Germans and a (very) brief history of 'Hamstern'

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany, certain supermarket shelves stayed empty for weeks. Many people had panic-bought toilet paper, soap, pasta and canned food. The media picked up on the phenomenon and constantly used the colorful colloquial German word for hoarding, "hamstern," which means to store like a hamster.   

The coronavirus pandemic was not the first time that Germans have panic-bought — though it's been a while.

Just over one century ago, in anticipation of World War I, people mainly bought durable food, far in excess of their needs.

Germany probably last saw panic-buying in any form in the post-war years. And unlike in the first weeks of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, when Germans stockpiled toilet paper and canned goods just to be on the safe side, survivors of WWII who lived in cities flocked by the thousands to farms in the countryside.

Desperate, they swapped jewelry, clothing and household goods for urgently needed potatoes, bacon, butter, fruit and vegetables. These excursions were called "Hamsterfahrten," or hoarding trips.

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