Harold J. Goldberg - Daily Life in Nazi-Occupied Europe

DAILY LIFE IN

NAZI-OCCUPIED EUROPE

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Harold J. Goldberg

The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series

Copyright 2019 by ABC-CLIO, LLC

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Goldberg, Harold J., author.
Title: Daily Life in Nazi-Occupied Europe/Harold J. Goldberg.
Description: First edition. | Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, [2019] | Series: The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019025967 (print) |LCCN 2019025968 (ebook)| ISBN 9781440859113 (paperback) |ISBN 9781440859120 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: World War, 19391945Occupied territories. |World War, 19391945Europe.| EuropeHistory19181945.
Classification: LCC D802.E9 G65 2019 (print) |LCC D802.E9 (ebook)| DDC 940.53/4dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019025967
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019025968

ISBN: 978-1-4408-5911-3 (print)
978-1-4408-5912-0 (ebook)

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World War II is the greatest drama in human history, the biggest war ever and a true battle of good and evil.

Ken Follett

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

World War II in Europe started in September 1939 and ended in May 1945. While every country in Europe was impacted by the war to a certain extent, the degree of involvement depended on many factors, including geography, political leaning, ethnic and religious composition, and changing circumstances. During the nearly six years of war, some countries were occupied, some were allied with Germany, some were opposed to Germany, some were neutral, some claimed to be neutral, some changed sides during the war, some were treated leniently by Germany, some were scheduled for total destruction by Germany, one was occupied for over five years, and several were occupied for four years. All of these variables created millions of European experiences and a variety of daily life stories.

Poland was the first country invaded and subjugated, and the following spring several countries in Western Europe were also invaded, defeated, and occupied. Yet the Nazi regime in Poland compared to Denmark or France was so different that investigating daily life in Warsaw tells us nothing about life in Copenhagen and little about life in Paris. In addition, establishing a supposed profile for Paris does not help us understand the life of a French farmer in the southern part of the country or a resident of Normandy near the northern coast. Further, any model we create in France will not enlighten us about the Soviet Union and certainly cannot prepare us for the brutality of life in Leningrad.

Daily Life in Nazi-Occupied Europe is divided into nine chapters, designed not to establish one daily life, but rather to give the reader a glimpse of the variety of lives experienced during the Nazi occupation. I believe that reading through the entire book provides a solid understanding of the European occupation experience, with all of its nuances and ambiguity. Every country was different, every year was different, and ultimately, every person was different.

This book focuses on the occupation, but each chapter includes information on the occupierGermanyas well. The reason is clear: although Germany was not an occupied country, there is no war without the Nazis, and their adherence to fascist ideology is fundamental to any discussion of military conquest, life during the war, and the subsequent brutality that shocked the world. For these reasons, we might even say that the war started in 1933 when Hitler came to power.

on Political Life describes the rise of the Nazis and their subsequent destruction of democracy in Germany. This chapter also deals with Hitlers diplomatic demands during the 1930s, as he slowly dismantled the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. The chapter then looks at governments in several other countries at the time, including Poland, France, the Netherlands, and the Soviet Union.

deals with Military Life; it is impossible to understand the occupation without an introduction to the rapid and devastating German conquests. This chapter examines many of the major battles of the war but focuses exclusively on the European theater. Nevertheless, World War II was genuinely a worldwide conflict in which events and battles in one area had an impact on the military situation across the globe.

combat on the continent. Economic problems in Germany affected plans for the upcoming war, the relationship between occupied countries and the war, and ultimately raised questions about Germanys prospects for winning. The end of this chapter examines daily economic life in the city of Leningrad, presented through childrens diariestheir voicesthat were recovered after the war.

on Domestic and Material Life deals specifically with food, housing, family, women, and sexuality. The chapter focuses on a few countries where daily life experiences suggest the issues and struggles common in other occupied countries as well.

on Intellectual Life looks at the impact of the occupation on the educational systems in several countries, including Germany, Poland, and France. As in previous chapters, Germany is discussed because its ideological racism established the basis for the educational systems imposed on most of occupied Europe. In addition, we look briefly at a number of brilliant scientists who were forced to leave Europe due to Nazi persecution. In several areas including science, Germany chose racial hatred over winning the war. Finally, this chapter will also examine Nazi art looting and the effort to recover lost masterpieces.

deals with Recreational Life, but in this section we are forced to redefine what we mean by recreation within the confines of an ongoing war. Normally, songs, poetry, and the cinema might provide a lighthearted form of recreation, but under the occupation people wrote songs and poems that called for Germanys defeat. In the Soviet Union, beyond the area under German control, films as well as songs and poems adopted anti-fascist themes. The idea of recreation overlapped with the dream of overthrowing the oppressor and restoring life to normal.