Die heeresgruppe mitte. Ihre rolle bei der deportation Weißrussischer kinder nach Deutschland im frühjahr 1944

Based on German and Belorussian archives as well as on testimonies, this paper examines the deportation of Belorussian children as forced labourers to Germany by units of Army Group Centre in 1944. It analyses the decision-making process, the imprisonment of thousands of children, their deportation, employment in Germany, the role of Belorussian collaborators, and finally the liberation of the children by the Red Army. By focussing on the participation of German military units in deporting child forced labourers, the article sheds light on the contemporary and post-war web of lies to create and maintain the myth of the ‘clean’ Wehrmacht

Von der Gstättn nach Auschwitz. Jüdische Kinderzwangsarbeiter 1938-1945

This lecture is based on a research project that evaluated – alongside contemporary documents – over 500 autobiographical testimonies in which survivors of the Holocaust reported on their time under German occupation, on ghettos and camps, on the fates of their families, and on forced labour. Jewish children were forced to work in all sectors of industry, mining, and agriculture. They worked in the ghettos, in the concentration and extermination camps, and in the construction of motorways and railways, defensive fortifications, barracks, and airstrips. On the basis of a sample, the lecture traces an arc from the forced labour performed by Jewish children in the Viennese dump in 1938 to the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz. In summary, the lecture focuses on the attempts made in the personal testimonies to explain one’s own survival and the lifelong consequences of forced labour in the shadow of the Holocaust

BETWEEN FORCED LABOUR AND GERMANIZATION: BELORUSSIAN ‘BANDITENKINDER’ IN AUSCHWITZ, MAJDANEK, POTULICE AND KONSTANTYNÓW

Mednarodne raziskave so večinoma zanemarile dejstvo, da je bilo med prisilnimi delavci v nacistični Nemčiji in na njenih okupiranih ozemljih v vzhodni Evropi zelo veliko otrok. Delali so v vseh vejah industrije, v kmetijstvu, kot služinčad po nemških domovih, nemška vojska in SS sta jih uporabljala kot delovno silo pri gradnji utrdb, mostov, cest in letališč. Samo iz Poljske in Sovjetske zveze je bilo v Nemčijo deportiranih okrog 1,5 milijona mladoletnih za prisilno delovno silo. Raziskava se opira na velik fond objavljenih in neobjavljenih dokumentov ter pričevanj, osredotoča se na deportirane poljske in sovjetske otroke, ki so v Nemčiji – poleg judovskih prisilnih delavcev – delali v najhujših razmerah. Nemška okupacijska politika je bila na Poljskem in v Sovjetski zvezi veliko bolj kruta kot v drugih državah, deportacije pa najbolj nehumane. Čeprav se osredotočamo na žrtve in njihove izkušnje, bodo obravnavane v širšem in ključnem kontekstu političnih in ideoloških ciljev nacističnih storilcev. Z obravnavo starosti in spola kot dveh kategoriji analize se posebej osredotočamo na: 1. proces deportacije, 2. prihod in domotožje, 3. življenje in delovne pogoje v Nemčiji ter 4. osvoboditev in vrnitev v domovino

Postal testimonies from concentration camps: an often-neglected source

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Yad Vashem. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: [TBC]Review of Heinz Wewer, Spuren des Terrors: Postalische Zeugnisse zum System der deutschen Konzentrationslage

Beyond Holocaust and forced labour: British humanitarian assistance in Germany: relief workers, the liberated and the German people

Follow the additional link to the publisher's homepage, then click on the link to 'Impressum' to find publisher contact details.Abstract in English, text in German. After the Second World War, British voluntary organisations were among the first in the field of international humanitarian assistance in Europe. To begin with, British help was directed only to the survivors of the Holocaust and the German forced labour system, but in late 1945 it was extended to German civilians, in particular to children and refugees. Based on British and German archival material, the monograph examines the interrelations between British humanitarian assistance and British occupation policy in Germany. Special emphasis has been given to the work of British voluntary organisations and the interdependencies between governmental and non-governmental efforts. The study contributes to research on British civil society as well as to the ongoing Opferdebatte (debate on Germans as victims of the war) in Germany. The book is divided into seven chapters: Chapter one is dominated by an analysis of British and international war-time planning; the foundation of the 'United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration', the 'Council of British Societies for Relief Abroad', and the training of welfare workers are examined. Chapter two looks at humanitarian assistance in Europe during the final stage of the war, with a particular focus on the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Chapter three concentrates on the organisation and structure of British humanitarian assistance in Germany, the appeals for funds in Britain and their distribution in Germany. Chapters four and five analyse the help provided for Displaced Persons and the problems of repatriation. Chapter six focuses on the field of German welfare, the reconstruction of German voluntary organisations, and the cooperation between relief teams and the Military Government. Chapter seven examines how NGOs and relief workers viewed their work in Germany, and how they perceived the Displaced Persons and the German population

Food and the Food Crisis in Post-War Germany, 1945-1948: British Policy and the Role of British NGOs

This volume examines conflicts over food and their implications for European societies in the first half of the Twentieth century. Ranging across Europe, from Scandinavia and Britain to Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union, this volume explores the political, economic and cultural dynamics that shaped conflicts over food and their legacies. (Palgrave Macmillan

German Migrants in Post-war Britain

Weber-Newth and Steinert consider German migration to Britain after World War II, using written sources and interviews

Proceedings of the First International Multidisciplinary Conference at the Imperial War Museum, London, 29-31 January 2003

CD with 70 articles (825 pages in print); Accompanying book (100 pages). All articles in English. Follow the additional link to the publisher's homepage, then click on the link to 'Internationale Bezeihungen'to find details of this item and how to purchase it.In recent years the volume of international research on survivors of Nazi persecution has continually increased. At the same time there is a growing public interest in how survivors coped with their experiences and how they were treated by post-war societies. Researched topics are varied, as are the academic disciplines involved – often without taking much notice of each other. It is time to take stock of current research and to open up new perspectives for future work. This book and CD contain 70 selected contributions to the international multidisciplinary conference on Beyond Camps and Forced Labour. Current International Research on Survivors of Nazi Persecution which took place on 29 – 31 January 2003 at the Imperial War Museum, London (The 2nd conference took place in 2006). Edited CD-ROM and Booklet, includes Steinert & Weber Newth 'Beyond Camps and Forced Labour: Current International Research on Survivors of Nazi Persecution', pp. 1-27; Steinert 'British NGOs in Belsen Concentration Camp: Emergency Relief and the Perception of Survivors', pp. 44-57

Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War

The British naval base at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys played a vital role during the Second World War for the Allied war effort. It housed the British Home Fleet and provided a strategic military base for Allied operations in the North Sea, Atlantic and the Arctic. Although Scapa Flow’s military history is well served, the barriers built by Italian prisoners of war (POWs) to strengthen its defences in the early war years have received little attention.1 Britain faced a peculiar dilemma in the Orkneys: defences needed to be fortified given Scapa Flow’s key location and military role, but manpower was extremely scarce. Civilians were reluctant to work on the islands due to harsh and dangerous working conditions. Since efforts to attract them via compulsion and bonus schemes, and to employ migrant workers were insufficient, the government employed 1,200 Italian POWs instead, despite the scheme’s doubtful legality under the Geneva Convention. This article examines the history and significance of the Italians’ employment in the Orkneys and demonstrates that their contribution was vital for the construction of the Churchill barriers. Previous studies have neglected the multiple strikes by the prisoners and their protests against illegal work and some wrongly assume that the prisoners were not participating in the construction of the barriers. This article explicitly examines the legality issue and the prisoners’ extensive employment. Although their employment violated the Geneva Convention, British authorities and neutral delegates deemed it legal, thus securing the barriers’ completion