OCCUPIED LESKOVAC (1941-1944) IN THE NAZI “NEW EUROPE”: IDEOLOGICAL AND PRACTICAL DETERMINATION

Abstract

The Nazi project of the New Europe did not represent a fully rounded and pre-formed plan for the reorganization of the entire continent but was adjusted by the unfoldings on the military field. In this sense, economic exploitation is set as one of the primary tasks in the occupied territories. In some areas, it was carried out without major problems, while in some parts of occupied Europe, resistance to the occupation significantly hindered the realization of Nazi Germany’s economic plans. In that respect, the position of Leskovac in Nazi New Europe should be observed. This city in the south of occupied Serbia had a double significance for the Nazi Germany. Their basic task in this area was to maintain peace and security, through the suppression of the uprising and thus to enable unhindered economic exploitation. These two goals complement each other for the reason that security guaranteed exploitation, while the requisition of cereals and the transport of raw materials and products from Leskovac factories were ensured by the action of the police authorities. If we look at it in general, the ideological significance of Leskovac in New Europe was peripheral to the Third Reich and limited to its modest economic capacities. On the other hand, this city was located in the centre of a region that was unstable by the occupiers and in whose rural parts there was an active resistance movement. In that sense, the occupation practice in Leskovac and its surroundings was guaranteed by the economic plans of Nazi Germany, but also by the action of the resistance movement in this area.