Title	The Food Closet
Description	This page in Mitchener's diary from World War II includes a drawing of the food closet. A number of cups are hanging from the wall, and a pitcher is on the floor. Mitchener writes, "As you enter the room - life's sustinence (sic) compartment...The Food Closet. By-paths for ingenuity, the clothes locker lying on its side...clothes hooks as cup racks - bread boxes from Red Cross cartons...and knife as canopener...all outlets prompted by necessity."
Historical note	Mitchener was captured as a POW after a bombing raid in Germany during World War II. Rations at Stalag Luft III were poor, but they were subsidized by Red Cross packages, which included cigarettes, chocolate bars, and canned food, including raisins, tuna, corned beef, sugar, jam, Spam, prunes, crackers, powdered coffee, liver pate, and condensed milk. The men were sometimes able to find creative ways to prepare the food. They were also able to adapt everyday objects to create necessary tools.
Date	1944-1945
Place	Zagan (Poland)
Creator	Mitchener, Hardy A., 1919-1957
Collection name	Hardy A. Mitchener, Jr. Journal, 1944-1945
Education Tags	US.61 American Soldiers World War II
Subjects - LCSH	World War, 1939-1945 -- Europe; Prisoners of war; Diaries
Subjects - TGM	Barbed wire Rooms & spaces Drinking vessels Pitchers
Accession #	THS 760
Owning Institution	Tennessee Historical Society
ID #	33593
Digital type	IMAGE
Digital format	TIFF
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