During World War II, the lives of ordinary people in countries under the nazi war were in extreme heat. Famine, slave labor, and other cruel policies were taken for granted. Almost
This was true in all the occupied countries and regions, except that the Jews and rebels lived worse lives. Racism was the entire basis of German rule in Europe. Anything to be done must be organized in the interests of both Germany and its people, and the definition of "people" was set by Hitler and his Nazi Party, and within this system there were still various levels.
Near the top of its pyramid are the peoples who look like Dutch or Norwegians, who, though treated as second-class citizens, are able to receive some respect, while near the bottom of the pyramid are the Slavic peoples whose lives are considered worthless, even if sometimes their labor is still worthy of recognition. The Jews were considered the most inferior of all the peoples. Naturally, there will be certain changes in the way the conquered territories are ruled under this hierarchy.
In Poland or Ukraine, the brutality of the Nazi Party was more overt and extreme. In other places, such as those in Norway, local Nazi Party supporters could have a say in the government. Finally, there are countries like France, which are not enemies of Germany, at least at the governmental level, and thus gain control over some part of the country. But the "independence" of the Pétain Vichy regime was achieved at great cost. More than half of the government's taxes were used to cover the day-to-day expenses of the German occupation forces and the costs of the war, and about half of France's industrial output was in the pockets of the Germans.
The ratio of food is also harsh, with the official rule being less than 1,200 calories a day, and many poor people don't even reach that level. A lot of food flows to the black market. The experiences of other Western European countries are very similar to these. As the war progressed, Germany became increasingly dependent on foreign labor, otherwise it would not be able to maintain the proper functioning of its economy. This involved some 1.5 million war prisoners, and by around 1943, about 5 million were forced into forced labor in Germany, many of whom were treated as slaves.
In the later stages of the war, about a quarter of Germany's workforce consisted of foreigners. Many Poles were brought to Germany at that time and became farm laborers. Later, in Eastern Europe, men and women, as well as many young children, were gathered and sent to places where Germany needed them. In Vichy's France, men were recruited to perform all kinds of state labor, but as German laborers.
There were also foreign-dwelling Germans who were scattered throughout much of Eastern Europe, and the most bizarre aspect of Nazi rule was the plan to reassimilate them into the Germans. Hundreds of thousands of people were brought back into the territory of the German Empire. Many of them were transported from their original home in the Baltic states, or from the western part of the Soviet Union, where they were to be resettled to live in the occupied territories, thus turning them into German territory once and for all.
After the war, most eventually became one of millions of homeless people and wandered through Central Europe. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this policy is the "Source of Life" program. One of the goals of this program was to promote the German nation, and SS representatives would travel through the occupied territories to identify "racially valuable" children and force them to be adopted by the Germans. About 300,000 children are said to have been abducted from their families under the scheme, and 80 per cent of them never return to their homes.