Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression C. Forced Labor.
The Jews, having been registered and confined within the
ghettos, now furnished a reservoir for slave labor. The
difference between slave labor and "labor duty" was this:
the latter group were entitled to reasonable compensation,
stated working hours, medical care and attention, and other
social security measures, while the former were granted none
of these advantages, being in fact, on a level below that of
slaves.
Rosenberg set up within his organization for the Occupied
Eastern Territories a department which, among other things,
was to seek a solution for the Jewish problem by means of
forced labor. His plans, contained in a memorandum entitled
"General Organizations and Tasks of our Office for the
General Handling of Problems in the Eastern Territory," and
dated 29 April 1941, read as follows:
"A general treatment is required for the Jewish problem
for which a temporary solution will have to be
determined (forced labor for the Jews, creation of
Ghettos, etc.)." (1024-PS)
[Page 989]
Thereafter Rosenberg issued instructions that Jewish forced
labor should be utilized for every manual labor task:
"The standing rule for the Jewish labor employment is
the complete and unyielding use of Jewish manpower
regardless of age in the reconstruction of the occupied
eastern territories."
"Violations against German measures, especially against the
forced labor regulations, are to be punished by death to the
Jews." (212-PS)
From the ghettos Jewish labor was selected and sent to a
concentration area. Here the usable Jews were screened from
those considered worthless. For example, a contingent of
45,000 Jews could be expected to yield 10,000 to 15,000
usable laborers. This estimate is based on an RSHA telegram
to Himmler, marked "Urgent" and "Secret", and dated
16 February 1942:
"In the total of 45,000 are included physically
handicapped and others (old Jews and children). In
making a distribution for this purpose, at least 10,000
to 15,000 laborers will be available when the Jews
arriving at Auschwitz are as: signed." (1472-PS)
The report from Lieutenant General of Police, Katzmann, to
General of the Police East, Krueger, clearly outlines the
nature of the Jewish forced labor:
"The best remedy consisted of the formation, by the SS
and Police Leader, of forced labor camps. The best
opportunity for labor was offered by the necessity to
complete the 'Dg.4' road which was extremely important
and necessary for the whole of the southern part of the
front, and which was in a catastrophically bad
condition. On 15 October 1941, the establishment of
camps along the road was commenced, and despite
considerable difficulties there existed, after a few
weeks only, seven camps containing 4,000 Jews."
*******
"Soon more camps followed these first ones, so that
after a very short time the completion of fifteen camps
of this kind could be reported to the Superior Leader
of SS and Police. In the course of time about 20,000
Jewish laborers passed through these camps. Despite the
hardly imaginable difficulties occurring at this work I
can report today that about 160 kilometer of the road
are completed."
*******
"At the same time all other Jews fit for work were
registered and distributed for useful work by the labor
agencies
[Page 990]
*** When the Jews were marked by the Star of David, as
well as when they were registered by the labor
agencies, the first symptoms appeared in their attempts
to dodge the order of the authorities. The measures
which were introduced thereupon led to thousands of
arrests. It became more and more apparent that the
civil administration was not in a position to solve the
Jewish problem in an approximately satisfactory manner.
Then, for instance, the municipal administration at
Lwow had no success in their attempts to house the Jews
within a closed district which would be inhabited only
by Jews. This question, too, was solved quickly by the
SS and Police Leaders through subordinate officials.
This measure became the more urgent as in the winter,
1941, big centers of spotted fever were noted in many
parts of the town."
*******
"During this removal of the Jews into a certain quarter
of the town several sluices were erected at which all
the work-shy and asocial Jewish rabble were caught
during the screening and treated in a special way.
Owing to the peculiar, fact that almost 900 of artisans
working in Galicia were Jews, the task to be solved
could be fulfilled only step by step, since an
immediate evacuation would not have served the interest
of War Economy."
*******
"*** Cases were discovered where Jews, in order to
acquire any certificate of labor, not only renounced
all wages, but even paid money themselves. Moreover,
the organizing of Jews for the benefit of their
employers grew to such catastrophical extent that it
was deemed necessary to interfere in the most energetic
manner for the benefit of the German name. Since the
administration was not in a position and showed itself
too weak to master this-chaos, the SS and Police Leader
simply took over the entire disposition of labor for
Jews. The Jewish labor agencies, which were manned by
hundreds of Jews, were dissolved. All certificates of
labor given by firms or administrative offices were
declared invalid, and the cards given to the Jews by
the labor agencies were revalidated by the police
offices by stamping them. In the course of this action,
again, thousands of Jews were caught who were in
possession of forged certificates or who had obtained,
surreptitiously, certificates of labor by all kinds of
pretexts. These Jews also were exposed to special
treatment." (L-18)
The
original plaintext version
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Volume
I Chapter XII
The Persecution of the Jews
(Part 6 of 14)