Everyday Life and Rationed War Economy in Slaný during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945): Administration and Everyday Life of the Local Population

• Název práce v češtině: Každodenní život a přídělové válečné hospodářství ve Slaném za Protektorátu Čechy a Morava (1939-1945): Správa a každodenní život místního obyvatelstva
• Název v anglickém jazyce: Everyday Life and Rationed War Economy in Slaný during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945): Administration and Everyday Life of the Local Population
• Klíčová slova: Lokální historie, Každodenní život, Přídělové hospodářství, Administrativa, Černý trh, Protektorát Čechy a Morava
• Klíčová slova anglicky: Local history, Everyday Life, Rationed Economy, Administration, Black Market, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2022/2023
• Typ práce: bakalářská práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Katedra historických věd (24-KHV)
• Vedoucí / školitel: Dr. phil. Jan Vondráček, M.A.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno a potvrzeno stud. odd.
• Datum přihlášení: 01.02.2023
• Datum zadání: 01.02.2023
• Datum potvrzení stud. oddělením: 01.02.2023
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 23.06.2023
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 21.09.2023
• Předmět: Bachelor Thesis Defense (YBAJSZ01)
• Oponenti: PhDr. Mgr. Petr Wohlmuth, Ph.D.

Seznam odborné literatury

Brandes, Detlef. Češi pod německým protektorátem. Praha: Prostor, 1999.

Bryant, Chad. Prague in Black: Nazi Rule and Czech Nationalism. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2009.

Ludtke, Alf. History of Everyday Life: Reconstructing Historical Experiences and Ways of Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.

Vondráček, Jan. Státní moc, politická správa a každodennost. Prosazování řízeného hospodářství v politickém okrese Kladno v protektorátu Čechy a Morava 1939-1945. Praha: Academia, 2021.

Předběžná náplň práce v anglickém jazyce

Guiding question

How did the general population of Rakovnik respond the decrees released by the occupational institutions and the protectorate government during the time period of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia? Focusing on the decrees implementing the rationing system (přídělový systém) and decrees containing further development of the system.

Preliminary Abstract

This thesis will organise and analyse decrees focusing on the food rationing system implemented by the occupational and state government, and their impact on the general population of Rakovnik and its region. The goal of this thesis is to describe how the rationing system was implemented and how people lived with it and whether they found ways to bypass them. I will be using secondary literature containing information about the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and archival sources from the regional archive in Rakovnik.

Structure

I will begin my thesis with an introduction containing my research question, followed by a literature review. I will present the sources and talk about my methodology. The introduction will finish with a brief description of each chapter. Next, I will focus on my methodology, and I will explain definitions and introduce how I analysed my data. The main part of my thesis will contain seven chapters describing the months before the occupation, the occupation, and a short period after liberation.
Finally, I will provide a conclusion to my research and some questions for potential further research.

Short introduction

The small but industrious town of Rakovnik has a rich history before, during, and after the Second World War. First, I will present some of the most prominent moments from just before the Occupation, focusing on the year 1938 and months before March 1939. Later, I will explore each year of the occupation in separate chapters. The aim of the work is to investigate the survival strategies and everyday life of the local population. The focus will be on the supply situation and the black market in Rakovnik and its surroundings.

My goal is to show the struggles ordinary people had to endure in relation to released decrees on the rationing system (přídělový systém). I believe that this topic will be interesting because Rakovnik was incredibly close to the borders of Sudetenland during the Protectorate, and this proximity had to have some undeniable effect on the functioning of the town.The question whether there was a black market between the Sudetengau and how the border situation of the district affected the everyday life of the population is also investigated.

Sources

I will be using sources available in the State Regional Archive in Rakovnik, above all, the holdings of the Rakovnik District Authority (Bezirksbehörde Rakonitz) and the German Gendarmerie Command (Deutsches Gendarmerie Kommando Rakonitz) and other sources.
Additionally, I will be exploring newspapers and academic literature on this topic.

Importance of topic

The quietness around this topic is creating a gap in the history of Rakovnik and although there have been some attempts to fill it, none have specifically focused on decrees released by the occupational government and the Nazi party. Furthermore, the rationing system implemented during the occupation continued being used until 1953 when a monetary reform was introduced.