Victory Kitchen Sign in Valletta, Malta

More than 50 years after the end of World War II, a small piece of history was uncovered on a wall in the capital of Malta.

During the war, the islands of Malta were a strategically important outpost in the Mediterranean Sea for Allied forces. The islands were besieged by the Axis powers from June 1940 to May 1943, and getting food and other supplies to Malta was very difficult, as the German and Italian militaries sank merchant ships trying to reach the archipelago. To help feed the starving populace, a series of 42 Victory Kitchens were set up across the islands. In January 1943, over 175,000 people were getting meals from them. But once the siege was lifted and the war ended, the Victory Kitchens were no longer needed, and they were eventually closed. 

For decades after World War II, no traces of the Victory Kitchens remained within Malta. Then, in 2002, people working on the façade of a building in Valletta uncovered a sign for a Victory Kitchen that had once stood in that location.  Fortunately, everyone involved immediately understood the historical importance of the sign, so work was done to restore the sign itself and to retain it in the refurbished façade. Additionally, a light was mounted above the sign to illuminate it at night.

Even though this sign remains hidden on a side street within Malta’s capital, it still stands as a small yet potent reminder of the severe challenges that civilians faced just to survive.