The organisation of forced labour in Italy (1943-1945)
Working conditions in the Paladino Organisation
The first Italian and German announcements envisaged a daily recompense of 12.50 Lire with an additional sum for married workers or those who had elderly parents or children to care for.
This amount was immediately held to be insufficient, and considered to be one of the reasons for the initial low numbers of volunteers. As a consequence, already at the end of October 1943 the the system of payment was changed to one based on an hourly rate.
The new wage, evidently agreed with the German authorities, was the same for all labourers irrespective of whether they worked for the Paladino, the Todt, or whether they had chosen to go and work in Germany.
Specialist workers earned 5.50 lire and hour, qualified workers 5 lire and manual workers 4.50 lire. Free board and lodging was supposed to have been supplied by the firms involved. “Weekly rations of basic necessities are as follows: meat 400 grammes, tomato extract 60 grammes, bread or pasta 4,200 grammes, fats 210 grammes, jam 200 grammes, cooking fats 15 grammes, sugar 5 grammes. Over and above these basic foodstuffs there will be a potato ration and other foods added at will. Food will also be supplied on Sundays, holidays, days of travel and on those days when the commencement of work is delayed.”1 Other benefits were also planned, such as family allowances and travel permits.
In theory, at the outset, the labourers were employed in battalions which were to carry out work in their own province, or in any case not far from their homes. This was a means of convincing people to go and enrol, eliminating any suspicion that the Inspectorate was the forerunner of deportation to Germany. This clause was cancelled by the decree of 15 February 1944, which introduced also obligatory conscription for workers. “The obligatory nature of the Labour Service, which became law on 15 February, has put the Military Labour Inspectorate into a new situation. The enrolment of labour has lost its voluntary character. Moreover new norms are also to be issued regarding organisation and discipline which in certain respects are similar to those operating in the armed forces.”2
This had two implications. In the first place, the penalty for desertion was capital punishment, as laid down by the Duce in decree no. 30, issued on 18 February 1944. In second place, the battalions were no longer stationed in their home territory and the workers could be moved according to necessity, something which in fact was already happening. The Inspectorate was entirely under German command. This dependence on the Germans was confirmed by the number of working hours conceded by the Paladino to the Wehrmacht. During the first 15 days of February 1944, for example, 120,289 hours of work had been carried out for the German Armed Forces, 11,450 for the Italian Armed Forces, 16,340 for the Todt and 31,710 for “various enterprises.”3
It was highly likely, therefore, that the largest numbers of workers, who found themselves in the “Rome Belt”, or in other words on the southern front, were used to build fortification works along the coast or at Cassino, or were used in the clearing and the maintenance of roads and military installations. The labourers were also employed in moving rubble following air raids, in shifting snow from the Apennine passes and in bridge construction, for which two battalions of bridge builders were employed on the Po.
Theoretically equipment and clothing should have been of the best possible quality, especially during the winter, given that the labourers were constantly employed doing heavy outdoor work. But despite this, from the scant information available it is possible to deduce that conditions were extremely precarious. For example, in the ”Historical Diary” dated 8 March 1944 it is possible read this entry: “Some labourers from the 60th Work Battalion of Ascoli Piceno went to clear snow in their bare feet. A report from the Commanding Officer of that battalion, other than having listed all items missing or in short supply - such as the lack of almost all working equipment and means of transport, and the enormous difficulties in preparing and distribution of food - complains about the lack of blankets, coats, mess tins and shoes. Following on from this, the report continues in these words: "during the months of November, December and January, hundreds of labourers went to clear snow along the road for hours on end, even during the night, or to till muddy fields, wearing old decrepit shoes made of rags, simple clogs, or even in bare feet. In reporting this, nothing has been exaggerated. Many workers did not possess mess tins and had to take it in turns to eat; the selfsame mess tin had to serve three or four workers at the same time.
Even though it is likely that such conditions were extreme, so much as to warrant their being quoted in the “Historical Diary”, the situation in other units would not have been much better, given the chronic shortage of materials that was affecting the entire military apparatus of the Social Italian Republic.
Working in the various militarised building operations brought with it a number of risks. Above all the discipline was very strict, given the military nature of the Inspectorate, and in addition the German supervisors had very few scruples about using force. For example, on 3 May 1944 a worker attempted to escape from a a German lorry which was passing through Casal Rotondo, near Rome. Three German soldiers belonging to the escort reached him and killed him on the spot.
On 28 October, on the occasion of the anniversary of the “March on Rome”, Mussolini issued an amnesty decree which made provisions for granting a pardon to those draft dodgers, deserters and partisans who presented themselves to the Republican authorities. Thousands of partisans, deserters and draft dodgers profited from this opportunity to conceal themselves within these work organisations in order to get through the winter. This strategy was well known to the German authorities, who however did not seem unduly worried, and also to the Italian authorities, who were much less content.
On 21 November Paladino wrote to his immediate colleagues requesting a “diligent surveillance to be carried out with the maximum discretion in such a way as to conceal the fact that an enquiry is under way.“5 At the same time Paladino wrote to the Ministry of the Armed Forces requesting that the GNR (Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana – the fascist militia) infiltrate the ranks of the workers' battalions so that the former draft-dodgers and others could be controlled. This request came to nothing, because the GNR did not have any trustworthy men to spare for the job. On paper the result of the amnesty was fairly positive. For example, in the provinces of Vercelli, Novara and Aosta 2, 310 draft dodgers and deserters gave themselves up. In total the number came to 72, 881 men.6 However, this number of men was very difficult to control, due to the scarce resources of the Republic and the political untrustworthiness of the persons involved. At Rovigo the GNR, not knowing where to accommodate the draft dodgers, passed them on directly to the Inspectorate, with the result that after a few days half of those who had turned themselves in disappeared again.
In the January of 1945 Graziani issued a circular stating that the deserters should rejoin the military units in which they had originally enrolled, with the aim of forcing them to engage in combat and to put a stop to further desertion. Once again this circular went unheeded inasmuch as the local Inspectorates refused to hand over the deserters.7
This reinsertion of these former draft dodgers and deserters had serious consequences for the Inspectorate in general. In February 1945 Renzo Montagna, the Police Chief of the Republic, sent a report to Graziani signalling the infiltration of the Partito d'Azione8 into the running of the Turin Inspectorate. Furthermore, according to Montagna, “Many of those who had enlisted were continuing to organise themselves into bands in order to carry out robberies and steal arms within the city itself.” That was not all. ”To this should be added that many of those enlisted by the Labour Inspectorate have enrolled under a false name procured for them by the partisan bands, which demonstrates that they are simply waiting for the right moment to go back into hiding without being compromised by their real name.” The solution, according to Montagna, was “that the whole contingent, without exception, should be sent to Germany, where, either in the factories or in military organisations, they could finally be made to change their ideas […]”.9
Despite continued surveillance and threats, with the approach of spring discipline became even more of a problem. For example, in the labour battalion based at Casale Monferrato, which had taken on a fair number of draft dodgers and deserters, “one notes a high level of indiscipline and the maximum amount of chaos.” The “workers” moved freely around the town without being subject to any kind of surveillance and several had taken up their studies again, giving up their pay.
A report dated 3 March 1945 reads: “32nd Labourers' Battalion […] Genoa […] Scalo, via del Porto. Discontent among the workers as a result of their not being paid on time. Many simply awaiting the arrival of the enemy.10 Little desire to work and lack of enthusiasm to carry out surveillance. […] Rather than working the labourers prefer to sit around arguing.”11
Again at the beginning of March the following report arrived from Cremona: “ The greater part of the battalion is made up of draft dodgers who, in order to avoid the call-up, have enrolled in the Labourers' Battalion. From the political standpoint the entire group is simply waiting to see what happens. May of them are saying: "as soon as spring arrives I'm off back to the mountains.
Also, the officers were starting to be threatened: “Emilio Azzini - as recorded in a Police Report dated 30 March 1945 - […] shouted at Captain Onofri, the commander of the battalion and at the lieutenant who was in charge of the company, in a threatening manner, using the following words: “ The liberating forces will soon be here and I want to amuse myself by giving a thrashing to, if not shooting, all these dirty delinquents and fraudsters.”13
In March 1945, in exasperation, Paladino gave orders that “the time-wasters and layabouts” should be sacked. At this the Ministry of the Armed Forces was compelled to reply that, as they were part of the military, the workers could not simply be sacked but must be grouped together in a disciplinary battalion which was to be set up immediately. However, March was nearing its end, and the Social Republic no longer had the means to oppose the general breakdown that was affecting all its organisations, not only the Paladino.
All these episodes, as well as the fact that the labourers were paid better that the military, created not a few problems for the armed forces of the RSI, including the police force and the Paladino.
In December 1944 several soldiers belonging to the Folgore regiment went into the barracks of the 25th Workers' Battalion of Turin, in Corso Moncalieri, “led by an officer (S.T. Buffa), armed to the teeth with rifles, sub-machine guns, machine guns and hand grenades, they […] invaded the Montenero Barracks, manhandled the uniformed officers and non-commissioned officers, the civil servants and workers and destroyed several offices, after having cut the telephone line belonging to the headquarters of the same battalion.”14
On 27 February 1945 the General himself was forced to write a long missive to Colonel Bocca pointing out the numerous acts of violence to which his labourers and officers had been subjected. Paladino wrote: “The worsening nature of the violent acts carried out by different groups of police against those appertaining to the Military Labour Inspectorate, including many officers, had already given an idea of the extent to which Military Labour Inspectorate had lost the esteem of various military organisations and police forces, after having obeyed the instructions issued by the DUCE and Maresciallo Graziani to incorporate the draft dodgers and deserters into its ranks in order that they might begin their morale and civil re-education.” Whilst the Germans appreciated greatly the work of the IML (Military Labour Inspectorate), continued Paladino, “From the Italian side I have had nothing but continuous annoyance which achieves nothing if not to test my already tried patience to the limit.”
The most serious cause for concern however, still according to Paladino, had been created by General Farina, the Commanding Office of the S. Marco Division, which was engaged at the time on the Gothic Line. “As soon as my commander of the Workers Brigade arrived at the Divisional Headquarters, none other than General Farina threatened him with a machine gun and accused him of being a draft dodger. Take note, my dear Bocca, that it wasn't I who offered him the battalion, rather I consigned it to him following a series of urgent requests.”
Clearly Paladino also wrote a letter to Farina: “ You must however convince yourself that is is not the fault of this I.M.L. if the labourers, compared with the 22,50 lire a day given to your fighting forces, earn 102 lire. This remuneration was fixed in a meeting between the Italians and the Germans, set up to examine the situation in which all the workers in the Social Republic found themselves and called by me, because the other organisations award higher wages than those given to my workers.” Paladino continued by asking Farina if he had any faith in his battalion or if it should be withdrawn.15
The most clamorous case of violence carried out by the military of the RSI against the workers employed by the Paladino was the episode which took place at Tomba di Pesaro. In May 1944 the Legione Tagliamento, a unit of Blackshirts commanded by Colonel Merico Zuccari, took up a position to the south of the Gothic Line to control the area between it and the front. On 28 June a group of workers belonging to 18 Pioneer Battalion, employed on building fortifications, was caught in the act of deserting. Upon Zuccari's orders seven workers were shot inside the barracks of the Tagliamento. The case was so clamorous as to provoke protests from various German headquarters and was the subject of an enquiry set up by General Toussaint himself.16
As well as acts of violence on the part of the fascists, Paladino's labourers were also fair game for the partisans. It is not clear why not only the officers were attacked but also the workers themselves. Perhaps these were simply criminal acts or alternatively actions taken against workers believed to be aiding and abetting propaganda and recruitment: what ever is the case, the fact remains that several instances of attacks are reported in the “Historical Diary” belonging to the Paladino. The first occurred in February 1944: at Spello on the 20 February and at Macerata (two dead) on the 23th. The combined statistics on 30 June of that year gave one officer killed and one wounded as a result of an attack by partisans, five labourers killed and one wounded for the same motive.17
Clearly the biggest risk the labourers ran was that of being caught up in air raids on their places of work. Again, according to the statistics for June 1944, the losses amounted to three officers killed and three wounded, two non-commissioned officers killed and two wounded, and 104 labourers killed, four missing and 193 wounded.
Lastly, working in extreme situations, such as under unsafe walls to remove fallen debris following air raids, caused eleven deaths and left 352 wounded “whilst on active service.”
Labouring on building sites and other work projects for the Paladino was fairly risky, even if life itself generally in Italy at the time was a risky enterprise Air raids, being caught up in the civil war, having to work in extreme conditions – this was normal everyday life as far as the Italians were concerned. Summing up, working for the Paladino didn't put lives at risk any more than other daily activities carried out by any Italian worker or housewife at the time. It did, however, offer more security than being deported to Germany or being called up to fight in the ranks of the RSI.
Amedeo Osti Guerrazzi (2016)
“Il Lavoro fascista”, 19-20 ottobre 1943.
Diario storico della organizzazione “Paladino”, p.6
Diario storico della organizzazione “Paladino”, 15 febbraio 1944.
Diario storico della organizzazione “Paladino”, 8 marzo 1944.
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero forze armate RSI, Gabinetto, b.2.
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero dell’Interno RSI, Gabinetto, b.33
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero forze armate RSI, Gabinetto, b.2.
Action Party. A group belonging to the Italian Resistance (translator's note)
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero forze armate RSI, Gabinetto, b.2.
note 10
The Allies ( translator's note)
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero forze armate RSI, Gabinetto, b.2.
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero forze armate RSI, Gabinetto, b.2.
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero forze armate RSI, Gabinetto, b.2.
note 14
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Segreteria particolare del Capo della Polizia RSI, b.24.
Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero forze armate RSI, Gabinetto, b.2.
Sonia Residori, Una legione in armi. La Tagliamento fra onore, fedeltà e sangue, Cierre, Verona, 2013, pp.78-79.
note 17
Diario storico dell’organizzazione “Paladino”, 30 giugno 1944
The workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.
During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.
The I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.
The Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.
The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.
The Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.
Born in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain.
Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.
He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.
He died in 1974.
Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.
Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.
A German prisoner of war camp. The living conditions in the Stalag varied considerably according to the nationality of the prisoners (Allied, Russian, Italian military internees, etc.)
Fritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.
The Gemeinschaftslager, like the Wohnlager, were unsupervised camps for foreign workers, while the Arbeitslager were supervised. Generally speaking, the concept of forced labour is applied only to the latter, but at the present time historians are undoubtedly tending to review the concept of forced labour, extending it to include work situations which are apparently free but in reality are forced. More specifically, the current discussion tends to be orientated towards a concept of forced labour which includes these three distinctive elements:
- from a legal point of view, it is impossible for the worker to dissolve the relationship with his employer
- from the social point of view, the possibilities of significantly influencing employment conditions are limited
- there is a high mortality rate, which indicates a higher than average workload and a provision of means of sustenance below the necessary requirements.
See: [https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/geschichte/auslaendisch/begriffe/index.html]
The workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.
During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.
The I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.
The Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.
The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.
The Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.
Born in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain.
Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.
He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.
He died in 1974.
Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.
Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.
A German prisoner of war camp. The living conditions in the Stalag varied considerably according to the nationality of the prisoners (Allied, Russian, Italian military internees, etc.)
Fritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.
The Gemeinschaftslager, like the Wohnlager, were unsupervised camps for foreign workers, while the Arbeitslager were supervised. Generally speaking, the concept of forced labour is applied only to the latter, but at the present time historians are undoubtedly tending to review the concept of forced labour, extending it to include work situations which are apparently free but in reality are forced. More specifically, the current discussion tends to be orientated towards a concept of forced labour which includes these three distinctive elements:
- from a legal point of view, it is impossible for the worker to dissolve the relationship with his employer
- from the social point of view, the possibilities of significantly influencing employment conditions are limited
- there is a high mortality rate, which indicates a higher than average workload and a provision of means of sustenance below the necessary requirements.
See: [https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/geschichte/auslaendisch/begriffe/index.html]
The workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.
During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.
The I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.
The Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.
The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.
The Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.
Born in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain.
Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.
He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.
He died in 1974.
Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.
Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.
Fritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.
The workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.
During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.
The I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.
The Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.
The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.
The Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.
Born in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain.
Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.
He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.
He died in 1974.
Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.
Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.
Fritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.