Prostitution in the territories occupied by the nazis during the Great Patriotic War: collaboration or a necessary survival measure

Nadezhda Nizhnik

UDC

342.51

VAK Russia

5.1.4

PROSTITUTION IN THE TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY THE NAZIS DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR: COLLABORATION OR A NECESSARY SURVIVAL MEASURE Prostitution in the territories occupied by the nazis during the Great Patriotic War: collaboration or a necessary survival measure

АА Аа

Published in Russian Journal of Deviant Behavior · Pages 542–563 · Rubric: Anthropology of deviant behavior

Received: 09.12.2025 Accepted: 16.12.2025 Published: 28.12.2025 Language of publication: RUS

Authors

Nadezhda Nizhnik

ORCID Scopus SPIN

Nadezhda Nizhnik

Academic degree: doctor of jurisprudence sciences

Science rang: professor

Saint Petersburg University of the MIA of Russia Professor of Department · Russian Federation · Saint-Petersburg

ORCID Scopus SPIN

ABSTRACT

Introduction. The study of the determinants of a person's choice of an individual model of legal behaviour continues to be a relevant task for legal science. Determining the patterns of choice of life strategies in extreme conditions is particularly difficult. The history of the Great Patriotic War provides extensive material for studying this problem, as many wartime factors broadened the range of individual survival strategies, from defending the Fatherland with arms in hand and working in the rear to various forms of adaptation to the conditions of occupation. In the territories occupied by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War, forcing women into prostitution became a significant part of their daily lives. However, the facts of sexual violence committed by the Nazis did not become part of the post-war collective memory, and stories associated with such violent acts remain taboo in the public consciousness to this day. Purpose. G Since issues of sexual relations and cross-cultural interaction during occupation in the context of gender history, themes of sexual violence in the occupied Soviet territories during the Great Patriotic War have only been included in scientific research in recent decades and, to date, have only fragmentarily covered a small part of the relevant issues, the purpose of the study was to reconstruct the circumstances affecting the choice of individual life strategies during the Great Patriotic War, with a focus on the factors determining the behaviour of women in the occupied territories when providing sexual services to combatants in brothels opened by the occupiers. Sources. Only studying various types of sources (legal acts of opposing sides, materials on law enforcement practices, documents from administrative bodies, periodicals, personal sources) makes it possible to reconstruct the events of the war years and assess the consequences of “horizontal” collaboration during the Great Patriotic War. The main resource for the research was periodicals – newspapers and leaflets published in the rear of the USSR, in occupied territories, in Soviet military units and partisan detachments from 1941 to 1946. Methods. The research was carried out by means of various tools. Particular importance was attached to the concrete historical method, enabling consideration of the conditions, factors and circumstances that affected the functioning of brothels in the occupied Soviet territories during the Great Patriotic War, and the biographical method, used to identify patterns of behaviour among women under Nazi occupation and the determinants of “horizontal” collaborationism. Results. The occupiers considered brothels, kept open by forcing women into prostitution, as a means of supporting the army’s ability to fight and relieving combatants of psychological and physical stress in the occupied territory. The organisation of brothels is discussed in the article as part of the occupation policy. It highlights the organisational and socio-medical aspects of the functioning of brothels, the personal aspects of providing sexual services, and the psychological aspects of the post-war lives of persons who were subjected to sexual violence during the Great Patriotic War.

KEYWORDS

Great Patriotic War, Nazi occupation policy in Soviet territory, Nazi crimes against the civilian population, collaborationism, forced prostitution, brothels, brothel houses, spread of sexually transmitted diseases, motives for determining survival strategies, everyday life of women in wartime, gender discrimination

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Nizhnik N. S. Prostitution in the territories occupied by the nazis during the Great Patriotic War: collaboration or a necessary survival measure // . 2025. pp. 542-563. (Date of access 19.08.2026).

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Nadezhda Nizhnik. "Prostitution in the territories occupied by the nazis during the Great Patriotic War: collaboration or a necessary survival measure." (2025): 542-563.

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Nizhnik N. S. (2025). Prostitution in the territories occupied by the nazis during the Great Patriotic War: collaboration or a necessary survival measure. , 542-563.

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Nadezhda Nizhnik. "Prostitution in the territories occupied by the nazis during the Great Patriotic War: collaboration or a necessary survival measure." , no. (2025): 542-563.

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{{cite journal | author = Nizhnik N. S. | title = Prostitution in the territories occupied by the nazis during the Great Patriotic War: collaboration or a necessary survival measure | journal = | year = 2025 | pages = 542-563 }}

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PROSTITUTION IN THE TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY THE NAZIS DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR: COLLABORATION OR A NECESSARY SURVIVAL MEASURE Prostitution in the territories occupied by the nazis during the Great Patriotic War: collaboration or a necessary survival measure

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