Forced Labor from 1939 on - Museum Forced Labor Under National Socialism

Forced Labor in Occupied Europe

Large areas of Europe came under the control of Nazi Germany during World War II. In the countries they subdued, the occupiers introduced the already established practice of excluding and exploiting all persons they considered racially inferior. Self-appointed German members of the "master race" had members of the "worker nations" slave away for them; they considered the manpower of these native populations as the spoils of war.

The picture shows a crowd of people gathered in front of an entrance with a temporary sign saying "Labour Office".

“Reichsgau Wartheland” Employment Offices organize Forced Labor

Fall 1939. The Wehrmacht soldiers were followed by the personnel of the employment administration.

Daimler in Minsk German Firms in Occupied Eastern Europe

September 1942. In Minsk, a town which had suffered major destruction, Daimler-Benz ran a large repair facility for motorized Wehrmacht vehicles.

Two women are doing woodwork in a carpenter's workshop. Their clothes are in poor condition.

Litzmannstadt (Łódź) Ghetto A Lost Struggle for Survival

The Litzmannstadt Ghetto, Polish Łódź, was a site of the Shoah.

→ German World War II Conquests

World War II began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. In 1940, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France were occupied in the wake of the "blitzkrieg". Yugoslavia and Greece followed in early 1941, and the Germans attacked the Soviet Union in June of that same year. The area under German control reached its largest extent in 1942, stretching from Norway to North Africa, and from France to the Caucasus Mountains.