Societies under German Occupation

A source edition

World War II occupation is a central part of Europe’s dark heritage. This online source edition documents the impact of this occupation on the everyday lives of millions of Europeans. Aimed both at academic researchers and students, it presents more than 600 sources from all the European countries occupied by the Nazi Wehrmacht between 1939 and 1945.
These sources have been researched, transcribed and annotated by leading international experts from all of the European countries occupied during the war, as well as from the Federal Republic of Germany, and they have been taken from 92 archives, museums and other institutions, following carefully planned criteria. Originally written in 21 different languages, they have been translated into English by professional translators. Each source is presented in three versions: in an English translation, which also provides comprehensive annotation; as a transcript in the original language, which allows for full-text access to the source in its original form; and as a high-resolution scan of the original document. Interactive modules such as an advanced document search, map, timeline and virtual workspace also open up a wider range of research possibilities.


The source edition “Fighting Hunger. Dealing with Shortage” (https://brill.com/display/title/59599) is on the winners’ list for the Best Historical Materials published in 2021 and 2022 chosen by the American Library Association / Best Historical Materials Committee.

Occupation and Occupied Societies

When bombs fall, people know it's war. One of the consequences of war can be occupation. During the years of World War II, 230 million people lived under occupation at the height of Germany's military expansion: It stretched from northern Norway to the Greek islands of the Mediterranean and from the Atlantic coast deep into the interior of what was then the Soviet Union. In nearly all of these countries, civilian losses exceeded military casualties, including six million victims of the Shoah. Persecuted by a German policy of extermination, the Jewish chances of survival depended greatly on prevailing conditions in the particular occupied societies they lived in. These societies consisted largely of women, children and the elderly - the men had been drafted and stood at the fronts, if they were not prisoners of war or killed in action. Those who remained at home were exposed to Nazi aggression and had to bear the consequences of occupation, including shortages. How people all over occupied Europe tried to cope is therefore one of the key issues of our source edition. For further reading see the guiding concept "Occupied Societies".
Image right: Morgan Hauser

Shortage and Hunger

Insights into our Collection

on Occupied Societies.

A Selection of Sample Sources

Contact

Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Lehrstuhl für Neuere und Neueste Geschichte
Historisches Seminar
Gaußstraße 20
D-42119 Wuppertal

Project LeaderProf. Dr. Tatjana Tönsmeyer
Project CoordinatorLaura Eckl M.A.
E-Mailinfo.occupied.societies@uni-wuppertal.de