Arbeidseinsatz

The Arbeitseinsatz (Labor Deployment) was the German term for forced labor during the Third Reich, from 1933 to 1945. During this period, labor deployment was primarily used to employ foreign workers (Fremdarbeiter), brought from the occupied territories, in the German war industry. Between 1938 and 1945, approximately 7.7 million foreign individuals were employed by the Nazis in Germany, ultimately accounting for half of all personnel in the German arms and munitions industry during the war years.

Even before the official announcement in May 1943, Dutch workers were employed in Germany. Unemployed people in the Netherlands were required to accept work in Germany in order to receive support or benefits, as had been customary even before the war.

In February 1941, Reich Commissioner of the Netherlands Arthur Seyss-Inquart issued a decree mandating that Regional Employment Offices be obligated, upon request by the Nazis, to carry out work for the Germans within occupied Netherlands for a period to be determined.

The general Arbeitseinsatz in occupied Netherlands was announced in May 1943, following earlier sporadic calls for labor inspections. That month, all young men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five received a summons to report for the Arbeitseinsatz. Many went into hiding or tried to obtain an exemption through a medical examiner or an influential person.

The compulsory Arbeitseinsatz from May 1943 initially produced limited results. Consequently, the Germans expanded the age range to seventeen to forty years old and conducted raids to capture people, who were then sent to work in Germany.

Ultimately, the Nazis managed to mobilize only about one-third of the one and a half million Dutch people who were supposed to go to Germany for forced labor, which amounts to approximately half a million workers. This had significant consequences for many Dutch families, with men going into hiding or disappearing to Germany.

Many Fremdarbeiter in Germany also died, partly due to bombings on arms and munitions factories and outbreaks of disease in the labor camps. In our region, cigar makers were a common occupational group. Due to a shortage of tobacco during the war, many of them became redundant, making them a sought-after target for the German war industry. However, some cigar makers managed to avoid the Arbeitseinsatz by having their occupation changed on their identity cards.