Children's perception of war and occupation (1941—1944): based on the materials of the North-West of the RSFSR

In: Voprosy istorii: VI = Studies in history, Volume 2022, Issue 8-2, p. 87-97

Abstract

This article forms and substantiates the principles of reconstructing the experience of everyday life of children and adolescents in the occupied territory of the NorthWest of the RSFSR in 1941-1944. The authors show the peculiarities of the perception of occupation by children and adolescents on the basis of a comprehensive study of various sources (archival documents, diaries and post-war memories). The article shows that the image of war and occupation in children's perception is associated with constant hunger and the need to search for food, constant bombing, destruction and casualties, attempts to evacuate outside the occupied areas, life in the forests. Children and teenagers became eyewitnesses and victims of the punitive operations of the Nazis, their experiences during the occupation were associated with the loss of loved ones, labor mobilizations and forced labor in Germany.