The Materiality of Forced Labor: An Archaeological Exploration of Punishment in Nazi Germany

Abstract

In capitalist contexts, penalty seeks to turn citizens into “productive” members of society. This is particularly visible in political systems that rely on forced labor, where the painful logic of punishment merges political subjugation with economic exploitation. Recent archaeological research on a former Nazi forced labor camp at Tempelhof airfield in Berlin underscores how an increasing reliance on unfree labor in the manufacture of German military aircrafts during the Second World War went hand in hand with the transition to a Fordist mode of production. While the material necessities of the arms industry did not bring about forced labor, the shift to assembly line work surfaces as consistent with the politico-economic requirements of the National Socialist regime.