ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to think experimentally about representations of war in Western Europe—referred as the countries of Western Europe invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany—during and after the Second World War, through the comparison with the Great War and with the same war on the Eastern Front. It discusses the issue of the coexistence, in Western Europe, of traditional codes of warfare with the unprecedented forms of violence of the Nazi Weltanschauungskrieg. The disciplined behaviour of the German troops, their correctness and even their courtesy towards civilian populations created a crucial psychological setting that contributed to the widespread acceptance of the occupation during the first year of the war at least. The monopoly of violence sanctioned by the State continued to hold a very strong validity including in war-time societies. The chapter provides a brief overview of war-related deaths in occupied Western Europe shows striking differences.
