Life in German-Occupied Soviet CITIES during World War II – What was it like?

Life in German-occupied Soviet cities during World War II was marked by brutality, deprivation, and oppression. The Germans ruled these cities through harsh military and civil administrations, guided by the ideology of superiority and economic exploitation. The occupiers implemented policies aimed at stripping resources for the war effort and systematically eradicating perceived threats, including Jewish people, communists, and partisans. The German plans for the occupied territories, outlined in the Generalplan Ost, envisioned the decimation or enslavement of local populations to make way for German settlers. Cities were often turned into hubs for resource extraction and supply lines. Food, industry, and manpower were requisitioned, leaving local populations to face famine, forced labor, and displacement. Life for civilians was harsh. Basic services collapsed, food was scarce, and those not immediately targeted for execution often lived in constant fear of deportation or reprisals. Resistance activities, such as partisan movements, were met with brutal crackdowns, including collective punishment and massacres. Some Soviet citizens collaborated with the Germans, either out of ideological alignment or survival necessity, while others resisted. Overall, German-occupied Soviet cities were scenes of immense suffering, with life dominated by violence, exploitation, and fear. Russian Collaboration in World War II: https://youtu.be/cKpj786Sorc Belarusian Collaboration in World War II: https://youtu.be/dbOYmKsp0pU Ukrainian Collaboration in World War II: https://youtu.be/Cll91vfc_3Q SUPPORT ME ON PATREON ► https://www.patreon.com/historyhustler SUPPORT ME ON PAYPAL ► https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/HistoryHustle BUY ME A COFFEE ► https://buymeacoffee.com/historyhustle SUBSCRIBE ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYLJ8hULBTjTTmJZGL-dq-A?sub_confirmation=1 INSTAGRAM ► https://www.instagram.com/historyhustle FACEBOOK ► https://www.facebook.com/historyhustler TWITTER ► https://twitter.com/HustleHistory SOURCES – Harvest of Despair. Life and Death in Ukraine Under Nazi Rule (Karel C. Berkhoff). – Ostkrieg (Stephen G. Fritz). – Russia's War (Richard Overy). – German Occupation of Kiev in 1941-1943 (Documents of the Nazi-Controlled City Administration): https://www.bsb-muenchen.de/mikro/lit487.pdf – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/minsk (11-01-2025). IMAGES Images from commons.wikimedia.org. VIDEO Video material from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp_Rx-mZYYI&ab_channel=MaximusandHistory German occupation of Kharkov, Soviet Union 1942 | (WW2 Color Footage) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0BwQM0vkjE&ab_channel=GermanWWIIArchive German Newsweek No. 567- 17 July 1941 [Full HD] (Eastern Front: Finland, Ukraine, Bialystok-Minsk) "Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use." MUSIC "Division" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "The Descent" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Midnight Tale" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ SOUNDS Freesound.org. E-MAIL historyhustle[at]gmail.com