What is the origin of the word "ersatz"?

Search: ersatz

Why: In Little Bee by Chris Cleave, p.123:

I finished my G&T and winced at the taste of the ersatz lemon. It was a small problem to have: a lack of real lemons.

Answer: It's German... "a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation," from the German word for "replacement."

Source: Merriam-Webster, Wiktionary

The More You Know: It's an adjective in English, but a noun in German. The negative connotation does not necessarily exist in the German context - Ersatzbutter is just margarine, and I suppose Ersatzkleenex is just tissue.

The term ersatz probably gained international attention during World War I, when the Allied naval blockade of Germany throttled maritime commerice with Germany, forcing Germany to develop substitutes for products like chemical compounds and provisions. Ersatz products developed during this time included: synthetic rubber (buna produced from oil), benzene for heating oil (coal gas), tea composed of ground raspberry leaves or catnip, and coffee using roasted beans which were not coffee beans.