocolate. Same for the 5-in-1 ration. [C Ration B unit (1941) with contents - C-ration - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-ration#/media/File:C_Ration_B_unit_(1941)_with_contents.jpg) [Original U.S. WWII 5-in-1 Small Detachment Ration - Unissued – International Military Antiques (ima-usa.com)](https://www.ima-usa.com/products/original-u-s-wwii-5-in-1-small-detachment-ration-unissued?variant=12784321593413) Hershey’s chocolate claims that they made a range of products used in the war - only some of which were the emergency rations & Tropical bars. [Serving Our Country: Hershey Chocolate’s Contributions to World War II – Hershey Community Archives (hersheyarchives.org)](https://hersheyarchives.org/encyclopedia/serving-the-country-hershey-chocolates-contributions-to-wwii/) I kind of get the impression that the US military was, if not awash with chocolate of various sorts, at least reasonably well supplied with it, to the point where they weren’t giving out D-rations to starving kids. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/13 "2023-05-31T13:59:47Z")
There were food shortages in Europe after the Allied invasion, but , for the most part, not outrageous starvation (except in places like the Netherlands, which had suffered for a year before the Allies came). TYhis excerpt from 1944 about France shows that food was short, but effectively rationed > **[Paris is liberated but short of food: from the archive, 3 October 1944](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/03/paris-food-liberation-archive-1944)** > > Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 3 October 1944: What food is available in Paris is distributed under a rationing system that is working quite well Any real fgood shortages, as in Holland, were taken care of by food brought in by the Allies and outside agencies. They didn’t need GI ration bars to stave off starvation. So, againm, my point was thazt I’d heard for years about GIs making friends with the local kids by giving them chjocolate. Thisd news about the nature of the chocolate available to them puts a different spin on that. And that’s all I’m saying. Don’t try to spin this into something else. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/14 "2023-05-31T14:28:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So, againm, my point was thazt I’d heard for years about GIs making friends with the local kids by giving them chjocolate. Thisd news about the nature of the chocolate available to them puts a different spin on that. Then its more likly you are giving too much weight to the D-ration chocolate bar and not everything else the allied soldiers had access to. The allied supply chain was one of the deciding factors of the war, regular milk chocolate and M&M’s were commmonly availble to soldiers (and plenty of cigarettes). I beleive in the movie the Longest Day a German General is commiting on how a caputured allied soldier had cake that was shipped from family in the states and that it meant that the allies could supply non-essential items by plane. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/15 "2023-05-31T15:25:24Z")
The “Candy Bombers” dropped bags of candy on tiny parachutes to children during the Berlin airlift. I imagine GIs had access to other chocolate and were handing out “real” chocolate to children. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/16 "2023-05-31T15:26:51Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > I believe the chocolate being handed out to kids for goodwill were mostly the K-rat/tropical bars, not the D-rat bars. I’ve never eaten one but it is my understanding that the tropical chocolate bars were only marginally more popular than the D-bars. The ‘Military Chocolate’ Wiki article contains the sentence, > … nearly all U.S. soldiers found the Tropical Bar tough to chew and unappetizing; reports from countless memoirs and field reports are almost uniformly negative.[_[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)_] Instead, the bar was either discarded or traded to unsuspecting Allied troops or civilians for more appetizing foods or goods. Steve1989MREinfo has an [13-minute video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZtaBrQ-3EA&t) where he gives the history, opens, and samples a genuine 1942 D-bar. He says it’s not bad, tasting like cocoa powder compressed into a brick but he could see why it was unpopular. He mentions a musty taste but that might be because it was 76 years old. He tried the dissolving in hot water trick which improved the experience. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/17 "2023-05-31T15:54:06Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The “Candy Bombers” dropped bags of candy on tiny parachutes to children during the Berlin airlift. I imagine GIs had access to other chocolate and were handing out “real” chocolate to children. [Quite a bit of sweets dropped during the Berlin airlift had been donated.](https://books.google.com/books?id=0GEpAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=candy+donated+for+berlin&article_id=4246,1425763&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7pNPP8p__AhWLKFkFHSfvAyEQ6AF6BAgMEAI#v=onepage&q=candy%20donated%20for%20berlin&f=false) According to [this obituary of Milton Hershey,](https://books.google.com/books?id=Fb9eAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA4&dq=%22field+ration%22+chocolate&article_id=2360,975494&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXg52p9J__AhUSFFkFHVRJDXY4ChDoAXoECAsQAg#v=onepage&q=%22field%20ration%22%20chocolate&f=false) his company was also involved in manufacturing [B-rations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-ration) so there’s another potential source of chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/18 "2023-05-31T16:15:41Z")
I had a WW2 vet (PTO) teacher in high school, and he said that chocolate Ex-Lax tasted better than the ration chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/19 "2023-05-31T16:27:54Z")
It’s interesting to me that even though C-rations were phased out starting in the late 50s, they were still being issued to us Seabees in the 70s and 80s. Beanie Wienies, ham and motherfuckers, spaghetti and hockey pucks, the whole gamut. I retired in 1990 and never saw an MRE or LRP meal. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800/20 "2023-05-31T17:22:46Z")
The D-bar was supposed to be a last-ditch ration for when no other food of any kind was procurable - not confectionery for grazers. These things often get misused for purposes other than the ones they were intended for. Bernard Fergusson’s _The Wild Green Earth_ contains a whole chapter on the food they got - its advantages and deficiencies. K Rations were perceived as too saturated with salt and not containing enough nutrition for an extended period on them while doing hard physical labour as well. They were not intended for this purpose. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-ration-chocolate-bars/984800.md?page=2)