Витоки та становлення системи примусової праці у Третьому Райху: на матеріалах Польщі

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to show the main stages of the formation of the German system of forced labor in the second half of the 19th and the fi rst half of the 20th centuries, which is closely related to the territory of Poland and the Polish population, based on the work of pred- ecessors and the available source base. Th e research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematicity. Th e scientifi c novelty lies in the fact that, for the fi rst time in Ukrainian historiography, an attempt has been made to trace the stages of transformation of economic relations between neighboring nations from mutually benefi cial to the mass enslave- ment and exploitation of the Polish population by the German regimes. Conclusions. At the end of the XIX – at the beginning of the XX century in Polish-German economic relations, the use of Polish seasonal workers in agriculture was of great importance, which became the basis for the formation of the system of forced labor in Germany. Th e Kaiser’s government was forced to turn to it due to the overexertion of the country’s forces in the fi ght against an enemy whose forces and resources greatly exceeded those of Germany. In the conditions of a protracted bloody war, the practice of forced labor of foreign workers proved to be eff ective, especially in the fi eld of agriculture, and provided an opportunity to control the occupied territories and their population, cementing the cynical idea that forced labor was profi table only under the conditions of its mass and the ap- plication of totalitarian measures during its organization. Kaiser Germany laid the foundation for the system of forced labor of foreign workers and the policy of segregation based on nationality and state affi liation, which later became the foundation of the economy and ideology of the Th ird Reich. During the Second World War, the policy of the German occupiers varied depending on the country or region of enslavement, and it also changed at diff erent stages of the war. On the territory of Poland, the attempt of the Th ird Reich to create loyal authorities with the assistance of the Polish right-wing forces proved unsuccessful due to their small number and disunity. Th e occupiers man- aged to organize the use of Poland’s economy and human resources mainly by relying on national minorities and the experience of the Kaiser’s government, which was improved and supplemented by the idea of racial superiority at the legislative level.