Belgian labour in Nazi Germany : a social history
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Date
28/06/2012Author
Harrison, Sharon Maree
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Abstract
The Nazis' deployment of foreigners (Ausländereinsatz) between 1939 and 1945
established one of the largest forced labour programs since the abolition of slavery
during the nineteenth century. Foreign civilians from across Europe were deployed in
Germany's war economy. Between 350,000 and 400,000 Belgian civilians were
deployed in Germany during the Second World War- roughly half of these workers
went to Germany voluntarily, but under a degree of pressure due to the Military
Administration's economic policies in occupied Belgium.
This thesis examines the implementation of the Nazi forced labour program
through the analysis of the lives of Belgians who worked in Germany in the period
1940-1945 and by using a variety of original sources, including the records of the
German Military Administration in Belgium and German and Belgian labour
officials and the accounts of those who lived and worked in Germany. This thesis
proposes a social history of the Nazi foreign labour program with a strong focus on
the history of everyday life, drawing extensively on records such as letters, diaries,
photographs and personal accounts of Belgians who worked in Germany during the
Second World War, as well as hospital, police and judicial records. The employment
patterns and experiences of Belgians deployed in Germany are examined through
detailed case studies of Berlin and Düsseldorf, industrialised cities where Belgians
were deployed in significant numbers.
The Nazi regime divided Belgium's population along linguistic lines:
Belgians were officially subject to differentiated treatment based on whether they
were Flemings or Walloons. Examining the treatment of Belgians by the Nazi regime
and comparing Nazi racial policies and practice, this thesis emphasises the key role
played by local authorities, employers and individual Germans in shaping the
experiences of foreign workers. It is argued that an important distinction must be
made in relation to the material advantages western European workers enjoyed due
to their elevated position in the Nazi racial hierarchy and the benefits individual
foreign workers were able to secure by virtue of their employment skills, linguistic
skills and greater confidence.
The experiences of Belgian workers are also compared and contrasted with
those of other national groups and are related to the broader history of foreign labour
in Nazi Germany. This study also examines the experiences of Belgian women.
While Belgian women represented close to 15 percent of Belgians deployed in
Germany, studies of Belgian labour in Germany have largely overlooked their
experiences. Utilising the limited available sources, this thesis contributes to an
understanding of women's experiences.
By focussing on the social history of the Ausländereinsatz and the stories of
individual Belgians, this thesis maps the varied experiences of Belgians in Germany
during the Second World War, illustrating convergence and divergence from Nazi
racial policy and the fundamental role ordinary Germans played. More importantly,
however, this thesis shows that Belgian civilian workers were not just passive
victims of the German occupation. The decision to go to Germany to work was a
personal one for many Belgian volunteers, based on individual circumstances. In
difficult economic times and with no end to the war in sight, Belgians sought to
navigate the best course for themselves and their families. While conscripts were by
definition not free, as western Europeans Belgians were afforded greater rights and
legal protections, which ensured they had room for manoeuvre and were able to
exercise a significant degree of control over their own destinies.