The Experience of Occupation in The Nord,1914-18

Much of the French department of the Nord was occupied during the First World War，with its inhabitants trapped behind German lines. 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, as well as perceptions and beliefs surrounding such conduct. French responses examined include forms of complicity, 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