Sustenance in Time of Fear and Want
A Memoir of Belgrade 1941-1945

Mira Crouch

ISBN: 978-1-904710-99-8
£14.99

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…..paperback
…..220 pages
…..28 black and white photographs

Description

The Nazi racial policy in occupied Serbia exempted young Mira from persecution, but seven people dear to her were murdered by March 1942. Against a backdrop of death, it is the ordinary, everyday existence that is depicted in this book: getting through, somehow, the days, weeks and months; and when loved ones are no more, for those left behind, the business of enduring life, for four long years.

Food was the main preoccupation. How to obtain it and what to do with it were pressing and ever-present questions for the extended family that surrounded Mira during the WWII years. An overwhelming concern with provisioning is reflected in many a page vividly describing the inventive ways of putting precious supplies to best use. But sustenance is more than food. Complex human relations constitute the core of this memoir. The effects of wartime conditions (danger from both enemy and friendly fire, grief and mourning, constant uncertainty) on personalities and their doings are explored through the eyes of a needy and vigilant child. The author’s memories are recounted with insight, humility and humour. Gently but firmly, the reader’s imagination is led toward compassion for vulnerability and respect for resilience under duress.

Contents

Introduction
List of Main Characters
Prologue: A Brief Chronology

Part One: Misery
An Easter Feast
Alien Bread
One Chicken, Three Meals
A Stolen Egg
Food Parcels

Part Two: Endurance
Apple Tart
Cabbage, Sweet and Sour
Beans
Fish
Moussaka and Such Like
The Pig
Corn and Christmas

Part Three: 1944
Another Easter
Village Fare
Another Pig
A Funeral Feast

Epilogue
Notes

The Author

Mira Crouch lives in Sydney, New South Wales, and is a Visiting Fellow at the School of Social Science and International Studies, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.