During World War II, following the armistice of June 22, 1940, a demarcation line marked the boundary between the German-occupied northern part and the southern part of France. After the Nazis invaded the south in November 1942, the demarcation line between the occupied and unoccupied zones ceased to exist. All of France was under Nazi control.
Following the armistice of June 22, 1940, a demarcation line marked the boundary between the area under Occupation by the German army—primarily in northern France—and the so-called “free” zone in the south. It stretched approximately 1,200 km and went into effect on June 25, 1940, following the signing of the armistice between Italy and France. Border zones were ceded to the Italians. Signs marked the line along its entire length.
Alsace-Moselle was annexed by the Germans, and two departments in northern France came under German authority based in Brussels.
The decision to carry out the Occupation of the “northern zone” was based on its agricultural and industrial prosperity, from which the Germans intended to benefit. The main objective was to make the “so-called free” zone dependent on the economy of the occupied zone.
Crossing the demarcation line requires the presentation of a pass (Ausweis), which is very difficult to obtain from the occupying forces.
Some people manage to cross the border with the help of smugglers. Some of them do not hesitate to turn in those they are helping, others are motivated solely by greed, but many often put their own lives at risk. After the mass roundups in the occupied zone, many Jews fled to the unoccupied zone.
The armed Resistance is organizing: activists from the clandestine Jewish branch of the M.O.I. are establishing contacts in the south by secretly crossing the border.
The collapse of the French administration, reeling from the consequences of the partition, made life even harder for residents already suffering from the war.
Following the Allied landing in North Africa on November 8, 1942, the German army occupied the so-called “Free Zone”—which had become the “Southern Zone”—on November 11. The Nazi Occupation spread to almost all of France. The demarcation line between the two zones no longer served any purpose; it was abolished on March 1, 1943, though several checkpoints remained in place.
References:
— Alary, Eric, 2003, *The Demarcation Line: 1940–1944*. Perrin
— Cointet, J.-P. and M., 2000, *Historical Dictionary of France under the Occupation*, Paris, Tallandier.
