The history of Forced Labour under the National Socialism
People from all over Europe fell victim to the system of forced labour established under National Socialism. Between 1939 and 1945, more than 12 million people, the majority of them from Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, had to work in the German Reich and in German occupied regions. They toiled under inhuman conditions in armaments factories and in agriculture in order to satisfy the steep rise in the labour demand of the German war economy. Forced labourers were also employed in all areas of society.
The majority of the German population approved of the system of forced labour. It took almost 60 years before German society was willing to address this issue.
In the preamble to the Foundation Law, the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” was given a mandate to keep alive the remembrance of National Socialist injustice for future generations. Accordingly, the Foundation supports a wide spectrum of projects that explore the history of forced labour under National Socialism and raise awareness of this theme among the general public. Use the navigation bar to access more information on publications, internet sites and exhibitions on the history of forced labour under National Socialism.
Publication of documents
Within the framework of the payments process, applicants presented various forms of documentation as evidence of their fate as forced labourers. The documents supplied by former forced labourers in various countries range from imprisonment release certificates, workbooks, repatriation certificates and filtration files through to archive materials and eyewitness reports. In addition, photographs, postcards and personal descriptions, some of which contain impressive sketches of various locations, have been supplied to give credence to their accounts. The Federal Foundation plans several publications based on these materials.
The final report of the Foundation on the activities of the payments programmes has already been published. This appeared under the title Gemeinsame Verantwortung und moralische Pflicht (joint responsibility and a moral duty) in June 2007 and is now on sale in bookshops.
Archives containing application documents
The Foundation EVZ and its partners made payments to former forced labourers on the basis of applications received. Around 2.2 million people submitted applications for symbolic compensation. In agreement with its partners, the Foundation took pains to ensure the procedure was as unbureaucratic as possible. The deadline for the submission of applications was 31 December 2001.
During the process, the applicants provided a vast number of documents and descriptions as evidence of their suffering. The partner organisations handed over some of the application documents to national archives, to which restricted access is available. Below is a list of archives and the conditions of access.
Germany
The files compiled at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on compensation for forced labour and on restitution for property loss are kept at the German federal archives (Bundesarchiv). The use of this information is subject to the legal provisions on securing and using the archive materials of the Federal Government (Bundesarchivgesetz – Federal archive law) of 6 January 1988 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 62), most recently amended through § 13 Para. 2 of the Informationsfreiheitsgesetz (Federal freedom of information law) of 5 September 2005 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2722).Applications for access - stating theme and purpose of use - may be addressed to the Bundesarchiv.
Bundesarchiv
Potsdamer Str. 1
56075 Koblenz
Russian Federation
The documents were handed over to the state archive. They will not be available for use until the processing activities have been completed there.
State Archive of the Russian Federation ul.
Bolschaja Pirogovskaja 17
119817 Moscow Russia
Belarus
The documents are kept at the Belarusian Republic foundation “Mutual Understanding and Reconciliation”
Belarusian Republic foundation “Mutual Understanding and Reconciliation”
vul.Ja. Kolasa 39a
220013 Minsk Belarus
Czech Republic
Restricted access to the application documents is possible for research purposes . The documents are kept at the Czech national archive. Researchers wishing to use the archive require permission from the German-Czech Future Fund.
Czech National Archive
Archivní 4/2257
CZ 149 00 Prague 4 – Chodovec
Czech Republic
German-Czech Future Fund
Na Kazance 634/7
171 000 Praha 7 – Troja
Czech Republic
Ukraine
The central state archive provides information on the documents. Researchers attached to institutions may apply to inspect the documents. A written request must be submitted by the organisation on whose behalf the research is being carried out.
Central State Archive of Ukraine
ul. Solomenskaja 24
03110 Kiev Ukraine
www.archives.gov.ua/Archives/index.php?ca03
Poland
The Polish-German Reconciliation Foundation is planning to post information on the conditions of use on its website.
Polish-German Reconciliation Foundation
ul. Krucza 36
00-921 Warsaw Poland
