During the Second World War, food became increasingly scarce. Although the severity of the situation differed per region, people everywhere had to deal with ration cards and family cards. These were wanted, but at the same time objects of irony. In a clandestine paper, which was distributed in Aalten, there was a curious recipe:
“Take the meat card, roll it in the flour card, put it in the fat card and fry it with the coal card until deliciously brown. The potato card is placed in the butter card and slowly braised in the petroleum card. Then you heat up the coffee card, add the milk card and the sugar card and dip the bread card into it. Take two bread coupons, put one meat coupon in between and you have a sandwich. After dinner, one wipes one’s mouth with the pedigree. Enjoy your meal.”
Food shipments to the west
Despite the wartime conditions, people in the Achterhoek generally did not fare too badly. Even with 2,500 people in hiding among a population of 11,000, there was still enough food in Aalten. There was even sufficient food available to send large quantities to the starving west.
The bakers of Aalten spent hours at their ovens every day. Large quantities of rye bread and other foodstuffs were sent west each day on the 4.30 p.m. train. Food for the starving population in the western Netherlands was loaded not only at Aalten, but also at other stops along the Winterswijk-Arnhem railway line.
The first consignments of rye bread to the west began in 1942. In 1944, a horse and cart travelled through Aalten every day carrying sixty to seventy sacks of rye bread from the post office to the railway station. The 4.30 p.m. train soon became known as the ‘Rye Bread Train‘ and became a familiar institution. The first annual report issued by the Dutch postal service after the war even included a photograph of the large quantities of rye bread being loaded.
In September 1944, the Roggebrood train came to an end due to the national railway strike.
The Rye Bread Train would run one more time
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the liberation, the Orange Committee and the local branch of the 1940-1945 Foundation organized liberation celebrations in Aalten from 4 to 6 May 1970. One of the highlights of these festivities would be a reunion of people in hiding and veterans. The intention was that the people in hiding would stay at their old hiding place as much as possible. On Liberation Day, 5 May, a memorial meeting with the pastors and the chaplain from the war years, and an allegorical parade were on the program. The NCRV paid attention to this Aalten initiative on Nederland 2.
The NS would use a special train for the transport of the reunionists: the old Rye Bread Train. With the same equipment with which rye breads were transported during the war, the veterans and people in hiding would return to Aalten to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the liberation. This time, however, the Rye Bread Train would run in the opposite direction, from the west to the east, to bring the reunionists to Aalten. For this special occasion, a special train ticket would even be designed.
Unfortunately, shortly before the commemoration celebrations, the organization decided to cancel the reunion, the most important part of the program. The reason for this was that there seemed to be insufficient interest among the people in hiding. Afterwards, however, there were signs that something might have gone wrong with the sending of the invitations. Anyway, the Rye Bread Train definitely remained a memory of the past