How did the air raids disrupt the Dutch public life?

In Anne's account, we get a picture of the unforeseen misery unleashed upon the Dutch people due to the air raids. The common occurrences during that time were frightened women, trembling houses, raging epidemics and people relentlessly stalked by hunger. People would have to stand in line to buy vegetables and all kinds of goods, doctors could not visit their patients and rampant theft of automobiles. Burglaries and thefts had become quite common. Little children smashed windows of people's homes and stole whatever they could get their hands on. People did not dare to leave the house even for five minutes since they were liable to come back and find all their belongings gone. Newspapers were filled with reward notices for the return of stolen typewriters, Persian rugs, electric clocks, fabrics and so on. The electric clocks on street corners were dismantled, public phones stripped down to the last wire. Morale among the Dutch was low and everyone was going hungry. A week's food ration did not last for more than two days unless it was ersatz coffee. Men were shipped off to Germany, children were sick or undernourished and everyone wore their worn-out clothes and run-down shoes. Commodities were expensive even on the black market.

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