The use of forced labor was by no means confined to concentration camps. Labor camps existed early and the need for workers only grew with Hitler’s plans for rearmament and the expanding war economy. It is estimated that 15 to 20 million laborers were utilized for forced labor, and while most came from the Ukraine and Russia and Belarus, they were dragooned from the occupied countries of Europe as well. They would be exploited in industrial enterprises, farms, and private households: men, women, and children. Taken to forced labor camps, they were then compelled to produce goods for the war economy. Death rates were high due to lack of adequate food, shelter, and clothing. Labor shortages were, however, easily remedied.
The following categories and examples are useful to understand the magnitude and scope of forced labor during the Third Reich.
JEWISH FORCED LABOR
See Ghettos and Concentration Camps collections and 2012.1.13ab, 2015.2.49, 2019.2.95, and 2014.1.170.
POW CAMPS
These camps held captured Allied military officers and personnel. Some camps “specialized” in holding specific prisoners such as Naval officers, while others held a general assortment of prisoners. Consistent with the Nazi ideology that Russians and Poles were “Untermenschen” or racially inferior, these prisoners were treated particularly harshly, subject to mass shootings, gassings, or starvation.
See 2014.1.259ab and 2012.1.34.
GASTARBEITER
Gastarbeiters were so-called “guest workers” or foreign workers from Germanic or Scandinavian countries or France and Italy who were forced laborers for the Reich. It is possible that this category refers to laborers who, in the eyes of the Germans, were not considered racially inferior.
See 2019.2.83 and 2019.2.104.
OSTARBEITER (EASTERN WORKERS)
Ostarbeiters were typically Russian or Ukrainian forced laborers - marked with the OST (East) insignia - who lived within barbed-wire enclosed camps under guard by SS and who worked to produce supplies for the German war economy. The need for forced labor to support Germany’s war efforts became more acute after Operation Barbarossa in the spring of 1941. Millions of forced laborers were deported from the Soviet Union and the Ukraine to work in factories, farms, and other civilian venues. Ostarbeiters would receive at most half the wages paid to German and other West European workers. They worked long hours with little concern for their sustenance and, as far as the German were concerned, they were eminently replaceable. Many of the women were treated as sex slaves for military brothels.
See 2014.1.164, 2012.1.79, 2019.2.90ab, 2014.1.204, 2014.1.162, 2014.1.165, 2022.1.25, and 2022.1.26.
ZIVILARBEITER (CIVILIAN WORKERS)
Ethnic Poles from the General Government were highly regulated with few civil liberties. They were required to display the Polish “P” prominently on clothing.
See 2014.1.170, 2016.1.05, 2016.1.06, 2014.1.169, 2019.2.104, and 2022.1.27.
ORGANIZATION TODT
This was a civil and military engineering group named after Nazi official Fritz Todt, a senior Nazi official and engineer whose projects throughout German-occupied nations in Europe heavily utilized forced labor along with conscripts from within Germany for the growing number of military projects. They also relied on POWs and prisoners from concentration camps.
See 2014.1.171, 2014.1.234, and 2019.2.95.
GEMEINSCHAFTSLAGERS
Auslander Zivilarbeiter work camps, known as Gemeinschaftslagers,or workcamps for foreign civilians.
See 2012.1.54, 2014.1.166, 2014.1.168, and 2019.2.83.
--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.
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German-Occupied Bohemia-Moravia Postcard, Words Numbered, From Nelli Mueller of Hagibor Forced Labor Camp to Mother-in-Law in Zebrak
2019.2.95
Postcard marked "POSTKARTE DOPISNICE" with a purple postage stamp of Hitler in the top right corner and a border of purple leaves,"Antwort pur anf Postkarten in deutscher Sprache" stamped on left side in black ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Nelli Mueller was a Jew who married a Czech ethnic German, Bohomil Mueller. For “violation” of the Nuremberg racial laws, she would be interned in Hagibor, a “mixed race” slave labor camp (Sonderlager) for spouses of mixed marriages. She was subsequently deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1945, a few months before that camp was liberated. Her husband had been consigned to a series of labor camps, the last of which was an Organization Todt subcamp of Mittelbau-Dora, working in the mines producing the V1/V2 bombs. Nelli’s address on the postcard, Prag XI Schweringasse 1201, is a Gestapo office used to address mail for Hagibor inmates. Censored postcard handstamped message that only German language can be used. A requirement of no more than 32-word messages was adhered to by enumerating each word.
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Postcard from Freital, Germany Forced Labor Camp
2014.1.167
Front: Tan postcard with purple printed postcard lines. Includes text written in green ink and a black hand stamp.Back: Message written in green ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Postal card to a prisoner in the forced labor camp in Freital near Dresden, Germany, sent by a person in Bohemia and Moravia. Freital was the site of a forced labor camp consisting of about 4,000 to 5,000 prisoners working for the Saechsische Gusstalwerke (metal casings).
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Envelope to Jewish Aid for Emigrants, Zurich, From Labor Camp in Liestal, Switzerland
2021.1.19
Stamped and posted envelope. “Zürich” Stamp on back.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
The Swiss government would attempt to limit the numbers of refugees seeking to enter neutral Switzerland fleeing Nazi persecution. Many would be placed in labor camps and would be required to work, perhaps an effort to appease Nazi Germany. Refugees themselves would try to arrange for release to other countries like Portugal or South America. This cover was mailed to the Materials Section of Jewish Aid for Emigrants in Zurich from the Workcamp for Emigrants in Liestal.
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Ukrainian Ostarbeiter Postcard
2014.1.165
Front: A Postkarte with text and lines printed in purple. Includes return and mailing addresses, several red hand stamps, and a purple postal stamp in the upper-right corner. The cachet in the lower-left corner reads: "Catch coal pilferage. He who robs power and coal cannot be tolerated." Back: Letter written in black ink on the entirety of the page.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Censored cover from a prisoner in the labor camp of Ammerfeld Bei Rain, Lech, Germany to the Ukraine. Worker is known as an “Ostarbeiter.” In a “Gemeinschaftslager” or Civil Work Camp. The cachet on the lower left of the card reads: "catch coal pilferage. He who robs power and coal cannot be tolerated."
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Zivilarbeiter Identity Document of a Forced Laborer in Germany
2022.1.27
Recto: black and white photograph in top right with purple hand stamps at bottom left and top right corner of photograph, fingerprints in black ink below photograph.Verso: four column form with top line entered by typewriter, second line handwritten.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
ID card with identifying photograph and fingerprints of a forced labor civilian - zivilarbeiter - originally from the Ukraine - Anatolij Larin. Larin was employed as an automobile mechanic in Germany. He was born 01/16/1917 in Szalowka, Ukraine.
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Prague Council of Elder Jews Work Order
2015.2.49
Front: Tan paper with purple typewritten message in purple in German and Czech. Black signature on bottom, and a line of black typewriting on top.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Harsh document, typed in both German and Czech, ordering a man to come in his work clothes on 25 September 1944, to a specified location in Bulowka to clean streets. He will not receive any pay for this work and must bring his own cleaning equipment. Punishment will ensue if he fails to show.
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German-Occupied Bohemia-Moravia Postcard from Nelli Mueller of Hagibor Forced Labor Camp, to Mother-in-Law Lida Mueller in Zebrak
2019.2.94
Postcard marked "POSTKARTE DOPISNICE" with a purple postage stamp of Hitler in the top right corner and a border of purple leaves, "HAGIBOR" stamped in red on left side, writing in pencil on back.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Nelli Mueller was a Jew who married a Czech ethnic German, Bohomil Mueller. For “violation” of the Nuremberg racial laws, she would be interned in Hagibor, a “mixed race” slave labor camp (Sonderlager) for spouses of mixed marriages. She was subsequently deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1945, a few months before that camp was liberated. Her husband had been consigned to a series of labor camps, the last of which was an Organization Todt subcamp of Mittelbau-Dora, working in the mines producing the V1/V2 bombs. Nelli’s address on the postcard, Prag XI Schweringasse 1201, is a Gestapo office used to address mail for Hagibor inmates. Postcard uncancelled, handstamped “Hagibor” in red by censor.
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Postcard from Lajos Farkas, Member of 177th Jewish Labor Company, to Mezotur in East Hungary
2021.1.22
Green postcard with black writing on front wrapping up sides.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Two-lined boxed cachet ”ZSIDO M SZD H. 177” mentioning Jews ”ZSIDO” and handwritten censor reference “Ellenorizve” (Checked).
Hungarian Regent Miklos Horthy had targeted Jews with restrictions on employment, producing a pool of unemployed laborers. The Hungarian government established a forced labor system for the Jews to be utilized in military and government projects both in Hungary as well as in other countries. The Jews of Mezotur had been assembled at a brickyard which served as a concentration camp. In June 1944, they were transported to Szolnok, where the majority of Jews of the area were concentrated. They were here for two weeks before half of them were sent to Auschwitz, part of more than 450,000 Hungarian Jews concentrated in ghettos who were likewise deported. Lajos Farkas’ fate is unknown.
The slaughter of Hungarian Jews would continue with the removal of Horthy and the installation of Fascist Ferenc Szalasi - leader of the Arrow Cross Party - as Prime Minister. The sculptural bronze shoes lining the banks of the Danube in Budapest today are a sad testament to the Massacre of Jews by the Arrow Cross Nyilas on these banks. Here, forced to remove their shoes, often tied together in pods so that one victim being shot would drag the others along as the Danube would engulf them and carry them down river. 3500 Jews were murdered at the end of December 1944 to January 1945.
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Hungarian ID Card of Jewish Man with Red ‘Z’ on Cover
2014.1.192
A Hungarian Ausweis including a photograph and three purple "L.W. Lazarett/Budapet" stamps, and a large, red "Zs" stamp on the right side. The "Zs" stamp signified that Imrie was Jewish.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Hungarian ID card "Ausweis" for Alexander Imrie issued 31 August 1944 by L.W. Lazarett/Budapest. Large red "ZS" for Jew on front.
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Censored envelope to the Comité International de la Croix Rouge from a Gemeinschaftslager in Germany
2012.1.54
Brown envelope addressed to the "Comité International de la Croix Rouge." Writing in black ink on either side with censor tape.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Envelope received by Agence Centrale des Prisonniers de Guerre (Central Agency of Prisoners of War) in Geneva, Switzerland, From Gemeinschaftslager Stockhausen within Germany with cachet. The Gemeinschaftslager were civilian work camps for foreigners.
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Document from OT Einsatzgruppe VI
2014.1.234
Front: Onionskin paper with a typewritten message with a blue hand stamp.Back: Typewritten information with blue and red hand stamps.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A document sent to the labor camp at Tschenstochau (originally Czestochowa) in the General Government Poland, by Organization Todt, the military and civil engineering organization which used forced labor for its projects.
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Czechoslovakia Foreign Worker Postcard Sent from Gemeinschaftslager 903 Bruenn
2022.1.28
Recto: Printed purple ink line at middle and for addressee, purple stamp with Hitler in profile at top right corner, text at lower left in all capital letters within bordered rectangle. Verso: handwritten message in ink that has water smudges at bottom right corner.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
This postcard is sent to Brno from Gemeinschaftslager 903, a commercial work camp by a Czech Fremdarbeiter or foreign worker in 1944.
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Workbook For Forced Laborer, Nicholai Bigunow
2022.1.26
a: 38 page booklet belonging to Nicholai Bigunow; sepia toned photograph stapled on page 2, multiple handstamps throughout pages 2-11; no stamps from pages 12-38 just blank form. b: form with perforated left edge of page, ‘Arbeitskarte’ at top left, ‘Befreiungsschein*’ at top right with red marker highlighting.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Nicholai Bigunow was born May 9, 1920 in Odessa, in the Ukraine. His Third Reich workbook - Arbeitsbuch fur Auslander - refers to him as an Ostarbeiter or Eastern Worker. Because Ostarbeiters are considered enemies of the state they are taken by force and shipped by train to Germany, they are treated as prisoners irrespective of sex, and kept in camps under guard. He worked in the Berlin area. In 1945, he was working for a building company.
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HASAG Flossberg Pin for Polish Forced Laborer
2016.1.06
Circular, silver with red text 'HASAG, FLOSSBERG, 2832', some red has chipped off
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Ms. Kopala's HASAG pin. Her ID (see 2016.1.05) is stamped with 'P' for Pole, and she is shown in the picture with a prominent 'P' on her uniform. HASAG, or Hugo Schneider AG, was an established metal goods manufacturer headquartered in Leipzig, Germany. From its beginnings as a manufacturer of lamps, it evolved into an infamous Nazi arms manufacturer with many factories across Europe using slave labor from concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald, as well as numerous ghettos in Poland. Many thousands of Jews and other prisoners perished working for HASAG under the most execrable conditions.
[Related item: 2016.1.05]