Figure 1.--Information on what was happening in Poland leaked to the West, although Americans wee not really aware of the full extent of NAZI attrocities until the Allies began reaching the concentration camps. This photograp appeared in the "San Francisco Examiner" during 1943, one of the Hearst papers. We do not know when and where it was taken, probably some time in 1940 or 42. The caption read, "A Polish boy sent by the Germans to forced labor. Most of the population of Poland has been reduced to a state resembling slavery. Deportees who are sent to Germany or occupied countries for labor are locked in box cars abnd shipped like cattle, without heat or sanitary facilities."

Poland was the second country occupied by the NAZIs. The first was Czechoslovakia (March 1939). At the same time they also seized Memel, a Lituanian city. Under the the Generalgouvernement, the German occupation authorities required all Jewish and Polish males to perform forced labor. The German authorities soon after the occupation required required Polish Jews to live in ghettos and deployed them at forced slave labor, much of it manual. This evolved into a policy of "annihilation through work" and when Jews did not die fast enough to please the NAZIs, outright murder. The policy toward Christian Poles was more varied. Poles were expected to support the war effort. If they did not have jobs supporting the German war effort, they could be concripted for force labor. The NAZI slave and forced labor system included concentration camps and their subcamps, farms, ghettos, labor battalions, religious institutions, prisoner-of-war camps, and industries (in Germany and other Axis countries). Poles were affected by forced labor in a number of ways. Some but not all were confined to camps as well as deported to the Reich. It is believed that German occupation authorities deported about 1.5 million Poles to the Reich for forced or skave labor. Somes estimates are even higher. The vast proportion were deforted against their will. Most were were teenaged boys and girls or youths who did not have jobs supporting the war effort. The NAZIs obtained forced abnd slave labor from other occupied countries as well. The treatment of these people was affected by their national origins and race. Poles were among the non-Jewish people that were most harsly treated. The Poles were Slavs and part of the NAZI war effort was to substantially reduce the Slavic population of Eastern Europe to make room for German colonists. This and the general view that Eastern Europeans were inferior resulted in especially harsh treatment. Poles were required to wear an identifying purple "P" badge on their clothes. They were subjected to a curfew and not permittedv to use public transportation. The treatment afforded Poles varied widely depending on their work assignments. Here the variation depended largely on the humanity of the supervisor in charge. Poles were employed in both factories and on farms. They were often forced to work especially long hours. The Poles not employed as slave labor received lower wages than Western workers. Poles employed in larger groups in major cities were commonly housed in segregated barracks behind barbed wire.

Forced Labor in Germany

The NAZIs had before the War used forced labor in Germany for a variety of purposes: 1) to both punish political opponents, 2) to utilize Jews driven into poverty, and 3) to fill labor shortages that developed in the country. Forced labor also prived to be an income source for the SS. Thgey began going into business like quaries and brick making. And with the use of essentilly free concentratiin camp inmates for labor, the buinesses proved highly profitable. For Jews, forced labor in a major way only began as part of the program of persecution in the aftermath of Kristalnacht (November 1938). There were still, however, limitations on what could be done. Hitler was worried about the reaction of the German people to the severity that was evolving in his mind.

NAZI Invasion (September 1939)

Poland was the second country occupied by the NAZIs. The first was Czechoslovakia (March 1939). At the same time they also seized Memel, a Lituanian city. After signing the NAZI Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union, the NAZIs invaded Poland (September 1, 1939). This launched World War II. Britain and France declared War (September 3), but did not provide any real military assistance. The Poles did not have a modern airforce or a substantial armor force. The Poles were driven back and Warsaw and other cities bombed. Any hope of effective resistance was ended when the Soviets joined their NAZI allies and invaded from the East (September 17). The two countries partitioned Poland.

General Government: Forced Labor

The Germans and Soviets launched World war II by invding Poland. They partitioned the country between them. The Germans annexed western Poland and set up the General Government in central Polsnd around warsaw. Regulations varies in the annexed areas and General Government. The Germns deported Jews and many Poles to the General Government. Gere they immedialy requited male Jews and Poles to perform forced labor. At first itg was primarly forced on the Jews and both unrgularized and chotic. Not uncomminly physical abuse and humiliation ccmpnied the labor. There were also shootings. Jews were forced to repair war damage (October 1939). Soon women and children (12 years or or older) were required to work, usually wiyhout pay. Work details might continue for 12 hours or more. Soon as the German occupation took hold and the Jews were ghetoozed, forced labor ws jncreasing applied to the Poles. Occupation authorities issued labor decrees (March 8, 1940). [Herbert and Templer] This provided the legal basis for forced labor, includung deportation to the Reich.

Polish Jews

Beginning with Kristalnacht in Germany (November 1938) forced labor became an element of NAZI persecution of the Jews, limited almost entirely at first to to Jewish males. The invasion and occupation of Poland meant a quantum leap in German use of forced labor (September 1939). And with Jews it soon became slave labor. Poland had a large Jewish population and in German occupied Poland there were no legl constraints on German actions. Conscription of Jews for forced labpr began informally almost immediately after German troops reached a town or village. This began with ad hoc work round-ups. Male Jews including teenagers were pressed ganged into labor service. Often this was done more to humiliate and punish Jews than for any real purpose. This was often accompanied with harassment, tauntings, and considerable brutality. This varied from town to town dpending on the officers in charge. There were also some shootings, but not on an organized or country wide basis. The decision to conduct the Holcaust had not yet been made by Hitler. The German authorities made Jews becamme legally liable for forced labor (October 1939). NAZI authorities began formally conscripting all Jewish males in Poland between the age of 14 and 60 years for forced slave labor (December 1939). As the NAZIs seized control of the country, this forced labor began more organized. Jewish leaders cooperated with the occupation autorities to regularize the forced labor operatiins, hopeing to reduce the harassment and shootings. The NAZIs planned to go far further than forced labor. The German authorities soon after the occupation required required Polish Jews to move into ghettos set up throughout Poland. There they could be completely controlled and used for slave labor, most of it manual. Ghetto Jews hoped that they culd suvive by making themslves useful to the NAZIs. Unless the ghetto Jews found work with the Germans, they could not survive on the starvation rations. This evolved into a policy of 'annihilation through work' and when Jews did not die fast enough to please the NAZIs, outright murder. Closing the ghettoes enabled the Germans to kill non-workerslike children nd the eldely while llowing healthy adults to work until incapitated by starbation wages and mistreatment. So great was the German desire to kill Jews, that even productive worker Jews at a time withen a labor shortage was develping were killed sa part of Aktion Reinhard, the destruction of Polish Jews (1941-43). Some NAZI officials hung on to isolated group of Jews as they were profiting from selling their labor. Gradually tgese groups too were deported to the deth camps.

German Labor Shortages

Germany while gretly increasing militry spending before World War II did not convert the economy for totl war. Goebells was put in charge of the economy nd increased military output, but retauned maby inefficenciesin the economy. And the early victories in the War came so spectacularly that there seemed no need to take the draconian steps associated with total war. This all changed with the failure of Barbarossa before Moscow (December 1941). Not onlyh did the Whermacht sustain huge losses of men and material, but Hitler declared war on the United States. More men had to be drafted to continue the War against the growing armies arrayed against Germany. Workers in arms industry aznd agriculture who had deferments lost them as Hitler and OKW rushed to rebuld German forces for the summer 1942 offensive that woulx in effect decide the War. Hitler knew hewould have to win the War in 1942 before the Soviets fully recovered nd American men and material would swell Allied ranks. He put his close associate Albert Speer in charge of armaments (February 1942) and Fritz Saukel in charge of obtaining workers in occupied countries. Hitller appointed Saukel Generalbevollmächtigter für den Arbeitseinsatz (General Plenipotentiary for Labour Deployment) (March 1942). He was recommended to Hitler by Martin Bormann, angering Görung who was still kin chrge if the economy--aekctuin f Göring flling star. The increased conscriptions created serious labor shortages in the German war economy. Very little angered Hitler more than anyone bringing up the subject of labor shortages. Sperr tells us that Hitler rejected even the hint of a labor shortage. He constantly repeated the same refrain, "The area working directly for us enbraces two hundred fify million people. Let no one doubt that we will succeed in involving every one of thise millionsin the labor process." [Speer, p. 283.] Labor shortages in the German war economy became even more critical especially after German defeat in the battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943. Giebbels began talking zvout 'Total War', but the Allies, especially, the Britih, had orgnized their economy for total war yers earlier. his led to the increased use of prisoners as forced laborers in German industries. Especially in 1943 and 1944, hundreds of camps were established in or near industrial plants for foreign workers. The Germans had akready killed most Jews in their hnds as well as many Siviet and Polish POWs. What they refused to do for ideological reasons was to recruit German women for war work. Hitler was determined to run the German war economy on foreign workers, primarily from forced labor and mostly from the East.

Ethnic Poles

The policy toward Christian Poles was more varied than that administered to the Jews. Many Poles would die in NAZI labor camps, but there were no death camps with the sole purpose of killing. And there wre no ghettoes where who families wee intened. Poles were expected to support the war effort. If they did not have jobs supporting the German war effort, they could be concripted for force labor. Poles were affected by forced labor in a number of ways. Some but not all were confined to camps as well as deported to the Reich. It is believed that German occupation authorities deported about 1.5 million Poles to the Reich for forced or skave labor. Somes estimates are even higher. The vast proportion were deforted against their will. Most were teenage boys and girls or youths who did not have jobs supporting the war effort. The NAZIs obtained forced abnd slave labor from other occupied countries as well. The treatment of these people was affected by their national origins and race. Poles were among the non-Jewish people that were most harsly treated. The Poles were Slavs and part of the NAZI war effort was to substantially reduce the Slavic population of Eastern Europe to make room for German colonists. This and the general view that Eastern Europeans were inferior resulted in especially harsh treatment. Poles were required to wear an identifying purple "P" badge on their clothes. They were subjected to a curfew and not permittedv to use public transportation or bomb shelters. The treatment afforded Poles varied widely depending on their work assignments. Here the variation depended largely on the humanity of the supervisor in charge. Poles were employed in both factories and on farms. They were often forced to work especially long hours. The Poles not employed as slave labor received lower wages than Western workers. Poles employed in larger groups in major cities were commonly housed in segregated barracks behind barbed wire.

Sources

Bartoszewski, Władysław. 1859 dni Warszawy (1859 Days in Warsaw).

Herbert, Ulrich and William Templer. Hitler's Foreign Workers: Enforced Foreign Labor in Germany under the Third Reich (Cambridge University Press, 1997).

Jeffery, Ron. Red Runs the Vistula (Nevron Associates: Manurewa, Auckland, New Zealand, 1985).

Piotrowski, Tadeusz. Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918-1947 (1998).

Speer, Albert. Inside the Third Reich (Avon, New York, 1970), 734p.

Created: 10:43 PM 12/31/2007
Last updated: 11:12 PM 11/29/2014