Life Under Nazi Occupation: The Struggle to Survive During World War II

by Paul Roland

When the Nazis invaded, they did not intend to govern fairly. Instead they stripped defeated nations of their treasures, industry and natural resources, with the aim of asserting German supremacy and imposing Hitler's New Order in Europe. Paul Roland tells the story of daily life under Nazi rule - in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Guernsey and the Channel Islands- to be brought to heel by bribery and brutality, rape and torture, inducement and intimidation as the Germans carried out their vile policies. We hear of quislings and collaborators who conspired with their captors, the 'enemies of the Reich' including Jewish citizens who were rounded up and exterminated, as well as stories of incredible courage by individuals who struck back against the Führer. Featuring haunting photographs of the people and places under occupation, this shocking book confronts us with the reality of the Nazi rule - a regime which would have swept the entirety of Europe, had Germany won the war.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Holocaust, War

261 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2020

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Roland

Reviews

[Doreen Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!!! A definite must read!!!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives an overview of what Nazi occupation looked like in different parts of Europe, and surrounding areas.

Unfortunately, reading this now, I think is currently politically relevant. There are tactics and scenes right out of the Nazi handbook playing out in current events right now and its disheartening. But along with those points, are some stories of subtle sabotage and resistance. Stories or horror and survival.

[julianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and in-depth look at life under Nazi occupation. While short this book is comprehensive and informative.

Thought-provoking and one I will buy in hardback to add to my collection.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Lumumba Mthembu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t know Wehrmacht soldiers were encouraged to pursue and in some cases rape Norwegian women to propagate the Aryan race. Just when you think you know all there is about WWII, new atrocities are unearthed.

Paul Roland paints the Third Reich as a war machine wherein the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing but I’m not convinced of the argument that Hitler’s dogs of war were disorganised. Short of a change of season in Russia, Operation Barbarossa would’ve been a success.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you #netgalley for sharing this book for a honest review.

This book provided a great overview of what life was like in Europe. I appreciated how the author provides a different perspective of Hitlers victims than just the Jews that suffered in concentration camps.

I am giving this book a 3 star for this reason.

1. The beginning of the book was slow, and it took me a while to get into the content.

2. The ending of the book was abrupt and did not flow into the afterword where the aftermath of the war was summarized.

[Silvia Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative!! I feel like I learned a lot (for sure not written as a story, but rather as an informational text)

[William Volpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting facts about occupation

Some interesting facts about how the occupation of countries during ww2 varied from country
to country
Would have liked more details

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very superficial in how it jumps place to place to cover everything, but in doing to doesn't provide much detail for anything.

[Jeremy Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little too close for comfort to current events…

[Lori Vogel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very informative. The narrator was very good.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Roland is the author of more than 40 books. Life Under Nazi Occupation: The Struggle to Survive During World War II was published in 2020. It is the 17th book I completed reading in 2023.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this book as G.

After the German Army had swept over Europe, what was it like to live under their domination? That is what author Paul Roland tries to answer in this book. He looks at how the people in the occupied countries responded.

Some young women chose to fraternize with their enemies. Young Aryan (or Aryan-looking) women were encouraged to have sex with Germans, to grow the Aryan population. On the other hand, Germans having sex with Jews or undesirables were subject to severe punishment.

Many men and women in the occupied lands took incredible risks seeking to strike back through participation in Resistance groups. The Germans offered the locals inducements to cooperate, to betray their countrymen. Those that failed to toe the Nazi line were subject to intimidation and brutality. The Nazis were especially harsh on the Jews and others they considered undesirable.

I enjoyed the 6.5 hours I spent reading this 261-page WWII-era history. The book was dry but informative. I think that the chosen cover art is both interesting and eye-catching. I give this book a rating of 3.8 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

[Eliska · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does something unusual - it is trying to offer a compact overview of European resistance on not too many pages. This book offers a good overview of the situation during WW2 Europe and it is eye-opening even for somebody who grew up in one of the European countries which were occupied and always listened to the ordinary people' stories from their grandparents. It is a welcomed break from all the movies about fighting and specific people and offers a new perspective on the war, which is in a way more relatable, as it talks about the faith of people which could as well be us just 80 years ago.
However, since the beginning, I had mixed feelings about this book as I didn't know which “box” I should put it in. The beginning was slow and it took just over a chapter to get me really interested in the book, however, the density of information made up for this.
But I have to say I really enjoyed reading these stories and it gently nudged me to look into some people more specifically. It also left a good impression as I already spoke to some of my friends about this.