The North of France under the Occupation, 1940-1944
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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

A particular status

In June 1940, France was divided in several zones by the occupying forces:

Alsace and Moselle were annexed to the Reich;
the Franche-Comté, French Lorraine, the Ardennes and the Nord—Pas-de-Calais were
placed in a "forbidden zone" separated from the rest of the territory by a demarcation line;
the "North zone" was run by a German military command;
the "South zone", that of Vichy, was occupied in its turn in November 1942.

German noticeboards in Lille, in 1940.

However, the two departments of the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais were also attached to the German military command in Belgium, which the population perceived as a threat of eventual annexation to the Reich. Until the end of 1941, the occupying forces endeavoured to cut all links with the rest of France and with the Vichy government.

While the break subsequently eased, the two northern departments were still under an exceptional regime until the end of the Occupation, with the Germans exercising greater powers than elsewhere in France.