The German Soldiers and French Civilians During the Franco-German War, 1870–1871

The article identifies the most common forms of interaction between the German military personnel and the French civilians in the occupied territories of France in 1870–1871, as well as the reasons why this interaction took one form or another. The authors note the variety of forms of this interaction. Ordinary French people were not ready for mass self-sacrifice, but cases of collaboration were extremely rare. The German military authorities, in turn, did not seek to inflict maximum suffering on the French population and relied on cooperation rather than repression. As a result, spinning the spiral of mutual mass violence during the war of 1870–1871 was largely avoided. The authors identify a number of key factors that influenced the nature of the relationship between the occupiers and the occupied in each specific case. First, the immediate context of the military situation: conflict forms were more often observed in the battle zone. Secondly, the political context: a change in attitudes towards the degree of involvement of the population in the war after the Republican Government of National Defense came to power in Paris and the response of the German command. Thirdly, the factor of the general military situation, growing fatigue from the war and the increasing predetermination of its outcome. Fourthly, the factor of mutual perception of the French and Germans, far from demonizing and dehumanizing the enemy. The fifth factor was the duration of contact. Finally, there are geographical and class factors, due to which the conflict forms were more often characteristic of the urban lower and middle strata of French society

Ancient history · Archaeology · German · Political science · European Political History Analysis · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History