“To show the world that we are not barbarians but Germans”: The Role of the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt in France and annexed Alsace (1940–1944)

Abstract

The article deals with the transnational engagement of one of the biggest German welfare organizations during the Second World War in France and Alsace.The Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (NSV) provided food and clothing to refugees in the North-East of France as also in the de facto annexed Alsace between June and October 1940. The aim of the article is to analyse the reasons of the German “humanitarian” activity for the benefit of civilians in North-Eastern France and Alsace. The NSV’s activities were part of a larger occupation policy which should present particularly in the first months of occupation the humane aspects of a superior Germany. In the end, the German distribution of food to the occupied population didn’t succeed to win the majority for collaboration, but shows the importance of propaganda and racial categories during Germany’s occupation of Europe in the Second World War