Die Organisation von Zwangs-Arbeitseinsatz in den eingegliederten Gebieten in der ersten Phase des Krieges (am Beispiel Oberschlesiens) [The organisation of forced labour in the incorporated areas in the first phase of the war (using the example of Upper Silesia)]

Abstract

In the Nazis' preparations for war, much attention was paid to the deployment of labor. The growing need for workers in connection with the implementation of tasks of military importance caused a reorganization of the state apparatus of employment. Compulsory work was introduced with the entry into force of the decree of May 20, 1955. The status of the existing employment offices was raised in 1938 by their subordination to the Reich Ministry of Labor. Since then, their area of ​​work has included the entire question of labor deployment, including the development of long-term labor deployment plans that did not bypass the territories to be conquered in the future. The occupation of Poland following the September defeat gave the German authorities the opportunity to incorporate the existing labor resources into the system of Hitler's war economy. These opportunities were fully exploited. In accordance with the first organizational concepts developed beforehand, the creation of employment offices was started immediately after the occupation of the Polish territories by the Wehrmacht, whose basic task was to manage labor deployment issues.