So I’m trying to write a scene in my current WIP, which takes place in World War II-era Poland. It’s about a couple of characters involved in black-market activities. There’s just one problem: I really don’t understand how the mechanics, supply chain, etc. of a black market works. I’m really stuck on this, so I’d appreciate any help!
Black market smuggling- Poland, 1940s
- Thread starter Some Lonely Scorpio
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Need more details. What activities specifically? Gun running? Drugs? Vice? Large scale? Small scale? Is organized crime involved?
I'm guessing that the OP might be talking about smuggling food from the countryside to big cities, especially Warsaw. People were starving. Food was rationed for Jews and Poles, and the peasants were required to basically give their produce (meat and dairy, later in the war also grain and vegetables) to the occupying forces – there were quotes for each household. Everyone in big cities, and most people in the country, were involved in food smuggling in one way or another.
This is what came to mind when I saw the title. Another possibility is luxury items (stockings, cosmetics) or guns. I agree that more specifics might be helpful.
This is what came to mind when I saw the title. Another possibility is luxury items (stockings, cosmetics) or guns. I agree that more specifics might be helpful.
Seems like there ought to be a how-to book for black markets. I can't speak with authority but a couple of things occur to me.
Black markets will operate on the same supply and demand principles of legal markets except everything is hidden or disguised and the cost of doing business is higher (risks, kickbacks, etc.). I'd say it's all about who you know and the network of those in the know. It's nearly always true that authorities who are supposed to be enforcing the rules participate in black markets -- they want goodies too, or money.
Black markets will operate on the same supply and demand principles of legal markets except everything is hidden or disguised and the cost of doing business is higher (risks, kickbacks, etc.). I'd say it's all about who you know and the network of those in the know. It's nearly always true that authorities who are supposed to be enforcing the rules participate in black markets -- they want goodies too, or money.
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The two most significant examples of a black-market in operation during WW2 occured in the UK and Germany (immediately post-war).
In the UK, the black market arose through shortages due to rationing. In post-war Germany, especially in Berlin, the black-market arose from the same crippling shortages, but the black marketeers were, in the main, members of the victorious/occupying forces. E.g a soldier could buy a carton of cigarettes at the PX for 50 cents and sell them on for, perhaps, $100. Russian troops would pay well over the odds for a good wristwatch etc.
Essentially, the black market was a criminal enterprise. As such, secrecy was all important. The required secrecy was made easier by the fact that the purchasers of black-market goods were, in effect, breaking the law just as much as their suppliers. In addition, the arrest and removal of a black marketeer meant that his/her customers were deprived of the goods they needed/wanted.
The black-market was supported by theft, or fraud. That is to say, the goods were either stolen directly, or "diverted" from their designated destination. One is black, the other is the opposite of white.
The theft of goods occured, mainly, at places where a great deal of materiel was to be found - e.g. docks, rail-yards. Because of the fact that there were usually guards at such places, the theft usually involed small quantities. Greater quantities of goods were made available to the black-market through corrupt "officials" - those with access to the goods and the ability to cover-up their loss (through falsified paperwork etc). These could be civilian administrators with responsibility for the distribution of goods to the local populace, or serving members of the forces involved in the supply-chain to troops.
Bribery was an important tool in the black marketeers armory, especially since, once an official had accepted a bribe to "turn a blind eye" to the removal/sale of goods, he/she was complicit in the crime and at risk of arrest and prosecution.
The thing to remember about the black-market is that a great many people used it - people of all ranks and from all walks of life.
The "supply-chain" was, usually, fairly straightforward: the supplier obtained the goods and either sold them direct to the customers, or sold them on to others who would then sell them to the customers.
A word of caution. Poland was an occupied country. Therefore, black-marketeers put themselves at great risk. In the UK, a black-market "spiv", if caught, would be fined, or sentenced to a few weeks in prison. In occupied countries, convicted black marketeers could expect to be sent to a concentration camp, or even to face a firing squad. As in all enterprises, the gain had to outweigh the risk. It was one thing to sell a few cigarettes in a London pub and quite another to do so in an occupied country where the black marketeers had to contend not only with local law enforcement, but also with the German Feldgendarmerie (military police). Of course, if members of the occupying forces were complicit in the black-market, the marketeers could hope for some form of protection, but, as always "sauve qui peut" was the overriding maxim. In Poland they also ran the risk of being betrayed by people wishing to curry favour with the occupying forces, or who held Nazi sympathies. There were a great many people of German descent in Poland.
Tocotin is correct in saying that the chief black-market goods in occupied Poland were the basics of human existence - food, clothes etc. Any traffic in "luxury goods" was usually restricted to within the occupying forces themselves, or their trusted sympathisers. Be that as it may, it wasn't all that uncommon for German soldiers to sell food, alcohol, or tobacco to the local people - often at exorbitant prices, or in return for sexual favours.
In the UK, the black market arose through shortages due to rationing. In post-war Germany, especially in Berlin, the black-market arose from the same crippling shortages, but the black marketeers were, in the main, members of the victorious/occupying forces. E.g a soldier could buy a carton of cigarettes at the PX for 50 cents and sell them on for, perhaps, $100. Russian troops would pay well over the odds for a good wristwatch etc.
Essentially, the black market was a criminal enterprise. As such, secrecy was all important. The required secrecy was made easier by the fact that the purchasers of black-market goods were, in effect, breaking the law just as much as their suppliers. In addition, the arrest and removal of a black marketeer meant that his/her customers were deprived of the goods they needed/wanted.
The black-market was supported by theft, or fraud. That is to say, the goods were either stolen directly, or "diverted" from their designated destination. One is black, the other is the opposite of white.
The theft of goods occured, mainly, at places where a great deal of materiel was to be found - e.g. docks, rail-yards. Because of the fact that there were usually guards at such places, the theft usually involed small quantities. Greater quantities of goods were made available to the black-market through corrupt "officials" - those with access to the goods and the ability to cover-up their loss (through falsified paperwork etc). These could be civilian administrators with responsibility for the distribution of goods to the local populace, or serving members of the forces involved in the supply-chain to troops.
Bribery was an important tool in the black marketeers armory, especially since, once an official had accepted a bribe to "turn a blind eye" to the removal/sale of goods, he/she was complicit in the crime and at risk of arrest and prosecution.
The thing to remember about the black-market is that a great many people used it - people of all ranks and from all walks of life.
The "supply-chain" was, usually, fairly straightforward: the supplier obtained the goods and either sold them direct to the customers, or sold them on to others who would then sell them to the customers.
A word of caution. Poland was an occupied country. Therefore, black-marketeers put themselves at great risk. In the UK, a black-market "spiv", if caught, would be fined, or sentenced to a few weeks in prison. In occupied countries, convicted black marketeers could expect to be sent to a concentration camp, or even to face a firing squad. As in all enterprises, the gain had to outweigh the risk. It was one thing to sell a few cigarettes in a London pub and quite another to do so in an occupied country where the black marketeers had to contend not only with local law enforcement, but also with the German Feldgendarmerie (military police). Of course, if members of the occupying forces were complicit in the black-market, the marketeers could hope for some form of protection, but, as always "sauve qui peut" was the overriding maxim. In Poland they also ran the risk of being betrayed by people wishing to curry favour with the occupying forces, or who held Nazi sympathies. There were a great many people of German descent in Poland.
Tocotin is correct in saying that the chief black-market goods in occupied Poland were the basics of human existence - food, clothes etc. Any traffic in "luxury goods" was usually restricted to within the occupying forces themselves, or their trusted sympathisers. Be that as it may, it wasn't all that uncommon for German soldiers to sell food, alcohol, or tobacco to the local people - often at exorbitant prices, or in return for sexual favours.
To add to the comments, especially the very good break down from Calder, your scene will depend on if you're dealing with casual/amateur black market activities -- the trades regular people did to survive -- or professional, organized crime. Put yourself into the setting and time period and ask yourself how you could get your hands on a given item. If you have a good grasp of your story world, you can make up pretty much anything and it's likely to be plausible. The black market was resourceful and creative so there are many, many different scenarios you could build.
Here's one way to build some basics of your scene's situation, looking at drama and motivation. If your character is a regular person in search of a particular good - let's say, fresh eggs for his pregnant wife, who needs the protein -- look at how the character might come across that good depending on where he lives. If he's in a city, it'll be harder to get, though a few people would've kept chickens in their cellars or hidden away some other way if they could. If he tries this and fails, he might approach professional black marketeers, who offer the eggs for an exorbitant price he can't pay. If his motivation is high (his wife is fading away), he might agree to get involved in a black market theft or raid in the countryside with the eggs as payment for his participation. This kind of thing would have the added value of getting the character progressively deeper into high risk activities. Those eggs might get him killed. This depends on what kind of story you're writing, of course.
If your character is a professional black marketeer, or is trying to get into the business, the motivation is very different. It's usually profit, though he is also out to feed himself and loved ones (or if he's a partisan sympathizer/helper, he's out to supply a group in secret). He'd be a lot more systematic about how he approaches the goods he wants, meat being a big one in a time of shortage, also butter and alcohol, and of course cigarettes in that time period. He's a lot more likely to curry relationships with the occupiers, carefully picking out ones who might cooperate. This is walking on thin ice, and your character knows it. It would take time to build relationships and networks, and he'd live with the constant fear of being exposed. Use your imagination. Your character might be the guy who roves the countryside making deals with farmers for the black market slaughter of pigs, fresh meat that would flow into the city's black market. He might be the guy who has a kind of bootleg schnapps operation running in someone's cellar, the stuff made from potatoes smuggled in from the country or shaved off the occupier's supply. Have fun with it - it's an interesting topic with automatic drama and high stakes, especially in occupied territories.
Here's one way to build some basics of your scene's situation, looking at drama and motivation. If your character is a regular person in search of a particular good - let's say, fresh eggs for his pregnant wife, who needs the protein -- look at how the character might come across that good depending on where he lives. If he's in a city, it'll be harder to get, though a few people would've kept chickens in their cellars or hidden away some other way if they could. If he tries this and fails, he might approach professional black marketeers, who offer the eggs for an exorbitant price he can't pay. If his motivation is high (his wife is fading away), he might agree to get involved in a black market theft or raid in the countryside with the eggs as payment for his participation. This kind of thing would have the added value of getting the character progressively deeper into high risk activities. Those eggs might get him killed. This depends on what kind of story you're writing, of course.
If your character is a professional black marketeer, or is trying to get into the business, the motivation is very different. It's usually profit, though he is also out to feed himself and loved ones (or if he's a partisan sympathizer/helper, he's out to supply a group in secret). He'd be a lot more systematic about how he approaches the goods he wants, meat being a big one in a time of shortage, also butter and alcohol, and of course cigarettes in that time period. He's a lot more likely to curry relationships with the occupiers, carefully picking out ones who might cooperate. This is walking on thin ice, and your character knows it. It would take time to build relationships and networks, and he'd live with the constant fear of being exposed. Use your imagination. Your character might be the guy who roves the countryside making deals with farmers for the black market slaughter of pigs, fresh meat that would flow into the city's black market. He might be the guy who has a kind of bootleg schnapps operation running in someone's cellar, the stuff made from potatoes smuggled in from the country or shaved off the occupier's supply. Have fun with it - it's an interesting topic with automatic drama and high stakes, especially in occupied territories.
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My step-grandfather (long since deceased) was a pilot before, during, and after WWII. One of his jobs after the war was flying diplomats from country to country. While the diplomats were off doing their thing, he would "meet and chat" with the workers at the air fields and "swap a few goods that were hard to get" from country to country. As far as I can tell, he actually shifted a lot of stuff - alcohol, cigarettes, women's stockings, and other things that were generally overlooked (or never found) by his superiors. So, if you need stuff to get in and out of the country - that's one way it happened.
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I mostly come across it in literature of the period that deals with Britain, where food rationing continued for years after WWII was over-- things like bacon, butter, and sugar were rationed from 1940-1954. (Flour stopped being rationed in 1948; clothes were rationed until 1949; sweets, gasoline, and soap were rationed until 1950.)
So, for example, a farmer couldn't slaughter his own hog without a permit. (And ownership of a single pig may have been illegal?) So villages would have a "black market", of sorts, where a group of villagers might be "in the know". One of them might have a hog that he secretly allows to forage in the woods. The other villagers arrange for scraps to be sent to supplement its diet. Two or three other villagers might help with its slaughter/hanging/processing by loaning their hoist-and-gambrel in a quiet location, and setting to work on de-hairing and butchering it. And then the hog gets parceled out amongst the people in the secret group. But it was all very much against the law, and everyone cooperated in secret so as not to run afoul of the authorities.
But a little bit of digging indicates that Poland's big time of food rationing actually happened more in the 1970's-1980's, rather than in WWII proper (1939-1945).
I have a teacher from Venezuela who talks about how her family deals with the shortages there for years. For example, if they're planning a wedding, they start hoarding supplies a year in advance, so that they're able to give a good, festive party with yummy things to eat. And they spread it around a large group of family members, so that everyone contributes a little something to the celebration-- setting aside flour, or sugar, or powdered milk, or things like that. So, while it may be difficult to get enough eggs, for example, if you have 30 people all looking for extra eggs to contribute to the cause-- you're able to get enough for your needs.
I would expect the Poles to have a lot in common with the British and the Venezuelans, but there's a big difference between urban black market and rural black market. For example, with the Venezuelans, the farms were confiscated by the government, because people were only allowed to keep one home. And the government makes rotten farmers.
So that made the traditional workarounds very tough in Venezuela-- because all of a sudden, private control of almost ten million acres' worth of farmland is out of the equation. But in a situation where farmers keep their land, they're able to do things in secret with a little cooperation from those around them.
So, for example, a farmer couldn't slaughter his own hog without a permit. (And ownership of a single pig may have been illegal?) So villages would have a "black market", of sorts, where a group of villagers might be "in the know". One of them might have a hog that he secretly allows to forage in the woods. The other villagers arrange for scraps to be sent to supplement its diet. Two or three other villagers might help with its slaughter/hanging/processing by loaning their hoist-and-gambrel in a quiet location, and setting to work on de-hairing and butchering it. And then the hog gets parceled out amongst the people in the secret group. But it was all very much against the law, and everyone cooperated in secret so as not to run afoul of the authorities.
But a little bit of digging indicates that Poland's big time of food rationing actually happened more in the 1970's-1980's, rather than in WWII proper (1939-1945).
I have a teacher from Venezuela who talks about how her family deals with the shortages there for years. For example, if they're planning a wedding, they start hoarding supplies a year in advance, so that they're able to give a good, festive party with yummy things to eat. And they spread it around a large group of family members, so that everyone contributes a little something to the celebration-- setting aside flour, or sugar, or powdered milk, or things like that. So, while it may be difficult to get enough eggs, for example, if you have 30 people all looking for extra eggs to contribute to the cause-- you're able to get enough for your needs.
I would expect the Poles to have a lot in common with the British and the Venezuelans, but there's a big difference between urban black market and rural black market. For example, with the Venezuelans, the farms were confiscated by the government, because people were only allowed to keep one home. And the government makes rotten farmers.
So that made the traditional workarounds very tough in Venezuela-- because all of a sudden, private control of almost ten million acres' worth of farmland is out of the equation. But in a situation where farmers keep their land, they're able to do things in secret with a little cooperation from those around them.