The experience of occupation in the Nord, 1914– 18: Living with the enemy in First World War France

"This study considers the ways in which locals of the occupied Nord responded to and understood their situation across four years of German domination, focusing in particular on key behaviours adopted by locals, and the way in which such conduct was perceived. Behaviours examined include forms of complicity, misconduct, disunity, criminality, and resistance. This local case study calls into question overly-patriotic readings of this experience, and suggests a new conceptual vocabulary to help understand certain civilian behaviours under military occupation. Drawing on extensive primary documentation ? from diaries and letters to posters and police reports ? this book proposes that a dominant ?occupied culture? existed among locals. This was a moral-patriotic framework, born of both pre-war socio-cultural norms and daily interaction with the enemy, that guided conduct and was especially concerned with what was considered acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Those who breached the limits of this occupied culture faced criticism and sometimes punishment. This study attempts to disentangle perceptions and reality, but also argues that the clear beliefs and expectations of the occupied French comprise a fascinating subject of study in their own right. They provide an insight into national and local identity, and especially the way in which locals understood their role within the wider conflict. This book will be useful to undergraduates, post-graduates and academics interested in an understudied aspect of the history of modern France, the First World War, and military occupations. " This book is available as an open access ebook under a CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Much of the French department of the Nord was occupied during the First World War. This book considers the ways in which occupied locals responded to and understood their situation, focusing on key behaviours adopted by locals and the beliefs surrounding such conduct. Key topics examined include forms of complicity, disunity, criminality, resistance, and the memory of the occupation. This local case study calls into question overly-patriotic readings of this experience, and suggests a new conceptual vocabulary to help understand certain civilian behaviours under military occupation. Drawing on extensive primary documentation, this book proposes that a dominant ‘occupied culture'existed among locals: a moral-patriotic framework, born of both pre-war socio-cultural norms and daily interaction with the enemy, that guided conduct and was especially concerned with what was considered acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Much of the French department of the Nord was occupied during the First World War. This book considers the ways in which occupied locals responded to and understood their situation, focusing on key behaviours adopted by locals and the beliefs surrounding such conduct. Key topics examined include forms of complicity, disunity, criminality, resistance, and the memory of the occupation. This local case study calls into question overly-patriotic readings of this experience, and suggests a new conceptual vocabulary to help understand certain civilian behaviours under military occupation. Drawing on extensive primary documentation, this book proposes that a dominant 'occupied culture' existed among locals: a moral-patriotic framework, born of both pre-war socio-cultural norms and daily interaction with the enemy, that guided conduct and was especially concerned with what was considered acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. -- Provided by publisher Front matter Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Figures and tables Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction Part I ‘Misconduct’ and disunity Sexual misconduct General misconduct and popular reprisals Male misconduct Une sacrée désunion? Conflict continues Moral borderlands: Criminality during the occupation Part II Popular patriotism and resistance avant la majuscule Notable protests: Respectable resistance (coups de gueule polis) Symbolic resistance (coups de cœur) Active resistance (coups de poker, coups d’éclat) Epilogue: Liberation, remembering and forgetting Select bibliography Index A study of actual and perceived French civilian behaviours under German military occupation in 1914-18, from complicity and criminality to forms of resistance. Providing a new conceptual vocabulary, the book posits that an ‘occupied culture’ existed and guided civilian responses to the German presence, and each other.