Divorce in the practice of the District Court in Lublin, 1939–1944

Abstract

The article presents the practice of the District Court in Lublin in applying the law in divorce cases during the period of the General Government, that is, under German occupation between 1939 and 1944. The study analyses the functioning of the confessional marriage system within the multicentric legal order of the General Government. The thesis advanced in the article is that, in the years 1939–1944, the District Court in Lublin, when adjudicating divorce cases, acted on the basis of the law formally binding on it, and that its case law did not serve the political objectives pursued by the German authorities in the General Government. The source base of the study consists primarily of case files from ten proceedings conducted before the District Court in Lublin during the period, as well as court registers. Supplementary sources include materials concerning other district courts within the General Government and the legal theses issued by the Court of Appeal in Warsaw. The principal research method applied was a historical-legal analysis of specific court cases. The research findings indicate that litigants sought to obtain legally valid divorce decrees, inter alia, by changing their affiliation to a church legally recognised in the General Government. The analysed cases also reflected the broader realities of the occupation, particularly with regard to parties of Jewish origin, who were able to pursue court cases (including divorce proceedings) until the final stages of the Holocaust. The reason for filing one of the lawsuits was most likely the difference in nationality between the spouses and the anti-Jewish legislation introduced in the General Government by the German authorities. The article shows how the conditions of the occupation affected the practical aspects of court proceedings in the General Government, including difficulties connected with parties appearing at hearings and with serving legal documents.