The Economic Policy of the Occupiers in the North-West of the RSFSR (1941–1944)

Annotation

The relevance of studying the economic policy of the Nazi occupiers in the North-West RSFSR stems from the need for a systematic analysis of exploitation mechanisms that served as instruments not only of economic plunder but also of the deliberate destruction of the civilian population. The aim of this work is to comprehensively examine the structure, implementation methods, and socio-economic consequences of the occupation's economic policy as an integrated system. The research is based on previously unpublished archival materials, including organizational and administrative documents of the occupation administrations, reports from labor exchanges and tax authorities, and statistical data on supply norms and prices. The application of a systems approach, comparative-historical analysis, and structural-functional analysis has revealed the interconnections among all elements of economic exploitation. The scholarly novelty of the work is defined by the introduction of new archival documents into academic discourse and a comprehensive analysis of economic policy as a system whose components collectively served the strategic objectives of the Third Reich. The study establishes that key elements of the occupation policy – the system of forced labor through labor exchanges, the deliberate creation of famine, an extensive taxation system, and the suppression of market practices – formed a cohesive mechanism of total exploitation. It is proven that the economic policy was subordinated not only to the utilitarian tasks of supplying the Wehrmacht but also to implementing the misanthropic tenets of Nazi ideology. A dialectical relationship between the brutality of economic terror and the growth of resistance has been identified: the mass impoverishment of the population and systematic looting acted as a catalyst for the partisan movement.

Keywords

• Civilian population
• Nazi occupation
• economic exploitation
• forced labor
• labor exchanges
• food supply
• taxation policy
• occupation administration
• resistance
• North-West RSFSR
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References

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