The North of France under the Occupation, 1940-1944
Home /Background /Historical reminders /The Occupation

The departments of the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais, the two most northern of the French territory, share with the Ardennes department a very unusual position in the history of France during the 20th century: they were the only ones to suffer two German occupations, in 1914-1918, then in 1940-1944.

From the invasion to the liberation, a little known part of history ...
	1. The violence of the invasion 2. A particular status 3. A harsh occupation 4. The problems of daily life 5. The refusal to collaborate 6. The persecution of the Jews 7. The Resistance in the Nord—Pas-de-Calais 8. Waiting for the Normandy landings 9. A lightning liberation

This fact is little known outside the regions concerned and comparative studies show that the first occupation was no less harsh than the second, with, in particular, the imposition of forced labour on the civilian populations and the internment of hostages.

Scene of exodus in the mining area of the Nord–Pas-de-Calais (May-June 1940).	Tanks belonging to a Panzerdivizion cross a canal in the Pas-de-Calais (May-June 1940).

Contrary to a Jacobin vision of the history of France, the conditions of the German occupation of 1940-1944 were not the same throughout the national territory: Alsace-Moselle (annexed) and the Nord–Pas-de-Calais were in a very unusual position, in which they escaped the common fate of the "occupied zone of Paris" and the "southern zone".

In fact, the two northern departments went through the war under conditions closer to those in Belgium than in the rest of the French territory, as is shown by the identical development of public opinion in Lille and in Brussels.

Le Nord–Pas-de-Calais dans la main allemande, 1940-1944 Etienne DEJONGHE et Yves LE MANER. La Voix du Nord, 400 pages, 1999 Le "train de Loos", le grand drame de la déportation dans le Nord—Pas-de-Calais Yves LE MANER. 250 pages, 2003