; which was more than likely horseflesh. If a person were lucky, they would receive a small amount of margarine or sugar. Once a week rations would be handed out fluctuating in consistency; some week people received 4 ounces of turnips and others potatos, sometimes horsemeat, sometimes nothing but bread. Usually 8 ounces of skim milk were rationed once a week along with the solids, but almost all of the people in Theresienstadt saw much less food than what was recorded. Shortages of kitchens made it so that people would have to stand for hours waiting in line for their small ration of food. Waiting for food meant standing outside no matter what the weather consisted of. Some people would get frostbite from waiting for food, and others become sicker and developing pneumonia while standing in the rain. There was such a low amount of food that people would smuggle in possessions like watches or clothes to trade for food. People would give away their most prize possessions for a loaf of bread and some watery soup. Others even went to the extent of wiping their bowls, after they licked them clean, with their sleeves so that they could suck out the last remaining nutrients. There would be long conversations about food, talking about what they had before and the feasts shared, while rubbing their tummies. Some called this obsession about reminiscing about food while rubbing their tummies “magenonamie” which meant stomach masturbation. One visitor to Theresienstadt said, “the stench of the place almost made her faint.” The smell of the potato cellars mixed with the latrines and the delousing station, while seeing dead bodies lying around and being dragged down stairs like random pieces of trash were to much for her to handle. Then on the other hand a woman whom had previously stayed in Auschwitz had said “ It was a city for prisoners and you could walk freely wearing a star. It was heaven.” ...
