Rules for Forced Labor

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»Where they can go by foot, they have to do the necessary distance by foot.«

Instruction of the SS on the control of forced laborers, 1943

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»Excursions, visits and pleasure trips are not permitted.«

Order of the Munich Police President on dealing with forced laborers, 1944

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»No going out. Exit only closed under supervision and guidance. Three hours a week until nightfall.«

Code of conduct of the Munich Police Headquarters for forced laborers from the Soviet Union, 1943

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»Anyone who refuses to work will be sent to forced labor in a concentration camp.«

Leaflet for forced laborers from the Soviet Union, 1942

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»The use of public transportation is only permitted with special permission from the local police authority.«

From the regulations for Polish forced laborers in the German Reich, 1941

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»Beware of false ingratiation and avoid intimate contact.«

Rules of conduct for Germans towards forced laborers in Sömmerda, 1944

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»Conversations of any kind with these workers are prohibited during and outside working hours.«

Instruction to German employees of the Weimar Gustloff-Werke on how to behave towards forced laborers, 1942

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»Leaving the residence is strictly prohibited.«

From the regulations for Polish forced laborers in the German Reich, 1941

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»All laborers must always wear the insignia visibly on the right breast pocket of every item of clothing and they must be sewn on securely.«

From the regulations for Polish forced laborers in the German Reich, 1941

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»All social contact with the German population is prohibited.«

From the regulations for Polish forced laborers in the German Reich, 1941

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»Help to eradicate the slackers and idlers, it is to our own benefit.«

Rules of conduct for Germans towards forced laborers from a Munich company newspaper, 1942

The Nazis considered the presence of millions of forced laborers in the German Reich a great danger—for public security as well as for the “racial purity” of the Germans. In order to ward off these supposed dangers, the Nazi security apparatus and labor administration issued harsh regulations beginning in 1940 and impacting the presence and behaviour of forced laborers. The “Poland Decree” went into effect in February 1940, and the “Eastern Workers Decree” was introduced in 1942. Overall, a complex range of regulations dictated all aspects of life for forced laborers.

Racism by the Book

Germans were also constantly confronted with strict and moralizing codes of behaviour towards forced laborers. They were strictly forbidden from having any contact with them or providing any form of help. A racist ideology guided all aspects of life.

You can see a comic-like illustration in two parts. On the left is a scene of a family sitting at the dining table with a forced laborer. The words "Not like this..." are written above the scene. On the right is a scene where the forced laborer is sitting in a separate room while the family eats their meal. The words "But like this!" can be read above it. — "Picture of the week". Amstettner Anzeiger, April 18, 1943: On farms, forced laborers were to eat their meals separately from Germans.

©Bibliothek der Universität Wien

Hierarchies and Regulations

In correspondence with the Nazi racial ideology, forced laborers were subject to different rules depending on their race. At the very top of the racial hierarchy were “Arian” Germans as the master race, followed by people from northern and western Europe. At the bottom of the ladder were Poles, Soviet workers (Eastern Workers or Ostarbeiter) and finally Jews and Sinti and Roma. People from Poland, the Soviet Union, and Jewish people had to wear badges on their clothing. They were not allowed to move freely and were subject to draconian punishments.