Hitler's secret weapon—disgusting chocolate that even soldiers wouldn't eat (6 photos)

This unpresentable chocolate bar was part of an American army ration during World War II. We explain why this "yummy treat" was so dangerous that soldiers nicknamed these bars "Hitler's secret weapon" and preferred to throw them away rather than eat them.





Nutrition plays a crucial role in the harsh conditions of military life. A soldier's combat effectiveness, physical fitness, and morale depend on the quality of his food. A weak, tired, or sick soldier is unlikely to perform well in battle, which is why armies around the world always strive to ensure that their rations are filling and rich in vitamins.

Guided by this principle, in 1937 the US Army decided to add chocolate to its soldiers' rations. The idea was that it would serve as an "emergency high-energy food" that would also boost morale. However, adding regular chocolate bars to the rations was not feasible—they would quickly melt and spoil in the field. An alternative solution had to be found.



Then Army Quartermaster Paul Logan approached the Hershey Chocolate Company with a request to create the "right" chocolate for the military. Among the requirements were that each bar should weigh no more than 130 grams, be heat-resistant, and be high in calories. It was also clarified that the taste of the chocolate was irrelevant. On the contrary, the less tasty it was, the better. Logan understood that soldiers could eat a tasty chocolate bar right away or even use it as a kind of "currency" for barter.





As a result, in 1937, the Hershey Company produced "it"—a chocolate bar called "Field Ration D" or "D-Bar." It consisted of sugar, oatmeal, cocoa butter, skim milk powder, and vitamin B1 flavoring to prevent polyneuritis. It sounds good, but in reality, the chocolate tasted so disgusting that many soldiers refused to eat it. Furthermore, not everyone could chew it: the addition of oatmeal made the chocolate too hard. Some soldiers broke their teeth on it, and the production team even had to use a special, heavy-duty press to form the bars to the correct size.



But the army chocolate was high in energy, just as Colonel Logan wanted. One 130-gram bar of this "delicacy" contained over 600 calories.

The bar came with instructions that stated: "Eat slowly, over a half-hour period. Can be dissolved in hot water and used as a drink."



Soldiers who ignored these recommendations immediately experienced an unpleasant consequence of consuming such a rich product—severe intestinal upset. For this unpleasant side effect, chocolate was nicknamed "Hitler's Secret Weapon."

Words about this effect of chocolate quickly reached the Hershey Chocolate Corporation. Complaints about "laxative chocolate" also began to trickle into the army. Colonel Logan then asked Hershey to change the recipe. This resulted in the revamped "Tropical Bar," which, while slightly more palatable, remained just as hard. The soldiers didn't appreciate it either, calling it the "Dysentery Bar."



It wasn't until the 1950s that Hershey finally launched a more or less edible military chocolate bar. Oatmeal was removed, skim milk was replaced with regular milk, and cocoa powder was added instead of cocoa butter. Even so, the chocolate still didn't have a particularly impressive flavor. Soldiers most often either threw it away or traded it for other foods with unsuspecting civilians.

We once talked about the foods German soldiers never ate in the USSR. The list of their least favorite foods included kvass, okroshka, and fish.