Podillia Peasants Everyday Life During the Nazi-Occupation (On the Basis Melnykivtsi village,Vinnytsia Region)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to cover the Podillia peasants daily life during the Nazi occupation on the basis of Melnykivtsi village,Vinnytsia region. The research methodology is based on a combination of general scientific, special-historical and interdisciplinary methods of microhistorical research, taking into account the principles of systematicity, historicism, human-centeredness, scientificity and verification. The scientific novelty lies in the authors' attempt, from the standpoint of a specific microhistorical study, to characterize the life and way of life of the Podillia peasantry during the Nazi occupation. A wide range of unpublished sources are involved in the analysis, the vast majority of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time Conclusions. From the first days of the Nazi-occupation, on the instructions of the authorities, the peasants actively participated in the formation of local authorities, delegating to their composition the most authoritative fellow villagers. Archival documents and eyewitness accounts show that the vast majority of the elected officials did not serve the occupiers, although they were forced to perform their duties. In order to save the lives of their fellow villagers, many of them tried to prevent provocations and avoid conflicts with the occupying authorities, as well as to provide assistance in case of food shortages. In the initial period, the repression of the occupying power was directed exclusively against the communist-Komsomol activists of the village. The vast majority of residents, including former prisoners of war, were able to engage in agriculture by paying taxes. However, with the defeats on the fronts and the intensification of the anti-Nazi resistance, the policy of the occupying authorities changed: repression against the Ukrainian national movement intensified; the activity of educational institutions is prohibited; the use of forced labor has been intensified, etc. At this time, hopes for the loyalty of the occupation regime were finally dashed among the local population. After the liberation of the Nazi-occupied territory, Soviet law enforcement agencies began repressing the peasantry, accusing them of collaborating with the Nazis. All those who held any position during the occupation were prosecuted, regardless of the nature and results of their activities.