Black Market and Theft

Abstract

Pillaging was one means of compensating for the shortcomings of the regulated legitimate economy but, as law and order was restored, it became increasingly less viable. Quickly, a thriving black market evolved to compensate for the shortfalls of the controlled economy. In fact, the population of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais was able to evade the legal economy and its extensive system of consumption regulation to an astounding extent. Merchants, both retail and wholesale, found themselves in the unusual situation of being the enforcement agents for a system of regulation meant to control them. Farmers were also in a unique position to evade the system of controls and earn enormous profits. Further, there was no shortage of people willing to buy goods clandestinely, in spite of the price inflation on the black market. Two black markets emerged, one in goods and one in ration coupons. The black market’s consumers cut across almost all social and economic lines, although certain groups were more prominent and others, such as the poorest, were excluded.