These were soldier-peasant settlements planned along the eastern front to act as a defensive shield against the spread of “slav barbarism,” i.e., communism from Russia.
The modern term is “human shields.” Boy, those Nazis were WAY ahead of their time, although much too civilized by modern standards. The Nazis imagined SOLDIER-peasant settlements. But why waste good soldiers? That’s so cliché anymore.
Gaza Battlements
My favorite example came to light after the December 2012 offensive by Israel by Hamas militants from the Gaza strip – 15,000 rockets unleashed on Israeli cities from a hundred hidden battery emplacements across the border.
Without exception, those missile batteries were guilt physically inside or proximate to schools, hospitals, and mosques so the Israelis couldn’t even take the missile launchers out even with laser-guided munitions.
Frankly, I think even the Nazis would have seen the futility of this attempt at subterfuge and would have spent those billions of dollars on – well; improving the schools, hospitals, and mosques.
The Nazis would have had far better intelligence-gathering capabilities than Hamas. They would have known via the Freedom of Information Act in America that the Pentagon had given many billions of dollars to Israel to develop the “Iron Dome” system.
Alas, only a half dozen rockets made it through the “Iron Dome” – just enough for the media to glom onto and to use as propaganda to generate worldwide sympathy for the poor Israelis.
Very sloppy. No Iron Cross for Hamas.