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

The violence of the invasion in 1940

Soldiers of the Wehrmacht use a campaign gun during fighting in the streets of Lille (May 1940).

Contrary to legend – which evokes a veritable route march – the invasion of Belgium and France in May 1940 was marked by very violent fighting, by a real battle of annihilation which extended from the Ardennes to the Channel coast.

While numerous Belgian and French units were dispersed under the blows of the Blitzkrieg, others – notably the British professional units and the French colonial troops – put up strong resistance to the progress of the German tank columns and the infantry.

This provoked a violent reaction from certain elements of the invading army – in particular the SS regiments which followed the tank divisions – and led to a series of massacres of civilians and prisoners (almost 600 deaths in the Nord–Pas-de-Calais, during the last week of May).

British ships evacuating Allied soldiers from the port of Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo (May-June 1940).	Lines of British soldiers waiting to be taken off a beach near Dunkirk, during Operation Dynamo (May-June 1940).

The delaying tactics carried out on the Escaut, in Lille and along the line of the canals in the mining area, made the dramatic evacuation of 340,000 British and French soldiers from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo (26th May to 4th June) possible.

In parallel to the invasion, the North of France was affected by an enormous exodus of Belgian and French people rushing south to try to escape a new occupation.
Within a few days, economic and social life collapsed.

Belgium surrendered on 28th May; the armistice of 22nd June represented the most serious defeat in the history of France. In the summer of 1940, the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais were in a sort of coma.

Ruins in the centre of Calais, after the German bombing raids in May 1940.