Local Power and Daily Life of Belarusian Villagers under German Rule, 1941–1944

Abstract

In occupied Belarus, the Germans appointed representatives of the local population to the lowest levels of administration. They strictly defined the scope of duties, their performance methods and the system of penalties for negligence. The main task of the local administration was to organise the compulsory supply of food quotas for the needs of the army and the population of the Third Reich and of workers to work in Germany. The heads of the communal administration were also responsible for organising public works, mainly in constructing and renovating communication routes. The inhabitants of the Belarusian countryside were forced to give their food resources to the Germans, to the Soviet partisans fighting against them, and to members of various armed groups without a specific political character.