Operation Manna Delftware Pendant

This small delftware pendant was made by Dutch ceramist Plateelbakkerij Schoonhoven. Featuring a young woman with a basket and an aircraft dropping parcels overhead, it appears to depict the events of Operation Manna.

During the Winter of 1944, the import of food and supplies to German-occupied Holland became virtually impossible as the Allies advanced. Famine conditions set in, and by April 1945, the situation was catastrophic, with thousands dead, and thousands more on the verge of starvation. Following negotiations of a temporary truce with occupying German forces, the RAF launched Operation Manna, dropping over 6500 tonnes of food to the starving population over 10 days.