Ersatz

For other uses, see Ersatz (disambiguation).

Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement. Although it is used as an adjective in English, Ersatz can only function in German as a noun on its own, or as a part in compound nouns such as Ersatzteile (spare parts) or Ersatzspieler (substitute player). While the English term often implies that the substitution is of unsatisfactory or inferior quality ("not as good as the real thing"), it does not have this connotation in German. The German word for such product is Surrogat (surrogate).

In English, "ersatz" arose as a pejorative during World War II because Ersatzbrot (replacement bread) was given frequently to the POWs, which was made of the lowest-grade flour, potato starch and frequently intermixed with other extenders such as sawdust. This practice was prevalent on the Eastern front and at the many labor and death camps organized by the Nazi regime.

In Britain, this was additionally popularized as an adjective, from the experiences of thousands of U.S., British, and other English-speaking combat personnel, primarily airmen, who were captured in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. These Allied Kriegsgefangene (prisoners of war) were served Ersatzkaffee (a coffee substitute) by their German captors. This substitute drink (a Getreidekaffee or "grain coffee") was not popular with the POWs, who longed for the real beverage.

As to why Ersatz is only a noun in German but also an adjective in English, the explanation is that in the German language compound nouns are single words formed by gluing the constituent nouns together, while in English the constituents tend to remain separate words. In the case of Ersatzkaffee, in which the latter two syllables were recognizably "coffee" to English-speaking ears, this compound noun was anglicized by a calque translation that retained the constituent Ersatz as a loanword, resulting in "ersatz coffee". The first part was reinterpreted as an adjective. In this way, "ersatz" came to be an English adjective connoting an inferior substitute.

Historical context

The term ersatz probably gained international attention during World War I, when the Allied naval blockade of Germany throttled maritime commerce with Germany, forcing Germany to develop substitutes for products like chemical compounds and provisions. Ersatz products developed during this time included: synthetic rubber (produced from oil), benzene for heating oil (coal gas), tea composed of ground raspberry leaves or catnip, and coffee, using roasted acorns or beans instead of coffee beans. Though a similar situation arose in Germany during World War II, this connotation with the term ersatz has fallen into disuse in Germany.

Another example of the word's usage in Germany exists in the German naval construction programs of the beginning of the 20th century. In this context, the phrasing "Ersatz (shipname)" indicates that a new, larger, or more capable ship was a replacement for an aging or lost previous vessel. Because German practice was not to reveal the name of a new ship until its launch, this meant that the vessel was known by its "Ersatz (shipname)" throughout its construction. At the end of World War I, the last three ships of the planned Mackensen class battlecruisers were redesigned and initially known simply as the Ersatz Yorck class, since the first ship was considered to be a replacement for the lost armored cruiser Yorck.