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Forced Labor in the Ghettos and Labor Detachments

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Forced Labor in the Ghettos and Labor Detachments CHAPTER 3 Forced Labor in the Ghettos and Labor Detachments abor in both the ghettos and labor detachments is discussed here together Lbecause forced labor occurred in all places of residence, even though indi- vidual or group employment was performed inside and outside the ghetto. The main difference lies in the fact that outside the ghetto, usually organized work- ing groups were sent to carry out work under guard. These groups departed in the morning and returned in the evening after working. However, the institu- tion of forced labor in the ghettos and labor detachments is just one aspect of a broader issue that included all types of work and business within the Jewish economy during the German occupation. In the present chapter, the issues of forced labor and self-employment (praca wolnonajemna) will be discussed. However, we have to take into account the fact that the Jewish economy during the Nazi occupation was not free, due to the existing legislation, which not only limited businesses greatly, but also resulted in a restriction of personal liberty and freedom of movement that actually forced the Jews into a specific state of affairs. Jews as a persecuted ethnic group, even in the case of free rent (wolny najem), were not only in a forced situation, but had been seen as inferior in relation to other population groups. Therefore, in addition to what is formally called forced labor, other work, even the free hiring, was de facto forced labor due to the prevailing conditions. In addition, Jewish working groups were usually subordinate to a non-Jewish superior, and that caused more negative consequences for the Jews. Prior to the determination of competence in the employment of the Jewish labor force, certain patterns of informal exploitation of the Jewish labor began to emerge. As mentioned above, the Jews were arrested in order to per- form the clean-up jobs, transportation, and other work on the use and repair of equipment of these works, as well as different jobs for German military units Forced Labor in the Ghettos and Labor Detachments CHAPTER 3 75 and institutions. This work required skilled human resources capable of execut- ing such works as well as a constant flow of those workers in sufficient quan- tities. Stopping passersby on the street would supply a sufficient number of workers, but it provided neither healthy workers, nor those having the appro- priate qualifications. In spite of these drawbacks, during the first months of occupation, random people were typically stopped on the streets in order to be exploited for work. Because most often it concerned military units, the SS and police, and not the civil business organizations, this practice had a tendency towards ruthlessness and did not promise economic benefits to the arrested. ESTABLISHMENT AND ACTIVITY OF THE JUDENRÄTE One of the first Jewish institutions created by the German authorities was the Jewish council (Judenrat; pl. Judenräte). Superficially, it might appear that the Jewish Council was a continuation of the pre-war Jewish community orga- nization of Poland. The similarity stems from the fact that both the new and pre-war Jewish community organizations dealt with the internal affairs of Jewish residents. Moreover, some leaders of Jewish communities also served as important functionaries in the Jewish council during the interwar period as well as in the Jewish administration during the occupation. On the other hand, the Judenrat was, primarily, a German institution, created by the occupation authorities to carry out their commands and to exercise the administrative functions of the Jewish communities and ghettos. In some localities, such as in Warsaw, the German authorities (Gestapo) disbanded the Jewish council on October 4, 1939 and appointed in its place a Council of Elders.1 Among the principal documents serving as a basis for the creation of Jewish councils was Heydrich’s telegraphic message of September 21, 1939, which contained specific instructions: Councils of Jewish Elders. 1) In each Jewish community a Council of Jewish Elders is to be set up which, as far as possible, is to be composed of the remaining author- itative personalities and rabbis. The Council is to be composed of up to 24 male Jews (depending on the size of the Jewish community). The Council is to be made fully responsible, in the literal sense of the word, 1 Arad and Gutman, Documents on the Holocaust, 188; B. Mintz and L. Klausner, eds., Sefer ha-Zeva’ot [Book of Abominations] (Jerusalem: R. Mass, 1945), vol. 1, 1–2. 76 Macht Arbeit Frei? for the exact and prompt implementation of directives already issued or to be issued in the future. 2) In case of sabotage of such instructions, the Councils are to be warned that the most severe measures will be taken.2 An additional task of the Jewish councils, according to the instructions of Heydrich, was to conduct a census of all Jews by gender and age groups: up to 16, from 16 to 20, and over 20. Jewish councils were also to be responsible for the assemblage of Jews in the cities. According to the statement: “They are to be made personally responsible for the evacuation of the Jews from the coun- tryside.”3 And further: “The Councils of Elders in the concentration centers are to be made responsible for the appropriate housing of the Jews arriving from the countryside.”4 Despite the very limited task of the Jewish councils, their most significant feature was that they were created by the German authorities in order to perform administrative functions. It is important to underline per- sonal responsibility for carrying out the instructions of the German authorities. However, despite the fact that the Jewish councils were set up by the Germans, the continuity of personnel and lack of other Jewish institutions meant that the Jewish councils, since their inception, were forced to take upon themselves considerable administrative and organizational functions, even if in formal terms they were not compelled to do so. The regulation issued on November 1939 by Governor General Dr. Hans Frank concerning the establishment of Jewish councils, in fact, changed noth- ing in comparison with Heydrich’s telegraphic message of September 21, 1939. Hans Frank ordered that in communities (Gemeinde in German, or gminy in Polish) of up to 10,000 people a council of 12 members was to be set up; in communities over that number the council would have 24 members. Members of the community had to choose the councils, and the Jewish council in turn was to choose from among its members a chairman and his deputy. Council elections were to be held no later than December 31, 1939, and elected council 2 Instructions by Heydrich on policy and operations concerning Jews in the occupied territo- ries, September 21, 1939. See Arad and Gutman, Documents on the Holocaust, 174; Eisenbach and Rutkowski, Eksterminacja Żydów, 21–29. 3 Instructions by Heydrich on policy and operations concerning Jews in the occupied territo- ries, September 21, 1939. See Arad and Gutman, Documents on the Holocaust, 174; Eisenbach and Rutkowski, Eksterminacja Żydów, 21–29. 4 Instructions by Heydrich on policy and operations concerning Jews in the occupied territo- ries, September 21, 1939. See Arad and Gutman, Documents on the Holocaust, 175; Eisenbach and Rutkowski, Eksterminacja Żydów, 21–29. Forced Labor in the Ghettos and Labor Detachments CHAPTER 3 77 members were to be submitted for approval to the local German authorities (Kreishauptmann or Stadthauptmann).5 Paragraph 5 of this regulation defines the tasks of the board as follows: The Jewish council is obliged to accept orders from the German author- ities by means of its chairman or his deputy. It accounts for the correct and conscientious carrying out of these orders. Jewish men and Jewish women have to obey instructions given by it and to comply with German regulations.6 In addition to this regulation, two other executive orders were issued on April 25 and June 7, 1940.7 In light of these provisions, all commands had to be directed to the Jewish councils through county governors (Stadthauptmann or Kreishauptmann). The orders, however, did not specify anything about forced labor. Nevertheless, the Jewish councils, despite the responsibilities set before them by the occupation authorities, had reached a crossroads of different tasks and expectations on the part of the Jewish institutions and the Jewish commu- nity. The newspaper Gazeta Żydowska worded this clearly: The Council is responsible for dealing with the obligations that the authorities have imposed on the Jewish public, and at the same time it conveys to the authorities the requirements of this same population. In this way, the Council has become the sole representative and media- tor between the Jewish population and the authorities. For this purpose, it has been conferred with certain rights, and authority in some matters. The Council has become the central place where all the various Jewish affairs are organized. This gives it certain rights but also imposes duties. The maintenance of balance between these rights and duties is a difficult task, but an important one, and the satisfactory relationship between the Council and the public depends on its achievement.8 The balance between the commands of the German authorities, which were coercive in relation to the Jewish people, and between the expectations 5 VBlGG, 1939, no. 9, 72; Eisenbach and Rutkowski, Eksterminacja Żydów, 74. 6 Eisenbach and Rutkowski, Eksterminacja Żydów, 74. 7 VBlGG, 1940, vol. 2, 249, 387. 8 Gazeta Żydowska, December 23, 1940, 206. 78 Macht Arbeit Frei? of the Jewish community that Jewish councils would take care of all the communities’ problems, was difficult and sometimes impossible. In addition, problems associated with the provision of financial resources, for current activ- ity of the councils and its administration and for social welfare and health care while under general impoverishment and increased morbidity, were acute.
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