German Make Ersatz Coal To Aid Air Lift. Men and women working in the factory yard between piles of coal and sawdust. In background, women are rolling a barrel of the tar-binding substance. Coal, its value measured now in the lives of Allied airmen flying it into blockaded Berlin, is so precious in this city now that Berliners are making sure not one ounce is wasted. To eke out their scanty rations, Germans are now producing ersatz coal bricks from Sawdust, coaldust and a tar-like waste product from the chemical factories. September 27, 1948.