Vivre sous l'occupation à Saint-Quentin

France declares war on Germany on August 3rd, 1914. German forces implement the Schlieffen Plan, invading neutral Belgium and circumventing French fortifications by advancing through northern France.

• Germans invaded Dinant on August 21st, 1914, killing civilians and setting fires to houses • Villagers flee toward Saint-Quentin, with nearly 200 refugees arriving in the city by August 24th • Refugees are housed in the circus on Dachery Street

• Local population divided between fear and incomprehension • Official newspapers claim French troops are advancing, contradicting soldiers' reports • Rumors spread about German soldiers cutting off girls' hands and killing children without mercy • Propaganda fuels suspicion and makes German soldiers trigger-happy

On August 28th, 1914, territorial forces defending the city suffer casualties including their commander Lieutenant Colonel Klein. German troops enter Saint-Quentin, execute some soldiers in streets, and begin requisitioning food, wine, and municipal funds.

On October 3rd, 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II visits Saint-Quentin to definitively impose German presence. The day before, shop opening times are changed to German time, which becomes the official time for the city.

• All people over 14 years old receive identity cards with different colors by age and gender • Special permits from Germans required to leave home • Strict curfew imposed: 6 pm to 7 am in the city, 9 pm to 6 am in surrounding areas • Families required to maintain lists of household occupants and possessions • Assembly forbidden

• All males aged 16+ wear red cuffs and receive colored working cards based on age and skills • Regular roll calls to ensure no one has escaped • Escape attempts result in deportation to German forced labor camps and city-wide retaliation • Workers sent to forests and fields in poor housing conditions, given minimal rations: 10 grams of meat per person daily

German authorities establish their own system, change administration, and force population adoption of new passes. The Mayor and his counselors are confined to Town Hall. Civilians are recruited as informants for the occupiers.

• By 1915, provisions become scarce with typical diet of cheese and bread for breakfast, lentils or potatoes for lunch, leftovers for dinner • Rationing system created to prevent starvation but inadequate resources cause widespread malnutrition • War grocery store opened but reserved exclusively for Germans • Spanish-American Committee begins supplying occupied areas in March 1915 • Meat, butter, and eggs become almost impossible to find

Red Cross initially treats all wounded soldiers regardless of nationality. Germans gradually establish hospitals in Henri-Martin High School, Hotel-Dieu, and Fervaques Palace, replacing French hospital workers with German staff to prioritize German soldiers.

• Germans publish La Gazette des Ardennes newspaper in November 1914, providing pro-German news and official releases to French civilians • Newspaper publishes lists of French dead and wounded soldiers, making it attractive despite pro-German bias • Systematic censorship established May 10th, 1915, requiring validation of all articles before publication

Schools are disrupted as teachers are mobilized for the front. Many factories and stores close to support German mechanical and industrial needs. Transformation of city life affects both work and education systems.

• Initial accommodation during first three weeks, followed by growing fear as German soldiers act as conquerors • Officers demand civilians salute them, give way in trams, and submit to constant surveillance • Civilians develop continuous distrust, avoid eye contact, refrain from speaking, and smile to show the occupier is unwelcome • Some resistance through mockery: children sing songs in schools to mock the oppression and German soldiers

Those who remain in Saint-Quentin are viewed by the rest of France as collaborators and called 'Les Boches' (French slang for Germans). Civilians feel treated as enemy sympathizers while suffering under occupation, causing deep resentment.

• Local economy controlled entirely by Germans • French civilians relegated to producing material and wealth for the occupier • Prostitution expands with German military permissions, with strict medical controls to prevent STDs • Prostitutes photographed, registered, and required to report twice weekly at the preschool of Fayet street

First French bombing of train station in 1915 welcomed by population. Later bombing destroys homes and kills civilians, making Allies' airstrikes as frightening as German presence. By autumn 1916, train station area nearly destroyed and Saint-Quentin becomes part of Hindenburg defense line.

• City becomes part of Hindenburg defense line facing direct fire • From March 1st to late March 1917, over 42,000 civilians evacuated to northern France and Belgium in animal trains • Evacuation announced with very short notice • Civilians forced to abandon all possessions to certain destruction • Evacuees live with host families or in barracks

• During 1917, continuous shelling rains down on empty city • Post office, museum, railway, train station bridge, Market Hall, and cemetery completely destroyed • Roads impassable, buildings in ruins, Basilica near collapse • 70% of the city turned to dust • Almost entire industrial capacity destroyed

Civilians can only return at war's end. By early 1919, only 250 of original 42,000 inhabitants return. Summer brings nearly 10,000 civilians to rebuild the city.

The 1920s 'Roaring Twenties' bring explosion of Art Deco style, with Saint-Quentin becoming a spearhead. Colorful geometric shapes mark break with older architecture, symbolizing renewal and hope, allowing the city to move beyond the Great War.