German Occupation of Norway
The main theme of the story is the German occupation of Norway, not that Steinbeck ever actually admitted this. He deliberately left the identity of both the invaded and the invaders unspecified, but because of the similarities between the story, and the events going on in Europe at the time of writing, as well as the similarities between "The Leader" and Adolf Hitler, it is believed that Norway is the country in question.
The story shows how Germany swept into many of the nations of Northern Europe and took over, especially when there are natural resources that they want for themselves or their war effort. It also shows how they depended upon collaborators such as Correll, and how they would execute those who stood up to them, or at least, who refused to stand with them. Although some critics were angered by what they saw as Steinbeck's softly softly approach in presenting some of the German invaders.
Collaborators
Correll used to be a very popular man. He used to be a very nice man, but he becomes a traitor and works with the Germans to assist in their occupation of his town. He also then becomes a spy within the town, listening in to conversations and being a person that his former friends can no longer trust. Although he is now deeply unpopular because of his collaboration, he is not particularly upset by this because he sees benefits to his own personal economy that come from his collaboration. His particular narrative also shows that the Germans could not have been so successful in their invasion of other nations had they not had the assistance of local collaborators and traitors.
The Resistance Movement
Another lesser theme is the vibrancy and effectiveness of the Resistance movement in Northern Europe; in fact it was the French Resistance who backed the publication of the book in the countries that Germany occupied. It also shows that the Germans lacked imagination when it came to working out who was a Resistance member and who was not, judging on appearances and therefore failing to recognize some of the more active key players. The Resistance was extremely well organized and courageous, as can be seen from the part that they play in the story.
