World War I caused upheavals in the sexual order of all the warring societies. War exposed women and men to a significant reconfiguration of their sexuality, and even of their gender identity, and opened the door to new sexual experiences.
However, the military occupations provided a particular space for war sexuality , especially for the German soldiers, who did not generally operate in friendly territory but instead often fought, moved around or rested in enemy territory. The occupation of enemy territory also required the presence of a certain number of staff, assigned to administrative, operational and control activities.
Two populations were therefore forced to live side by side in the occupied territories. The first group was characterized by a gender imbalance in favor of women due to the fact that the local men had gone to war.
It was local, under occupation and, therefore, under control. The second group was almost exclusively male except for the presence of nurses and employees of the occupational administration. It was foreign, it was the occupier and, thus, it was the controlling element.
These two groups of people could have been characterized by gender complementarity, but were first and foremost enemies as well as strangers to each other. The first instances of sexual intercourse between these two groups took place during the outburst of violence that accompanied the initial offensive of the German army in the west.
