The Structure and Powers of District Administrations in Kyiv During the Nazi Occupation (1941—1943)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15407/uhj2026.02.139Keywords:
World War II, Nazi occupation, Kyiv, city administration, district administrations, powers of administrations.Abstract
The article elucidates the topic of the organization and functioning of the lower level of the local civilian administrative apparatus in the capital of the Ukrainian SSR during the years of Nazi occupation. The aim of the work is to study the structure and powers of the district administrations (raion, upravas) in the city of Kyiv (1941—1943). The research methodology combines the tools of historical and legislative analysis and is based on the concept of the social construction of space, the principles of consistency and objectivity, as well as historical-comparative, structural-functional, and other methods. The scientific novelty lies in a comprehensive analysis of the formation of the organizational structure and the establishment of the principles of functioning and daily activities of the district administrations — the lower link of the Kyiv occupation administration — against the backdrop of Nazi occupation policy. The source base of the study primarily consists of archival materials, including administrative documentation of the Kyiv City and district administrations, periodicals, and memoirs of eyewitnesses. Conclusions. The place of the district administrations in the multilevel system of the occupational administrative apparatus is determined. The process of their formation and personnel policy, including the involvement of various groups of the local population in the daily work of the district administrations in the German-captured capital of the Ukrainian SSR, is analysed. It is established that these administrative units were created to perform economic, administrative, and social functions at the local level. Their structure and powers were declaratively broad but, in practice, significantly limited by the strict control of the German administration. The activities of the district administrations were often accompanied by internal conflicts and bureaucratic shortcomings, which affected their performance. It is proven that these units of the lower administrative structure, on the one hand, attempted to maintain the basic functionality of the city, and on the other, served as an instrument for the implementation of the occupation policy.
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