For the majority of Smolensk civilian residents who did not flee or were not evacuated—from a mere 1,000 in early August 1941, to an average 20,000–30,000 over the course of the next two years—the transition to a new authority was gradual yet forced, symbolic yet profound. With time, the city found new rhythms, and some residents accommodated themselves well to them. One representative example of change is the mayor's order of December 30, 1941, calling for 224 new Smolensk street names, excluding streets in the area of the ghetto, which were now “beyond” the city's borders. These new names were all German ones, requiring Russian translations (e.g., Sovetskaia ulitsa became Hauptstrasse/ Glavnaia ulitsa).

First Days

The German military and political leadership entering Smolensk in mid-July 1941 expected to find a major railway junction, along with an electric power plant, a post and telegraph office, two typography plants, a state bank, a radio station, several airplane barracks, and an airport, various automobile factories, iron works, flax and spinning factories, woodworks, a textile factory, bast (fiber) works, and a beer brewery.