Macht Arbeit Frei? : German Economic Policy and Forced Labor of Jews in the General Government, 1939-1943

This is the first ever study to address Jewish forced labor in the General Government (Poland) during the Holocaust, and its consequences on the Nazi regime. A fascinating book about mutual dependence of economics and warfare during one of the most difficult periods in human history.

This book examines the forced labor of Jews in the General Government of Occupied Poland from 1939-1943. Specifically, it traces the bureaucratic understanding and use the terms "labor" and "work" in the General Government; it also examines how these terms figured in the lives of Jews, for whom "labor"''s original understanding as a means of subsistence came to be redefined as a means of survival. The changing meaning of other key terms are examined in detail; these include, among others, "forced labor" (Zwangsarbeit), "slave labor" (Sklavenarbeit). The volume carefully analyzes the modus operandi of the Nazi system of power, in which bureaucracy ballooned, there were conflicts of interest between different institutions, and there was a total destruction of human and moral values, which led to extensive degeneration.

"This volume is the first ever complex study to address Jewish forced labor and the German economic policy in the General Government, which was a part of occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust. The study presents German economic policy on the occupied territories, discussing Germany's misappropriation and misuse of available resources--particularly human resources and their inhuman treatment--and how this policy ultimately led to the downfall of the Nazi regime. This fascinating study sheds a light on the mutual dependence of economics and warfare during one of the most difficult periods in human history"--Back cover This volume is the first ever study to address Jewish forced labor in Poland's General Government during the Holocaust. The study presents German economic policy on the occupied territories, discussing Germany's misappropriation and misuse of available resources—particularly human resources and their inhuman treatment—and how this policy ultimately led to the downfall of the Nazi regime. This fascinating study sheds a light on the mutual dependence of economics and warfare during one of the most difficult periods in human history.