I'm writing a historical fiction book that is set in Stalowa Wola in the 1940s, but I need some ideas for popular names for adults and young children so maybe tell me a few that were popular during the 1920s through the 40s. I want it to be completely realistic. Thanks!
Zygmunt Władysław Czesław Stanisław Józef Jan Kazimierz Tomasz Andrzej Ludwik Zdzisław Henryk Marian Bolesław Walerian Stefan Antoni Franciszek Edward Roman
Anna Maria Elżbeta Halina Krystyna Weronika Jadwiga Bolesława Władysawa Agata Helena Katarzyna Antonina Małgorzata Agnieszka Bronisława Wanda Magdalena
What about Zamosk, did that exist during that time? During the 1940s, weren't there any steel mills in Poland? My book is about a young couple about 20 who came from a more rural area so that the man could get a job in a steel factory.
I would write a book about some polish hippies who decide to beat up Germanics and when they are at the middle of their work the Wehrmacht reaches the town.
Stalowa Wola was built in the mid-1930s. There were foundries in ŚLąsk (Silesia) and probably elsewhere in Poland at the time. Stalowa Wola was part of a huge national project called the Central Industrial District (COP) which at that time was located near the centre of Poland and thus far from its borders. It was to have been a centre of the steel, armament, munitons and other strategic heavy industry industries.
Great, I thought so thanks. In the story, the couple is from a more rural area and the husband was supposed to inherit a farm, but it had to be sold so they decided to move to the city so he could get a job in a steel mill. They are about 20 but move in the 1940s and their daughter is born in 1942. I just said 1920s because I wanted their names to be something that was popular for children being born that time. If this location was impossible, I could easily change a few things so I guess I should just keep writing.
Nothing was normal in the 1939-1945 period. Able-bodied people were sent to slave labour, be it in factories or to the Reich to work for Bauers (German farmers), food was rationed, curfews were in force, only primary education was available to Poles. Even strictly following Nazi-imposed rules was no guarantee of safety. You could be peacefully walking down a street when a lorryload of German soldiers jumped out an rounded up everybody in sight. Some were never heard from again. The point is that if writing a novel about the period, it is war-time circumstances and considerations that must take the upper hand. Sheer survival was uppermost in everyone's mind.
I am also writing a book about the thirties and forties. It is true, as an earlier correspondent here wrote, nobody was safe. Hitler and his generals hated the Polish people. He thought they were stupid and not worthy of living. The Nazis enslaved them or killed them. As the writer said here, they could be rounded up and put on a truck and never come back. For good information, read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by Schauer.
Polonius3 is right. I'm also writing about that period and doing EXTENSIVE research (also looking for names). Nobody had 'jobs' per se, all were in forced labor and forced to move from rural areas to the cities to the ghettos or concentration camps. There was little, if none, paid work. See wikis on 'Judenrat' (Jewish counsels) Isaiah Trunk is an expert in the field of that period. Very informative and interesting as well. Poland was the worst area.
The Reich Legislation. Passed on September 29, 1933, this law "excluded Jews from owning farmland or engaging in agriculture". It stated that only Germans could now be farmers. Though the law had minimal effect due to the lack of Jews involved in farming.
