In 1940, following the period known as the "Phoney War," Nazi Germany invaded France and occupied the city of Lille, in the Nord department of northern France, from May 31 of that year until September 4, 1944. During the occupation, the city of nearly was incorporated into Belgium under a single occupation authority.
Military operations
Invasion
On the night of May 9–10, 1940, German armored vehicles crossed the Ardennes to the southeast. German bombers focused their attacks on strategic points, such as the railway line in the Lille suburb of Lambersart. The German army advanced rapidly, occupying Luxembourg and Belgium before eventually reaching Lille on May 27. After three panzer divisions attacked from west of the Deûle river, French and British soldiers withdrew from the city, leaving only a few pioneer regiment units, eighty administrative clerks, and a thousand Senegalese soldiers entrenched in the Citadel of Lille. Though otherwise ill-equipped, the Senegalese regiment's armored vehicles allowed them to resist the siege for four days.
To prevent strategic resources from falling into German hands, the British destroyed the Boitelle telephone center and burned a stockpile of military equipment that could not be escorted to the zone libre in time. On the morning of May 28, German patrols defeated pockets of resistance around the Rue Solférino, the Rue Nationale, and the Haute-Deûle. Field headquarters were set up in the , also known as the Grand'Place. On May 31, the last remaining resistance on the Avenue de Dunkerque in Lambersart and in the Citadel laid down their arms.
The Battle of Lille officially ended on June 1, when French soldiers were marched through the city streets and the Grand'Place. The final death toll was 174, including 15 civilians, 128 French soldiers, one British soldier, and 30 German soldiers. Two bridges and two hundred and twenty buildings were destroyed, including the Place de Tourcoing and the buildings surrounding the Porte de Béthune.
Bombings The city center of Lille was largely left undamaged by aerial raids during the German occupation. In contrast, outlying neighborhoods endured numerous attacks. Most affected were the Lille-Fives metalworks factories (targeted eight times between 1941 and 1944), the SNCF workshops in Hellemmes, the Lille-Délivrance classification yard, the spinning mills in the Moulins neighborhood of Lille (targeted five times between 1941 and 1944), as well as the Kuhlmann chemical complexes in Loos and Marquette.
German administrative structure The German High Command in Paris had no authority over the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments, which were instead incorporated into Belgium under the purview of the Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France, based in Brussels. Germany's intent was to weaken France by depriving it of two departments that contained numerous sources of wealth (e.g., spinning mills, steel mills, mines, and paper mills). The Military Administration's field headquarters, OFK 670, in Lille was based at the Lille Chamber of Commerce and led by General Heinrich Niehoff.
General Niehoff held full authority over Nord and Pas-de-Calais. On April 17, 1941, an order of the OFK 670 stated that "the execution of the following laws, orders, decrees, and decisions emanating from the French government has been forbidden with retroactive effect within the administrative area of the OFK 670." Fifty-six decrees were nullified following this declaration.
Within the Lille administrative area, OFK 569 handled matters such as security services, postal services, civil unrest, passive defense, prisoners, ration cards, and counter-espionage.
Resistance In Lille, acts of resistance consisted mainly of disobedience, theft, and the distribution of clandestine newspapers, such as L'Homme libre by Jean-Baptiste Lebas. The plains of the Nord département made it difficult to establish any maquis, as in the more mountainous regions. Moreover, numerous German contingents were posted to Lille. Consequently, few attempts were made to directly sabotage German installations. Out of those that were sabotaged, most were factories and railways. German soldiers and collaborators in the area were also occasionally found dead.
Three major networks operating in Lille and the greater administrative area in France were particularly active: "Sylvestre or Farmer": a French affiliate network created and led by Britain's Special Operations Executive agent Michael Trotobas. Destroyed 22 transformers and 12 circuit breakers in Lille-Fives, for example on June 26, 1943. Trotobas was killed by German military police on November 27, 1943. "OCM" (Organisation civile et militaire): a movement created in Paris in November 1940. Very active in the distribution of clandestine newspapers and the collection of intelligence, particularly military-related intelligence. "FTP" (Francs-Tireurs et Partisans): a network created in 1942 and run by the PCF, based in Paris and led by Jacques Duclos.
Examples of acts of sabotage: November 4, 1940: cables sabotaged at La Madeleine (a fine was imposed on the city government) The night of May 26–27, 1941: officer murdered in Lille January 9, 1943: Army depot in Lille attacked November 5, 1943: train derailed between Lille and Tourcoing
Life under the occupation
Relations with the German occupiers Between June 1940 and August–September 1944, the city's residents had very tense relations with their German occupiers. The oldest among them still bore the scars of the previous German occupation during the First World War, while the youngest were unnerved by the Nazi regime. The German authorities stepped up their efforts to maintain cordial relations with the residents of Lille, in order to facilitate plans to incorporate Nord and Pas-de-Calais into one great Flemish state. To that end, they opened canteens, lent aid to the elderly, and even offered sweets to children.
Rationing
Distributing provisions In April 1940, Lille and five other cities in the region obtained substantial supplies of foodstuffs and clothing. Around of meat were stored in the refrigerated warehouses of Lille. In May 1940, many shops began to be looted by hungry refugees. The Prefect, Fernand Carles, addressed the issue by re-opening food shops and pharmacies. The next step was to requisition and redistribute existing stocks as fairly as possible. In June 1940, Lille became the first city in France to issue ration cards (for bread, milk, coal, etc.). Each resident was sorted into a category based on their age and sex, at which point they received a ration card (carte individuelle d'alimentation) with monthly supply vouchers. A local Reprovisioning Committee (Comité de Ravitaillement) was formed on June 5, and due to its considerable efforts, Lille residents received of bread daily, each time in exchange for one bread voucher.
Under the occupation, supply problems were managed by the offices of the Prefecture, which had to work with the German Supply office and comply with the orders of the OFK 670. Between September and December 1940, an agency was in charge of amassing supplies of goods and regulating their commercialization, until the establishment of the General Reprovisioning Directorate (Direction du Ravitaillement Général) for the Nord département on January 1, 1941. However, the OFK 670 maintained absolute de facto control over the population's supplies.
Difficulties The occupation authority encouraged relations with Belgium, even in the matter of supplies. Lille residents engaged in trade with their Belgian neighbors, sending food, chemical products, pharmaceuticals, coal, and more. Fraudulent activity was common, which harmed the interests of the General Directorate. The black market covered up to 60% of the city's needs, but also lead to food inflation. Such illicit trafficking of goods was severely punished by the authorities.
There were special rules and restrictions in place: More than 1,000 establishments in Lille selling alcoholic beverages were subject to certain rules (e.g., the sale of alcohol was strictly forbidden three days out of the week, and every such establishment had to close at a certain hour). Article 1 of the Order of May 2, 1941 set forth regulations on restaurants. A la carte service was forbidden, meat portions were limited, and fresh bread was not allowed to be served, among other restrictions. Business cafeterias that received either "normal" or "privileged" levels of food supplies (e.g., cafeterias in metalworks plants working on the Atlantic Wall) were under the control of the OFK 670 in 1941. Weekly markets in Lille (such as those selling fruits, vegetables, and meats) saw a major drop in customers during the war, a situation that only worsened under the occupation, as all products required a voucher. Fish sellers in the Wazemmes neighborhood and on the Rue Solférino had the most success. Lines grew long in front of grocery stores and food shops.
Many bakeries were closed down or looted. The largest bread factory and flour mill in France during the interwar period was the Indépendante, which supplied many cities in the region. Consequently, it drew the Germans' interest the moment they arrived in Lille, resulting in German military personnel being posted there.
Sugar was more readily available in Lille than in some other regions of the country, but supplies of meat remained scarce. Hunting permits were issued by a department of the OFK 670 in Lille, led by Chief Inspector Estorff, a friend of Marshall Göring.
Wine was rationed, leading to significant levels of wine trafficking that even the Germans themselves contributed to. Coal, leather, oil, and metals were also frequently in short supply.
Recreation and culture
Recreational life continues Cultural consumption in Lille continued apace, likely due to a general desire to be distracted from current events. Performances were sometimes interrupted by air raid sirens or blackouts. In movie theaters, Nazi propaganda and German news reports frequently preceded film screenings. The was often full, though the Germans paid little attention to it, caring only that theatergoers complied with the rules. Although the French were allowed to attend German performances, such as at the Opéra starting in 1941, they rarely did so. On May 10, 1941, the "Deutsche Theater" was unveiled, with the goal of turning the Opéra de Lille into a veritable German cultural space. It would be the site of many performances, including operas, plays, ballets, and concerts. Exhibitions in Lille were still common, and their topics were often in alignment with Nazi propaganda (e.g., "Bolshevism against Europe" in June 1942).
The most active sports associations in Lille were association football, cycling, rowing (Lille's oldest sports club), and track and field. Flandre-Lille, a football team well known for its high level of play, finished second in the 1944 French Championship. In November 1944, the Lille Olympiqe Sporting Club was formed from the merger of two other association football clubs. Three Paris–Roubaix cycling events took place during the war.
There were numerous community gardens in Lille during the occupation.
Restrictions on cultural activities On September 8, 1939, the Bibliothèque Municipale was closed to the public, its collections periodically transferred to other regions.
The Germans imposed a number of restrictions on recreational life and cultural activities in Lille. Jewish pieces were not allowed to be played at concerts, and English-language films were banned in 1940. Dancing in public places was outlawed on August 20, 1940; however, dancing was allowed in certain schools, which had to comply with strict rules imposed by the Germans. Sign-up fees were often high, so residents from poorer backgrounds would make do by attending secret dances, at the risk of being fined.