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1940

Labour Under Nazi Rule

William Alexander Robson

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Recommended Citation Robson, William Alexander, "Labour Under Nazi Rule" (1940). Rare Books and Manuscripts. 12. https://digital.kenyon.edu/rarebooks/12

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By WILLIAM A. ROBSON THE WORLD TO-DAY A new series of short illustrated books, df. about 100 pages each, designed to gifg Iler ttnent to cetbiin topics of LD AFFAIRS outstanding importance th~ can be given within the compass of an Oxford Pamphl .. T.he books are bound in cloth boards, price 2s. 6d. net each. The first four titles all deal with the New World. Tlze first two volumes are J. . ~BOUR UNDER U.S.A. By D. w. BROGAN. With as illwtratiotu in half-tone and a map. NAZI RULE In this brilliant little volume Professor Brogan answers just the sort of questiQns that ..the average English reader asks about the Un~ States of America. He gives a vivid picture of the American seen~, of !Pe people, their government, their religiens, press, BY education, literature,.,theatre, sport, cinema, and social.lifa. The text of the constitution of the United States is printed u an WILLIAM A. ROBSON appendix. and AMERICA'S ECONOMIC STRENGTH By c. J. HITCH. With 18 illustratiom in half-tone, a map, and 16 diagrams. This book gives a short account, in non technical language, of the development and organization of American Economy, with special reference to its relation to the war in Europe. The im­ portance of the United Statei 11t a producer of food, raw materials, industrial products, planes, and munitions is examined, and the financial and trade position described. In preparation LATIN AMERICA CANADA B:yJ.L~ B:y B. K, SANDWELL

LIES AS ALLIES OT HITLER AT WAB B~ VISCOUNT MAWHAM PtJPn eoom, 6d. OXFORD "'· 11. ,,., This accqunt of Oeiinap }llen~ mote~ ~mont AT THE CLARENDON PRESS of what is senCRI knbwJe4p. It is the comid indict;qieni by a lawyer of hish diatindion who, Wltil l'eCelttly,~ wea Lord Cliancell()! of Great Britain, of a me~od of ~ wbich tho G4rm~ FUhre.r hu foduced to • acienoe by the. en)plojqleQt of wlUch he hopes to mislead neutrel opimon &Rd co hOodwink tho Gcrnwi public. HITLER'S achievement in abolishing unemployment has LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE been much admired outside Germany as well as inside. ~he extent to which industrial servitude and regimenta­ HE position of the workers in a community .tion have been exacted as the price of that achievement is T is not only extremely important as an index either not realized, or is glossed over as though it were of economic and social welfare, but it is also highly merely an. irrelevant incident. This Pamphlet describes significant from a political point of view. Funda­ t~e. swe:pmg changes that have been made by the Nazi mental changes in the purposes or constitution of a regime m the status and organization of labour from regime are quickly reflected in an alteration of the ~he liquidation of the highly progressive German'work­ status and condition of the labouring masses. It mg-~l~ss mo~ement. in 1933 down to the system of would be possible to cite innumerable instances unffiltigated mdustnal conscription introduced since 1938. 'The employed masses of German men and drawn from past and present times to illustrate the women have ceased to be free citizens of the world of close connexion between the status of the workers labou~. They have entered a state of peonage the like and the political regime under which they live. of which has not been seen in the countries of Western The tremendous change which German labour Europe for centuries.' has undergone since the accession to power of the D~. W. A. Robson is University Reader in Admini­ Nazi party is, therefore, in no way a matter for strative Law at the London School of Economics· and surprise. It is, nevertheless, of great significance as is an authority on industrial law and relations. fie is an indication of the underlying aims and philosophy Joint Editor of the Political Quarterly and the author of of the Hitler government. many well-known works on law and government. Before 1933 Germany was one of the most progressive countries in the world so far as the position of organized labour was concerned. The German working-class movement started to emerge First Published 4th July Ig40 on its industrial side about l 860, and, except for a Reprinted ISthJuly I940, Feb. I94I period of legal proscription under Bismarck be­ tween 1878 and 1890, trade unions grew con­ tinuously until 1922, when the membership reached a peak of over nine millions. Thereafter the num­ bers declined to rather less than six millions in 1929. Printed in Great Britain and published by On its political side, the movement founded the THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Amen House, E.c. 4 Social Democratic party as early as 1890; and by LONDON EDTNDURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE CAPETOWN BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS l 914 this party polled nearly 4 t million votes, a HUMPHREY MILFORD Publisher to the University third of the whole electorate. Bismarck, although 4655·33 4 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE strongly hostile and repressive towards the Socialist LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 5 mo~e1?ent, was ~ pioneer in initiating a system of States in the protection afforded to her workers social msurance m Germany. against excessively long hours of work. The most important feature of working-class pro­ Labour under the Weimar Republic gress in Germany was, however, the establishment After the Great W~r of 1914-~8 the most striking of works councils 'to protect the common interests advances were made m German mdustrial relations. of employees against the employer'. The Works Coll~ctive bargaining had hitherto not been fully Councils Act, 1920, set up works councils in all recogmzed under the civil law. One of the first establishments employing twenty workers or more. step.s after the revolutionary upheaval which accom­ The members were eleeted by the employees alone pamed the defeat of Germ~ny was an Order (dated from among their own ranks, and the number varied 23 pecember 1918) regulatmg collective bargaining. from three to thirty according to the size of the T~is decree gave exclusive recognition to trade enterprise. umons as contracting parties on the workers' side The works council was authorized to co-operate and conferred a new and enhanced status on th~ with the management in improving industrial effi­ collective bargain .. The Order was confirmed by ciency and in introducing new labour methods. It an Act of th.e Nat10na! Assembly in March 1919. was empowered to promote industrial peace; to It gav~ an immense impetus to the practice of supervise the carrying out of collective agreements; collective bargaining, and in consequence to the to negotiate with the employer on the question of power of the trade unions. It authorized the Minis­ works rules. It was to assist the factory inspectors ter of Lab~ur to ~x!end a collective agreement, in improving industrial hygiene and in reducing under certam condit10ns, to unorganized workers. the number of accidents. It was to co-operate in By 1922 ~h~ conditions of employment of more the administration of welfare schemes in the t~an 14 mtlhon workers were determined by collec­ factory. tive agreements. The works councils were not designed to usurp In. 1919 legislation provided for a maximum the functions of the trade unions; on the contrary, working day of eight hours and a maximum working they depended for their success on the closest week of forty-eight hours, a break of thirty-six collaboration with the unions. The general regula­ ho~rs of continuous rest during the week, a half­ tion of wages and hours was not normally dealt with hohday on .Saturday, and restrictions on night work. by the works council, except in so far as this was Although mroads were made later on these stan­ covered by works rules (Arbeitsordnung), for which ~ards, it is nevertheless true that throughout the its approval was required. It could intervene to hfe of the Weimar Republic Germany remained prevent the dismissal of workers, or appeal on their substantially in advance of England and the United behalf to the Labour Court to secure reinstatement or the payment of monetary compensation as an 6 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 7 alternative. It was charged with seeing that indus­ and included all labour cases previously coming trial legislation was duly observed by the employer. before the civil courts. They were competent to It could demand a quarterly report from the em­ decide questions relating to particular disagree­ ployer concerning wages, output, profits, and other ments between individual employers and employees, matters relevant to the claims of labour. It had and disputes arising out of collective agreements. access to wages books and other information. It Elaborate machinery for conciliation was also set could require the presentation of accounts with full up. This was of two kinds: official conciliation explanations. It had a statutory right to nominate boards or conciliators appointed by the Ministry one or two members on the board of directors of a of Labour; and unofficial or voluntary conciliation joint stock company. organs. The works councils were extremely successful in Where no settlement of a trade dispute could be regard to that part of their work which concerned obtained by agreement, one of the conciliation the safeguarding of the employees' immediate in­ officers (Schlichter) or the Minister of Labour could terest: in such matters, for example, as the super­ in the last resort declare a decision to be binding vision of collective bargains, the protection of in­ on both parties. Such awards were intended to be dividual workmen against victimization or harsh imposed only in very exceptional circumstances; treatment, and in generally upholding the workers' and the main responsibility for determining the rights in office, mine, and factory. They were on conditions of employment was originally left with the whole far less effective in respect of those func­ the representatives of the industry. tions which were intended to enable them to parti­ Gradually, however, more and more use came to cipate in the management of the enterprise. be made of the Government's powers until, under Taking it all in all, the Works Councils Act un­ the Bruning administration, the actual declaration questionably constituted a decisive step in the direc­ or the contingent possibility of a compulsory wage tion of industrial democracy. The works council award by one of the conciliation officials became of movement represented, indeed, the most notable great importance in industrial negotiations. This rise in the status of the workers by hand and brain devdopment had the effect of weakening the power which occurred in the Western countries during the and undermining the influence of the trade unions last twenty years. because they were unable to demand conditions Another progressive measure was the Labour better than those fixed by the official award or likely Courts Act, 1926. This set up local Labour Courts, to be so fixed. It thus contributed to the disastrous district Labour Courts of appeal, and a Reich breakdown in the power of organized labour when Labour Court at Leipzig to act as the ultimate it was faced with the Nazi challenge in 1933· tribunal of revision. This brief account will give some idea, however The jurisdiction of these courts was very wide, inadequate, of the remarkable position attained by 8 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 9 labour under the Weimar Republic. Great advances January 1933· On 2 May the Nazis seized all trade­ were made in the power of trade unions· a vast union buildings, arrested all the union leaders, and ex~e-?sion took place in the scope of collective bar­ confiscated the trade-union property. In the follow­ gammg; the works councils enabled the employees ing month the Social Democratic party was sup­ to safeguard and uphold the rights of the workers pressed and the few remaining leaders taken into in a new and unprecedented manner; the labour custody. In July the formation of all new parties courts gave the ~epresentatives of the workpeople was forbidden. From that moment the German ~n equ_al ~h~re with t~e ~mployer's representatives labour movement was liquidated. It has been m ~he judicial ~~te_rmmat10n of industrial disputes; truly said that Germany no longer has any working­ while the conctliat10n machinery did much to pro­ class organization in the accepted meaning of the mote the peaceful settlement of large-scale conflicts. term. The trade unions were, moreover entrusted with In January 1934 the Nazis promulgated the 'Act important functions in the admi~istration of the for the organization of national labour' in which the social insurance system. leading principles of the new dispensation are to be At every point the right of the organized workers found. This statute repealed eleven Acts and Orders to be represented by men of their own choosing containing almost the whole mass of labour law was recognized. At every stage the force of law was which had been passed since 1918. given to rights previously non-existent or existing The first part of the National Labour Act deals only precariously here and there as a matter of with the leader of the establishment and the con­ practice. In every instance the manifest aim of the fidential council. In each establishment the owner State was to promote freedom and responsibility of the undertaking as the leader (or Fuhrer) and the for the workpeople, and to assist them in the salaried and wage-earning employees as his followers str':1ggle for_ in~ustrial democracy. The regime re­ or vassals (Gefolgschaft) are directed to 'work to­ mamed capitalist, and therefore did not satisfy the gether for the furtherance of the purposes of the rev?lutionary wing of the working-class movement, establishment and for the benefit of the nation and which demanded a fundamental change in the the State in general'. There are several exhortatory economic order; but its achievements represented provisions of this kind which have no precise mean­ an enormous advance for labour over the previous ing and no legal significance whatever. condition of affairs. The proprietor of a business is transformed by the Act into its Fuhrer, but the change is merely The Liquidation of the Working-class Movement verbal. The Act lays it down that the leader is to Th~ subject of in?ustrial relations engaged the make decisions for his followers in all matters attent1.on of the Nazi G_overnment shortly after its affecting the establishment. He is enjoined to pro­ access10n to power. Hitler became Chancellor in mote their welfare, and they in turn are bidden to 12 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE l 3 indication of the manner in which the bonds of conflict so long as the objective conditions which community within the undertaking are to be produce it are unchanged. There is no objective strengthened. change of this kind in Nazi Germany. On National Labour Day (1 May) the members The confidential council is to be convened when of the confidential council are required to take a necessary by the leader of the firm or at the solemn oath before the followers 'to perform the request of half the confidential men. The office is duties of their office exclusively for the benefit of an honorary one, and terminates when the holder the establishment and of the nation as a whole of it leaves his employment or resigns. A confi­ setting aside all private interests, and to set a~ dential man may not, however, be dismissed unless economic conditions necessitate the closing of the exa~ple t~ the members of the establishment by the life which they lead and the way in which they works or department in which he is employed; perform their duties'. This ludicrous ceremony or unless he commits misconduct. But he may be scarcely amounts to more than an attempt to removed by the Labour Trustee on the grounds of overcome the conflict of interests between employer his unsuitability in circumstances or person. and employees by means of a verbal incantation. The Labour Trustees It is. obvious t.hat. wh.ere the instruments of pro­ duction and distnbut10n are privately owned (as The all-powerful labour trustees (Treuhiinder ~hey are in. Germany) the interests of the partners der Arbeit) are Reich officials appointed by the in product10n-labour and capital-are in some Government for large economic areas. They come respec~s similar ~nd in .other ~espects conflicting. under the direction of the Minister of Labour. As against. other industries or nval undertakings in Their task, broadly, is to ensure the main­ the same industry or as against consumers or in tenance of industrial peace. They are aided im­ any sphere where there is a struggle to obtain a mensely in this task by the fact that strikes and larger share of the national income there is within lock-outs are not tolerated and although not a particular commercial or indust;ial undertaking formally proscribed by law would be instantly a genuine identity of interest between employer suppressed by strong-arm methods; that there are and employees. But within each industrial or no trade unions; that agitators or even critics of commercial firm there is also a conflict of interest industrial conditions are sent without delay to a between the employees, who desire a higher rate of concentration camp. But they are given a number wages, and the employer, who seeks a higher rate of positive powers by which to achieve their of pro~t or increased earnings of management. No statutory purpose. They supervise the formation mouthing of ~erbal formulae emphasizing the and activities of the confidential councils; they ~orks commumty and the subordination of private are authorized to give decisions where an appeal is interests to the common welfare will abolish this lodged by a majority of the confidential council LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE l 5 against the general conditions of employment duties some of which will be mentioned later. formulated by an employer-a power which is They 'act as the eyes and ears and mouthpiece of seldom invoked since the confidence men are not the central go~ernment in all matters concerning the representatives of the workers; they supervise labour conditions. The tendency has been to the observance of the factory or workshop rules; increase their powers and importance since .they they lay down principles guiding the general were first created in 1934· Under the National lines on which factory rules and individual con­ Labour Act it is a criminal offence for any person tracts of employment are to be framed. Most wilfully and repeatedly to contravene instructions important of all, they can lay down wage-rates for issued by a labour trustee. all classes of workers. At first their power in this The labour trustees were required to appoint respect was confined to the fixing of minimum rates councils of experts from the various branches of of remuneration in cases where it was 'urgently industry in their territory for consultation on needed for the protection of the persons employed general questions. Three-quarters of the members in a group of establishments'. Between 1934 and were to be chosen from lists drawn up by the the end of 1937 several thousand wage determina­ German Labour Front, and had to contain a tions of this kind were issued. The policy was to considerable proportion of confidential men and maintain the basic wage-rates operating at the an equal number of employers. The labour beginning of 1934· But these were minima, and trustees may also appoint committees of expei::s to employers were free to offer higher rates if they advise them in individual cases. These advisory wished. bodies are of so nebulous a character, and their Since 1938, however, a decree promulgated to powers so ill defined, that they need not be implement the Four-Year Plan has enabled the seriously considered as a brake on the wheel of labour trustees to fix maximum as well as minimum autocracy. In practice they have been a dead letter. rates in all branches of industry. Any departure On l September 1939 a decree was issu.ed per­ from the scheduled rate is punishable by imprison­ mitting the labour trustees to determme the ment or fine of unlimited amount. On the outbreak guiding principles for establishment rules . and of the present war the labour trustee was authorized individual contracts of employment, and to issue to lay down employment conditions even for a par­ collective rules, without consulting a committee of ticular factory or firm. In this way the control over experts. remuneration has passed from the trade union and the employers' association to a non-elective public Social Honour Courts official; the voluntary collective bargain has been The National Labour Act set up a series of superseded by the coercive wage determination. institutions known as Social Honour Courts. The labour trustees have many other powers and These consist of the Labour Court judges sitting IO LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE be loyal to him as fellow members of the works LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE I I community. The owner, ~r directors of a company, the persons to be noininated, or if the followers may appomt a person taking a responsible part in failed to approve the list, the Labour Trustee-a the management to represent him or them. State official of whom more will be said later-was In establishments employing not less than authorized to appoint the confidential council. twenty persons V ertrauensmanner ('confidential Even this slight opportunity given by the men') ~re to be appointed from among the followers original Act for the workers to register their to a~v1se the leader. Under his presidency they approval or disapproval of the list of persons constitute the V ertrauensrat ('confidential council') nominated for the confidential council was with­ of the works or business. drawn at an early stage. Since 1935 there have been no further 'elections', and the confidential The Confidential Council men who then held office have been continued in The size of the confidential council varies their positions ever since. from two to ten per~ons, according to the magni­ The functions of a confidential council are vastly tude of the undertakmg. A confidential man must different from those performed by a negotiating be not less than twenty-five years old. He must organ in countries where the workers are free to have worked in the unde-i;taking for at least a year appoint their own representatives to· bargain or and have been engaged m the same occupation co-operate with the employer or his association. for at least two years. He must be in possession The all-important questions of wages and hours of of civic rights and belong to the German Labour work are removed from its jurisdiction. Front. He must, moreover, be 'characterized by Instead, the council is entrusted with the duty exemplarr human qualities, and guaranteed to of 'strengthening mutual confidence within the devote himself unreservedly at all times to the works community'. It may give advice concerning National State'. He must, in short be a complete measures directed to increasing efficiency; the Nazi. ' formulation and carrying out of the general condi­ That this is the obvious intention is made clear tions of employment; safety measures, and the by the method of appointment. The Act required strengthening of the ties which bind the various that once a year the leader of the establishment members of the establishment to one another and should ?raw up a I_ist of confidential men in agree­ to the establishment. It must endeavour to settle m~nt _with the c~airman of the Nazi 'cell' or party disputes within the factory. Its views must be urut m the busmess. The faithful vassals were obtained before penalties are imposed under the then supposed to have the privilege of voting for factory rules. or against the list by ballot. If the works Fuhrer In all these matters the council exercises only and the local Nazi chairman could not agree on advisory powers. The employer is not compelled to accept its recommendations. Nor is there any 16 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 17 with assessors appointed from nominees of the position, since it is on his application that the German Labour· Front drawn from employers and matter comes before the Social Honour Court. confidential men. They are authorized to try He m~y attend the trial and make recommendations. 'gross breaches of the social duties based on the Once again, too, we find in this part of the works community' which constitute offences against National Labour Act an incantation reflecting the social honour. position of submission into which the labouring Offences of this kind are deemed to have been masses have been forced by their present masters. committed when an employer or other person in a Every member of a works community, it is declared, managerial position abuses his authority by 'mali­ shall be responsible for the conscientious perfor­ ciously exploiting the labour of any of his followers mance of the duties incumbent upon him in conse­ or wounding their sense of honour' ; when a quence of his position in that community. 'He shall follower-that is, an employee--endangers indus­ conduct himself in such a manner as to show him­ trial peace by maliciously provoking other followers, self worthy of the respect due to his position in the and in particular when a confidential man interferes works community. In particu.lar, he shall devote all unduly in the conduct of the business or disturbs his powers to the service of the establishment and the community spirit within the works; when a subserve the common good, always bearing in mind worker repeatedly makes frivolous and unjustifiable his responsibility.' This is not law by any possible complaints to the labour trustee or obstinately definition. It is a mere doctrine of obedience at all disobeys instructions; and when a member of the costs and in all circumstances. confidential council reveals without authority any · The Social Honour Courts were probably never confidential information or technical or business intended to be much more than a window-dressing secrets. display. A number of cases were brought before Where it is proved that by one of these means them in 1934 and 1935, but since 1936 they have an offence against the highly sensitive German possessed little importance. social honour has been committed, the Honour Court may warn or reprimand the culprit, fine The Abolition of Unemployment him up to 10,000 Reichsmark, disqualify him from The most conspicuous feature of the Nazi regime holding the position, of leader of the establishment in the field of industry has been the abolition of or confidential man, or remove him from his post. unemployment. The number of unemployed when It is worth noting that where a leader is disqualified, Hitler took office was in the neighbourhood of the proceedings apply only to his capacity as 7 millions, and one of the first aims of his govern­ Fuhrer under the National Labour Law and do not ment was to remove this dangerous threat to econo­ affect his proprietary position as employer. The mic and political stability. labour trustee is once again placed in a pivotal The elimination of the curse of unemployment 18 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 19 from the Third Reich is an undeniable fact. The maintenance. This was provided through the labour unchallenged statistics show a progressive reduction service, the land service, and relief works. There of unemployed workers from 6 millions at the be­ was an average of 800,000 persons engaged in labour ginning of 1933 to 4·8 millions in June 1933 and of this kind in 1934, and in the spring of that year the 3·7 millions in October of the same year; thence it number exceeded a million. These people were given fell to an average of 2,268,000 in 1934, 2,150,000 in maintenance in kind on a subsistence level, often 1935, l,076,000 in October 1936, and 502,000 in under conditions involving considerable hardship. l 937. Since then there has been a continual shortage In June 1933 a law was passed to reduce un­ of labour in Germany. The unemployment prob­ employment, and this indicates the principles on lem has disappeared, and persons out of work are which relief works were supposed to be undertaken either unemployable, in course of changing their almost from the beginning of the Nazi regime. The jobs, or disqualified from being employed. Minister of Finance was empowered to expend No one who is conscious of the misery and waste Rm. l ,ooo millions with a view to promoting caused by the long continued unemployment which emp~oyment in Germany. Among the purposes existed until recently in Britain and the United States specifically named were repairs and additions to would be disposed to question the magnitude or dwelling-houses and buildings used for administra­ importance of this achievement. It has been accom­ tive . work; bridges and other public structures; plished by a radical transformation of the economic repairs to farm-buildings and dwellings for agricul­ system involving the most stringent controls over tural workers; the construction of small suburban every aspect of economic life-prices, profits, wages, settlements and agricultural settlements; the recti­ hours, consumption, output, foreign trade, currency, fication of watercourses; the provision of plant for foreign exchange, &c. A study of these changes is a supplying gas, water, and electricity; subterranean technical task for the professional economist. Here constructional work undertaken by public authori­ we are concerned only with those aspects of econo­ ties. It was expressly declared that the unemployed mic policy which bear directly on the position of workers engaged in these tasks were not to be labour. The extent to which industrial servitude regarded as having entered a relation of employ­ and regimentation has been exacted as the price ment or service within the meaning of the labour for the elimination of unemployment is either not laws, and were therefore not entitled to either the realized by those who emphasize only the final protection or the status of an employee. They were result or glossed over as though it were merely an to receive unemployment relief (i.e. unemployment irrelevant incident. benefit, emergency benefit, or public assistance), The first step was the introduction of 'substitute vouchers to the value of Rm. 25 a month, for the employment' on a large scale. By this is meant purchase of clothing, linen, and household utensils; work performed not for money wages but for mere and a hot meal on every working day. 20 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 21 The objectives named in the Act were in fact not pursued. The labour made available by it was actually directed almost entirely to rearmament pur­ Astriction to the Soil poses, direct or indirect, including such items as The president could also order that persons em­ the building of military roads. ployed in agriculture at the date of his instructions, or who had been so employed during the previous Labour Service three years, should not be employed on other work In June 1935 the Labour Service Act was passed, without permission. Furthermore, industrial or by which the German Labour Service was made a commercial firms, or even private persons employ­ permanent feature of the regime. It requires of all ing workers who had formerly been agricultural young Germans of either sex that they shall serve labourers at any time during the preceding three as industrial conscripts on work of public utility. years, were bound to dismiss them when directed to The strength of the Labour Service was subse­ do so. A little later (in February 1935) the qualifica­ quently fixed at 200,000 men and the period of tion of three years was removed, and the restriction service at six months. Normally the calling up takes could then operate so as to prevent the further place in the nineteenth year of age, but liability to employment of workers who had been engaged in service extends between the ages of l 8 and 2 5. agricultural pursuits at any time. On 4 September 1939 the strength of the female Thus there was introduced by the Nazi Govern­ corps of the National Labour Service was brought ment one of the most reactionary measures in the up to 100,000 working girls. The National Work history of the modern world: an astriction to the Leader was authorized to call up unmarried women soil similar to that which obtained in the Middle between 17 and 25 years of age not engaged in Ages, except that whereas in feudal times it was the full-time employment, not attending vocational or villein or serf with land of his own who was bound educational courses, and not urgently required to to the soil, in twentieth-century Germany it is the assist their families in agricultural work. Thus, landless agricultural labourer who is not merely 300,000 persons a year were absorbed into the bound to the soil but forced to return to the land Labour Service as industrial conscripts. after he has left it. In May 1934 a statute was passed regulating what The peasant was dealt with by the Hereditary it described as 'the allocation of employment'. This Farms Law of 1933 on similar lines. This Act, enabled the president of the Reich Institution for which applied to farms not exceeding about 300 Employment Exchanges and Unemployment In­ acres, prohibited the owners from alienating or surance to prohibit the engagement, in districts with mortgaging their land. They were entailed so as to a high percentage of unemployment, of wage-earn­ pass automatically from father to son. More than ing or salaried employees not resident therein. 5 million persons living on about 700,000 farms- 22 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 23 about a third of the agricultural population of Ger­ struction of the Western fortifications and the many-were affected by this law. deliberate intention of placing the entire' nation on a w~r footing at a time when Germany was still The Land Help ~omm_a!ly at peace with her neighbours, led to the 1mpos1t~on of a policy which deprived the industrial Another step in the same direction was the Land populat10n of Germany of the characteristics of free Help (Landhilfe) which was established early in the me?- and marked them with the stigma of helots. Hitler regime. The purpose of this was to settle This enslavement of the workers was not caused by young unemployed persons on the land. Farmers who engaged such workers received a monthly grant an~ external pressure on Germany. It was adopted deliberately as a settled policy. payable out of unemployment insurance funds. The workers themselves received a small allowance in Industrial Conscription money in addition to their keep. About 160,000- 180,000 young men and women were set to work on In June 1~38 a decree empowered the govern­ me?-t to ~eqmre any one to perform work of urgent the ~ar:id in this way by a method which is strangely nat10nal importance. This order contained a proviso remimscent of the Speenhamland system which prevailed in England during the Napoleonic wars. gua~anteeing that those who were called up should receive not less remuneration than the wages they The essential feature of this system was an allow­ ance paid out of the rates to supplement the wages had formerly earned. In February 1939 a further decree declared that the official employment ex­ of able-bodied workmen in low-paid employment. It was often associated with a bread scale graduating c~anges should have power to requisition the ser­ vices of all persons resident in German territory for the relief according to the price of bread. 'The the performance of 'any work which the Commis­ complaints which have been made against the sio~er for the Four-Year Plan (Goering) might system [German Land Help] seem to suggest that designate to be of particular importance and its ~ain use is to reduce unemployment benefit, urgency'. For this purpose private and public em­ provide some landowners and farmers with cheap ployers can be required to release persons in their labour and strengthen the machinery of compulsion employment. over the individual.'r The new system is one of unmitigated industrial From 1936 onwards a series of measures were conscription. There is no stipulation that a man introduced covering the rest of the employed popula­ tion which were of the utmost importance. The s~all be ~n;ployed in his own trade or occupa­ frenzied intensification of military preparations by tion, and it is even expressly provided that workers requisitioned for service may be required to under­ the Nazi leaders, the decision to speed up the con- go a course of training to prepare them for the ' Organized Labour in Four Continents: 'Germany', by Erich compulsory work which they have to perform. Roll, p. 114. LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 24 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE . 2 5 There is no limit of time for the period of conscrip­ is not able to discharge an unsatisfactory or inefficient tion, no restriction as to the place in which the work or discontented workman unless he can satisfy an is to be carried out, and no provision for enabling official that there is good cause for his so doing. married men to be accompanied by their wives and On 1 September 1939 a slight modification was families. Men called up are bound to use their own introduced by a further decree. The withdrawal tools if required. of the right of employers and wage-earning or Workpeople engaged on compul~ory_ labour ha':e salaried employees of all grades (including trainees, no voice whatever in the determmat10n of their imp rovers, and apprentices) to terminate their wages, hours, or conditions of employn_ient, employment without consent of the Government although they are often required to serve private was reaffirmed, and all notices to quit work given firms engaged in carrying out the Four-Year Plan without previous consent were declared null and on a profit-making basis. They merely have to void. But certain exceptions to the general rule submit to the terms, whatever they may be, were admitted. Thus, where both parties agree to 'applicable to the new place of employment'; and terminate the contract, the consent of the govern­ a contract of service is deemed to be concluded ment employment exchange is not required. The on the terms stated in the requisitioning order. same applies in the case of an employee who has The decree of February 1939 introduced another been engaged on probation or as extra assistant striking change. The Minister of Labour was and the employment is terminated within one given power 'for special na~ional reasons' to month. A further exception is made if the business prohibit employment from bemg commenced or has to suspend operations. . terminated without the consent of the employment The first of these exceptions is the most impor­ exchange. A workman is thus not at _lib~rty ~o tant. It has the effect of permitting a dissolution leave his employment of his own free will if he is of the employment relation by mutual consent, dissatisfied with the wages or conditions, or because but of not permitting it without the assent of the the employer has treated him badly, or because a State where only one of the parties desires to foreman has been oppressive, or for any of the terminate. Thus, the dissatisfied employer must multitudinous reasons which lead to a change of prima facie remain dissatisfied with ~s workma~; situation under free conditions when discontent and the discontented workmen contmue at their or friction arises. He cannot take a better or more work-unless the Government wills it otherwise. convenient job, or move from one town to another This same decree of September 1939 elaborates for domestic reasons. He cannot refuse to accept a further the restriction on the engagement of situation which he regards as unsatisfactory or employees laid down in the earlier regulations. unsuitable for he can be prevented from obtaining It forbids not only business or administrative employme~t elsewhere. The employer, on his part, undertakings of all kinds, but even private house- 26 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 27 holders, from engaging workers without the consent there, and before throwing out of work more than of the employment exchange. These provisions fifty persons in the course of a month. These are applied also to relatives who regularly assist prospective dismissals would not become operative members of the family, even if they are not without the approval of the labour trustee until a employed for wages or salary. Thus, a wife cannot period of four weeks had elapsed after sending him help her husband in his business, nor a son his the notification; and he could delay them for a father, without permission from the State. maximum period of two months. If the entre­ Any contravention or evasion of the decree is a preneur were not in a position to keep his workers criminal offence punishable with fine or imprison­ fully employed for so long, the labour trustee could ment, or both. authorize short time and a spreading of the work. In the National Labour Act, 1934, much space Despite several objections which could be was devoted to 'protection against dismissal'. It brought against these provisions, they were clearly contained provisions (adopted with certain modifi­ designed on the one hand to give the individual cations from the Works Councils Act) whereby if a worker an enhanced security, and on the other to worker were dismissed after having worked for a assist in reducing or preventing unemployment: year in an establishment employing not less than that was the manifest reason for interfering with ten persons, he could lodge a complaint with the or delaying the employer's right to dismiss. There Labour Court asking for a revocation of the was, moreover, no coercion or pressure of any dismissal 'if it constitutes an undue hardship and kind on the worker. He was free to leave his is not necessitated by conditions in the establish­ employment, to change his situation, to enter a ment'. The Labour Court could then revoke the fresh occupation at any time. dismissal, although it was obliged to award compen­ sation (which might amount to as much as four A State of Servitude months' remuneration) to be paid to the worker if What a chasm separates tlie benevolent intention the employer preferred to make redress in that of these provisions of 1934, which were essentially form. a legacy from the Weimar Republic, from the The National Labour Act, 1934 (again adapting ruthless measures of 1938-9! Within five short principles embodied in a decree of 1923), also years the Nazis had adopted a policy of forced sought to control large-scale dismissals by requiring labour for any work which falls within the scope every owner of a business employing fewer than of the Four-Year Plan, whether carried out by r oo persons to notify the labour trustee before private firms for profit or by public authorities. dismissing more than nine workpeople; or in the They had compelled those who had ever been case of larger undertakings, before dismissing employed in agricultural labour to return to their ro per cent. of the persons usually employed former occupation. They had astricted to the soil 28 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 29 those actually engaged in agriculture whether as regime is overthrown. With us, it is a war-time farmers or as labourers. They had compelled men necessity. With them, it .is a peace-time policy. to leave their jobs, their trades, their homes, their Those who are unduly impressed by the abolition families, their districts, to work in distant places as of u?employment in Germany should therefore industrial conscripts for unlimited periods of time. consider th~ ~onsequences of Nazi labour policy They had prohibited employees from freely leaving ?n the pos~t10n of the employed. A different their employment and from freely entering into JUd~em~~t 1s then likely to emerge as to the employment. They had deprived workers of any destrabihty of that policy. It is true that the most voice in the settlement of wages, hours, and comprehensive suppression of the workers' freedom working conditions. They had destroyed not came in 1938-9, after the worst phases of unemploy­ merely trade unions but the very bases on which ment h~d bee~ mastered. But the main principles trade unionism is founded-the right to strike and of the mdustnal tyranny practised in these later the right to quit work. years were inherent in the policies adopted from With these oppressive measures riveted upon 1934 onw~rds. The solution of the unemployment them the employed masses of German men and probl.em ts a task for which everyone with any women have ceased to be free citizens of the world mtelhgence or humanity must feel a deep concern; of labour. They have entered a state of peonage but no sane person would be willing to sacrifice the the like of which has not been seen in the countries elementary rights, liberty, and welfare of the 80 of Western Europe for centuries. or .9o per cent. of the working-class population The workers of Britain are being called upon which ts employed even in time of slump for the during the War to accept a degree of regimentation sake of the 10 or 15 per cent. which is without work. and State control which may prove not far short of that imposed on the German people. But no The Labour Front comparison whatever can be drawn. Here we give A word must now be said about the Labour up liberty in order to fight more effectively to Front. This is the only association which the retain our freedom. In Germany there never has work~rs are permitted to join; but it is in no sense a been and never will be freedom for the workers genume labour organization. It is a vast institution under Nazi rule. co~taining bot~ e~ployers and employed-a kind With us, the political and trade union organiza­ of comp~ny umon (to use an American expression) tion of labour remains intact, shouldering large on a national scale, but one which is dominated governmental responsibilities and filling a more and ?irect~d by the Nazi party. Its aim was important role in national affairs than ever before descnbed m sonorous phrases in a decree of in its history. In Germany, it has been completely October 1934 as being the formation of 'a real obliterated, and will never revive until the Hitler community of achievement amongst the whole LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE 31 German people ... It must seek to ensure that any disloyalty or discontent manifested by em­ every individual can take his place in the economic ployers and workers. Through its complicated life of the nation in that mental and physical organization it is able to maintain a close sur­ condition which will make for his greatest achieve­ veillance on the individual employer and workman. ment, and thereby secure the greatest gain to the The Labour Front is essentially a substitute community as a whole. . . . The Labour Front organization designed to fill, in appearance at must seek to preserve industrial peace by incul­ least, the aching void left by the disappearance of cating in economic leaders an understanding of the the ~rade unions, the political parties, and the legitimate claims of their followers, and in the working-class representation in local, provincial, followers an understanding of the situation and and central government-just as the confidential the possibilities of the business in which they are council is a substitute for the enormous gap made working.' And so on in similar vein. by the abolition of the works council. The ghosts The ostensible functions of the Labour Front of the past walk again. are threefold: it supervises vocational training; it The Labour Front has no jurisdiction in regard is concerned with various aspects of welfare, such to wage~, .hours, and conditions of employment. as working-class housing, amenities in factories The Mm1stry of Labour has, indeed, issued and workshops, the relief of distress among its frequent. decrees and pronouncements enjoining members; and it administers the 'Strength through the officials of the Labour Front not to interfere Joy' movement. In all these spheres it no doubt in these matters, which, as we have seen are gives or obtains for the workers benefits that they determined by the labour trustees. Even in r;gard would not otherwise obtain in the present state of to industrial welfare it can do no more than Germany, but which they obtained in larger measure recommend, though the Nazi officials who direct in pre-Nazi days through the activities of the trade it doubtless have at their disposal methods of unions. It has at its disposal considerable financial securing. compliance. resources and the authority of the Nazi party. The funds of the Labour Front are chiefly 'Strength through Joy' derived from contributions levied on the members, The 'Strength through Joy' movement is essen­ substantial in amount and compulsory in character. tially a diversion. By providing millions of workers No account is rendered of these funds. The with facilities for cheap holidays and travel excur­ Labour Front is thus from one point of view a sions, by organizing entertainments, concerts, powerful instrument for the collection of additional dances, athletics and games on a vast scale, it has taxation from employers and workpeople alike. done much to keep the German working man It also serves an ominous but highly important amused, or bemused, and his attention diverted purpose in keeping the authorities 'informed' of from present discontents. It is obviously derived 32 LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE OXFORD BOOKS ON WQRLD AFFAIRS from the dopo lavoro instituted several years pre­ viously in Fascist Italy. THB best and most up-to-date general picture of The name of the movement is significant. By .England as she was from the rise of Germany in 1870 to the otttbreak of the First World War ie given in emphasizing the acquisition of strengt.h thro:igh Mr. Enso~s bQok England z870-x~4 (151.), which the enjoyment of recreations and leisure time is Vol. 14 of the Oxford History of Engltuul. Mr. activities; an attempt is made to keep the thoughts C. R. M. F. CruUwell's History of the Great War ~914- of the workers headed away from the central fact Il)I8 (151.) may be recommended as the atandard one­ of the present situation: namely, the total annihila­ volume work on the subject. Mr. G. M. Gatborne­ tion of their organized power. Hudy deals with the period betw~ t}l" ~ wars in his Short History of Internation4f A.Jfain, t9ao-z938 Conclusion £8s. 6".). Divergent views are held by observers in this The two volumes of Speeelta imt1 DQcumem on country and elsewhere as to the general trend of l~l A.]Jmrs, edited by Pri>feiiaot A. B. Keith the German economy. Some investigators regard (Wodd•s Classics, 21. 6d. eaclt), q.d the selection of the Nazi regime as having re-established capitalism po.JitiCIU writings in Sir Alfred ~·a Modern on a basis of monopoly, autarchy, and governmental Political /)ottrinet (71. 6".) ill~ Qt& conBic:t of control. Others consider the Third Reich to be a doctrines in eviClence to-day. form of perverted communism in which. the ~ole The outbn!ak of the present war • ~C$cribcd and aim is the lust for State power. A third view disCU$8Cd in the Jectures by H. ~ l;. ~, A. D. suggests that Hitler's Germany is simply a militar; Lindsay, Gilbert Mu~. A C. ~ ~qt, llatold dictatorship in which the only criterion of economic Nicolson, and J. L. Brierly, colletted and p~b~d measures is the war potential of the nation. Jn one volum~ unden the title 2'111 Wgraf#ld and .lmM (6.t.) deepl!r, ._ It is not necessary to decide which, if any, of of tM War. The a.t stab are ~ Ul_) in Lard Halifax's famou OXfbrd address, these doctrines is the correct one, in order to arrive The C~e to Li~ (3tl,), •hid) i& included in the at one conclusion of unquestionable truth: namely, vOlw:ncr Qf his ~eubu: tm FOTeip PoHt:y. {101 611..). that the status, the freedom, the power, and the 'the ~~ Of 'to:taI • warfare are described in conditions of work of the employed workers in Mr. ~ ~~ Way1 and MB4111 of War Germany have deteriorated to an almost incon­ (21. 64.h; an fltli~ of his two Oxford Pamphlets ceivable extent under the Nazi Government. (Nos. 23 and 45). Tlw pricu ipgJf8tl ti;~ an f#I. "'11' held good ia Mare/i :Eg4I, liul an lilih• to alteraii{itl 'IPithout notice. OXFORD PAMPHLETS ON WORLD AFFAIRS I. THE PROSPECTS OF CIVILIZATION, by SIR ALFRED ZIMMERN. 2. THE BRITISH EMPIRE, by H. V. HODSON. 3. MEIN KAMPF, by R. G. K. ENSOR. 4. ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY, by A. G. B. FISHEJL 5. 'RACE' IN EUROPE, by JUUAN HUXLEY. 6. THE FOURTEEN POINTS AND THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, by G. M. GATHORNE-HARDY. 7. COLONIES AND RAW MATERIALS, by H. D. HENDERSON. 8. •uvING-SPACE', by R.R. KUCZVNSKI. 9. TURKEY, GREECE, AND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, by G. F. HUDSON. 10. THE DANUBE BASIN, by C. A. MACARTNEY. 12. ENCIRCLEMENT, by J. L. BRIERLY. 13. THE REFUGEE QUESTION, by SIR JOHN HOPE SIMPSON. 14. THE TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK, by J. W. WHBl!LER·BENNElT. 15. CZECHOSLOVAKIA, by R. BIRLEY. 16. PRQJ?AGANDA IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, by E. H. CAJUt. 17. THE BLOCKADE, 1914-1919, by W. ARNOLD-FORSTER. 18. NATIONAL SOCIALISM AND CHRISTIANITY, by N. M1c1tLEM. 20. WHO HITLER IS, by R. C. K. ENSOR. 21. THE NAZI CONCEPTION OF LAW, by J. WALTER JONES. 22. AN ATLAS OF THE WAR. 23. THE SINEWS OF WAR, by GEOFFREY CROWTHER. 24. BLOCKADE AND CIVILIAN POPULATION, by Sm W. BEVERIDOI. 25. PAYING FOR THE WAR, by GEOFFREY CROWTHER. 26. THE NAVAL ROLE IN MODERN WARFARE, by ADMDL\L Sm HERBERT RICHMOND, 27. THE BALTIC, by J. HAMPDEN JACKSON. 28. BRITAIN'S AIR POWER, by E. COLSTON SHEPHERD. 29. LIFE & GROWTH OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, by J, A. WILUAMSON •. 30. HOW BRITAIN'S RESOURCES ARE MOBILIZED, by MAX NICHOLSON. 31. PALESTINE, by JAMES PARKES. 32. INDIA, by L. F. RUSHBROOlt WILUAMS, 33. LABOUR UNDER NAZI RULE, by W. A. ROBSON. 34. RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY, by BAR.BAR.A WARD. 35. WAS GERMANY DEFEATED IN 1918? by CYRIL FALU, 36. THE GESTAPO, by O. C. GILES. 37. WAR AND TREATIES, by AR.NOLD D. McNAIR.. 38. BRITAIN'S BLOCKADE, by R. W. 8. CLARKE. 39. SOUTH AFRICA, by E. A. WALKER. 40. THE ARABS, by H. A. R. G10B. 41. THE ORIGINS OF THE WAR, by E. L. WOODWARD. 42. WHAT ACTS OF WAR ARE JUSTIFIABLE? by A. L. GOODHART. 43. LATIN AMERICA, by ROBIN A. HUMPHREYS, 44. THE MILITARY AEROPLANE, by E. CoLSTON SHEPHEJU>, 45. THE JEWISH QUESTION, by JAMES PARKES. Other Pamphlets are in active preparation

l'Bll'ITBD IN OIUl.l'r BRITAIN, AT TDJI 1JMVJIBBirY PRBSS, OXJ'OllD JlY JOWi JOHNSON, PBINTBB TO TDJI UNIYKBSITY