Abstract
<jats:p>The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of Alfred Frauenfeld’s memorandum on the problems of administering the occupied eastern territories as a historical source reflecting internal debates and contradictions within the system of Nazi administration in Ukrainian lands during the Second World War. The focus is placed on clarifying the circumstances of the document’s creation, its substantive content, the author’s line of argumentation, and its place within the broader context of the formation of the Third Reich’s occupation policy. The scholarly novelty of the article lies in an integrated reading of the memorandum through the prism of everyday administrative practice and intra-governmental competition within the Reichskommissariat «Ukraine». The document is examined not only as a source of factual information but also as evidence of an attempt to reconsider the occupation strategy. The study specifies the nature of Frauenfeld’s criticism concerning particular policy areas-education, culture, agrarian relations, and labor mobilization and demonstrates that the alternatives he proposed were pragmatic rather than humanitarian in character, aimed at increasing the efficiency of control over the region. Conclusions. Frauenfeld’s memorandum reveals deep discrepancies between the ideological directives of the Nazi leadership and the practical requirements of governing the occupied territories. The document reflects an effort to explain the growth of resistance and the decline of local loyalty as consequences of miscalculations in administrative policy, without questioning the fundamental principles of the occupation regime. As a source, it makes it possible to trace decision-making mechanisms, competition among various occupation authorities, and the transformation of approaches to the organization of «Eastern policy». Its critical analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of the nature of Nazi rule in Ukraine and sheds light on the internal logic of the occupation apparatus. Keywords: Nazi occupation, Reichskommissariat «Ukraine», Alfred Frauenfeld, memorandum, administrative policy, occupation authorities, Second World War, Southern Ukraine.</jats:p>