Odd Q, but lets say i'm a civilian living in the early 40s on the eastern front,

by naliao

I live in my rural home a ways out in the country, is there a good chance soldiers will be kicking down my door, or did that mostly happen to cities and villages near them? I guess im asking if the war had an effect on country folk.

TankArchives

If you're talking about Soviet territory, it wasn't a good place for you to be.

First off, you would likely be evacuated. The military doesn't want civilians underfoot, as they will be a distraction at best and spies at worst. Ideally, either by a general evacuation decree or by a decree of a specific Front (I haven't seen evacuation orders any lower down the chain of command, but I have no reason to believe they didn't exist), you'd be put on a train and sent to the distant rear.

Now, say you stayed, either on your own free will or because no one got around to evacuating you. On November 11th, 1941, Stavka issued the "scorched earth" decree (Order #428) ordering the destruction of any settlement on German territory that was 20-30 km from a road. Of course, retreating forces can't be all that diligent in doing things like that on account of retreating taking priority, so you have good odds of still keep your house until the Germans show up.

That's when things get really dicey. If you're not a Jew or a communist, you might be able to live for a while. However, just by chance, some partisans might turn up next to your village, in which case odds are you'll be killed or deported in a reprisal.

If you're still around until the Soviets came back, expect to have your stuff confiscated and house burned anyway by the retreating Germans.