- Arbeitslager
Arbeitslager is a
German language word which meansLabor camp .During
World War II theNazis operated several categories of "Arbeitslager" for different categories of inmates. The largest number of them held civilians forcably abducted in the occupied countries (seeŁapanka ) to provide labour in the German war industry, repair bombed railroads and bridges or work on farms.The Nazis also operated concentration camps, some of which provided free forced labor for industrial and other jobs while others existed purely for the extermination of their inmates. A notable example is
Mittelbau-Dora labor camp complex that serviced the production of theV-2 rocket . SeeList of German concentration camps for more.Arbeitskommandos
"Arbeitskommandos", officially called "Kriegsgefangenenarbeitskommando" were sub-camps under
Prisoner-of-war camp s for holdingprisoners of war of lower ranks (belowsergeant ), who were working in industries and on farms. This was permitted under theThird Geneva Convention provided they were accorded proper treatment. They were not allowed to work in industries manufacturing war materials, but this restriction was frequently ignored by the Germans. They were always under the administration of the parentprisoner-of-war camp , which maintained records, distributedInternational Red Cross packages and provided at least minimal medical care in the event of the prisoner's sickness or injury. The number of prisoners in an Arbeitskommando was usually between 100 and 300.One should differentiate these from sub-camps of
Nazi concentration camp s operated by the SS, which were also called "Arbeitskommando". Because of the two different types there is some confusion in the literature, with the result of occasional reports of prisoners-of-war being held in concentration camps. In some cases the two types were physically adjacent, when both POWs and KZ-inmates were working at a large facility such as a coal mine or chemical plant [ [http://hgs.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/15/2/266 British POW and Auschwitz prisoners working at IG Farben plant] ] . They were always kept apart from each other.References
ee also
*
Labor camp
*Forced labor in Germany during World War II
*Stalag
*IG Farben
*Stalag VIII-B
*Stalag IX-B - see Labor Camp BergaExternal links
* [http://projekte.geschichte.uni-freiburg.de/herbert/uhpub/forcedlaborers.html Forced Laborers in the "Third Reich" - By Ulrich Herbert]
* [http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbeitskommando_10001 | Arbeitskommando 10001 in Ruckenwaldau (now Wierzbowa, Poland - Lower Silesia)] - in Polish
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