TRANSFORMATION OF THE VIEWS OF THE POPULATION OF SOUTHERN UKRAINE ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC LIVING CONDITIONS DURING THE PERIOD OF NAZI OCCUPATION

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the socio-economic orientations of the population of Southern Ukraine during the period of Nazi occupation. The occupation regime is examined as a factor of profound transformation of social behavior, economic practices, and the system of values of local communities. The author focuses on identifying the logic behind the formation of mass public attitudes in a region that existed under specific socio-economic and spatial conditions.
The aim of the study is to determine the nature, dynamics, and internal differentiation of the socio-economic orientations of the civilian population, as well as to identify the factors that influenced changes in attitudes toward the German occupation administration.
The article demonstrates that during the initial stage of the occupation, a significant part of the population of Southern Ukraine exhibited a wait-and-see or moderately loyal stance, associating the change of power with the possible dismantling of the Soviet socio-economic system. The greatest expectations for change were observed in rural areas, where social experience had been shaped by collectivization, dekulakization, and restrictions on economic independence. At the same time, during 1942, a substantial transformation of public sentiment occurred, driven by the repressive nature of occupation policies, forced labor deportations, agrarian practices of the «New Order,» and developments on the фронt. This contributed to the spread of critical perceptions of the occupation regime and to the development of mass forms of passive resistance, which became a defining component of the social response of the population of Southern Ukraine under Nazi civil administration.