Translation of document 025-PS

Copy I H (ZO) 1/753/42 for the files on hand I 3 [handwritten]

SECRET!

Berlin NW 7, 4 Sept. 42

Subject: The importation of domestic workers from the East into the Reich.

Here: Conference with the General Deputy for Labor mobilization on 3 Sept. 1942.

1. Notice

On 3 September 1942 a conference, under the presidency of the General Deputy for Labor Mobilization, of the representatives of the highest Reich authorities, the Party Chancellory, as well as of the German Labor front (DAF) was held at the Thuringenhaus, Berlin W. S. for the discussion of the pending importation of domestic workers from the East from the Ukraine into the Reich. To this Gauleiter Sauckel declared the following:

It is the definite wish of the Fuehrer that the law over the duty year [Pflichtjahr] for women be not over extended, that all German girls must work one additional year in housekeeping. This position of the Fuehrer is motivated by the positive experiences which have been made so far with the women’s Reich’s labor service; this service has proved itself to be an instrument of political breeding through which the German girls are made politically more reliable than through one additional year of private housekeeping. Therefore, and this is also the opinion of the Reichsmarshall and of Reichsleiter Bormann, the housekeeping problem must be solved through a different way than the above-mentioned one.

Therefore, the Fuehrer has ordered the immediate importation of 400,000 to 500,000 female domestic Eastern workers from the Ukraine between the ages of 15 and 35, and has charged the General Deputy for labor mobilization with the execution of this action which is to end in about 3 months. In connection with this -this is also approved by Reichsleiter Bormann, the illegal bringing of female housekeepers into the Reich by members of the Armed Forces, or various other agencies, is to be allowed subsequently, and furthermore, irrespective of the official recruiting, is not to be prevented. The determining factor for the recruiting of Ukrainian female domestic workers is this: according to the specific wish of the Fuehrer only such girls are to be recruited against whose permanent stay in Germany, tote determined by their conduct and their physical appearance, tale will be no scruples; it is in accordance with a specific desire of the Fuehrer that the greatest number of these girls be germanized through the recruitment. To this, the Fuehrer declared that we have to review our school knowledge about people migrations, to the extent that the Lebensraum of the Germanic peoples is not only to be considered from a point of view of the newly gained territories at that time, but also from the point of view of the region of origin of those peoples. The Germans have spread “like beer". Only the young people have left whereas the old ones remained at home. This is the reason why there are, especial!, in the Ukraine and in the northerly part of the Black Sea, such a great number of blond haired and blue eyed people who have neither Tartar nor Caucasian appearances. This can only be the case of peasants, descendants of settled Germanic tribes; to re-germanize them can only be a question of time. It is the Fuehrer’s desire that in 100 years from now 250 million German speaking people will live in Europe.

If, therefore, the recruitment of Ukrainian domestic workers is not only under a labor mobilization consideration but also a racial one, it ensues forcibly that a special treatment of this labor mobilization measure is necessary, which does not exclude the fact that the domestic Ukrainian workers are to be considered in the first place as workers from the East and are to be provided with the sign “OST". They are to be employed in city households as well as in country households, preferably in families with many children and essential constructive families (Aufbau Families so that 200,000 of them will be furnished to city households an' 200,000 to country households. In order to prevent a better position of the Eastern domestic workers employed in country households as compared to the ones employed in cities, the domestic workers from the Ukraine are to receive basically the same food as the German civilian population. Because these regulations necessitate a revision of the feeding precepts of Prisoners of War and soviet civilian laborers as stated in a communication of the Reich’s nutrition ministry of April 4, 1942, the Reich’s minister for nutrition and agriculture has asked the General Deputy for labor mobilization to refrain from the execution of the measures at least until the food situation of the German people permits the importation of more foreign labor forces anal a better food situation for the workers from the East can be assured. Gauleiter Sauckel spoke in harshest terms against the stand of the Reich’s minister for nutrition stating that he refuses to discuss an order of the Fuehrer. He added furthermore that irrespective of the importation of domestic workers, the mobilization of one more million workers from the East is being planned, this being the only way to realize in the years to come the Fuehrer’s Armament and Steel production program for the execution of the great plans in the West and for the annihilation of the greatest war economy of the world, the North American one. For the feeding of this million men labor force which number furthermore is equilibrated by the fact that approximately 7 million German soldiers are in greater part supplied with food from the foreign countries, party member Backe has only to solve the organizational problem in order to take advantage of the first rate harvest throughout Europe. Never before did a minister for nutrition start his function under such favorable conditions as State Secretary Backe. The reference to the difficult transportation conditions to bring the foreign harvests into the Reich does not impress Gauleiter Sauckel in the least; he would find ways and means to utilize the harvest and the cattle from the Ukraine even if he has to draft the whole Jewry of Europe to use them as a human road for the handling of boxes to the Ukraine. “If the food rations both for the Germans and the foreign workers are not increased shortly, then a scandal of the greatest proportion will take place". The decreased resistance of the bodies -especially with the shortage of doctors-will give rise to great epidemics (see Diphtheria Epidemy). It is to be requested from Party member Backe that the proposed increase of bread and meat ration be not done with the start of the winter time only but at the end of the present allotment period, so that the weakened bodies can build up a reserve of strength which will get them well through the winter. The Fuehrer cannot understand the fact that it has to be in the country which carries the greatest weight in the fight for the future of Europe that most people go hungry while this is not the case with France, Holland, Hungary, and the Ukraine and everywhere else; he desires that this be the contrary in the future. As far as the foreign workers in Germany are concerned (with the exception of the workers from the East) a slow reduction of food according to renderment has to be applied to them; it cannot be tolerated that lazy Dutchmen or Italians receive better food than a diligent worker from the East. As far as the nutrition is concerned, here too the principle of renderment has to be applied. Since the new nutrition regulation is seen as being feasible by Gauleiter Sauckel in the above mentioned way of thinking, therefore, the special action of the General Deputy for labor mobilization (GBA) for the importation of domestic workers from the East must be coupled with the current recruiting commission in the Ukraine. The delegation from October to April of 200,000 to 300,000 male and female workers from the East already employed in the German agriculture to industry factories is not affected by this; these forces (incl. the female ones) will be returned in the spring to their original peasant organizations, and there just as before, they will not be employed at home but for agricultural work. A lawful ground for special domestic action, a decree is being prepared, the text of which was read at the conference by Councellor in the Ministry Dr. Letsch. The recruiting which in the case of the female domestic workers will be based especially on voluntariness will be executed in connection with the office of the Reichsfuehrer SS and the Chief of the German police who intend to step in for the pre-examination with regard to a possible worthiness of becoming a German. Those female workers from the East found to be apt for housekeeping will be marked in a special way by the labor and social officers so that they can be recognized as such on the transport lists of the collective shipments. Independent of these, special shipments of domestic female workers are to be considered since Gauleiter Sauckel plans on having brought into the Reich 6,000 persons a day. With reference to the treatment of the female domestic workers from the East in the Reich, this question has been talked over with the Reichsfuehrer SS and the Chief of the German Police, the Reichswomen office, the Party Chancellory, the General Deputy for labor mobilization, the result being a plan for a notice for the German housewomen. The wages of the female domestic workers are to be paid according to a remuneration table for workers from the East; however, this has to be deviated through the fixation of special tariffs by the labor trustees. In reference to the Eastern worker’s tax for management directors, it was decided to ask the Reich’s finance minister to higher the Eastern worker’s tax by half for the families of up to three children and to cut it out completely for families of 4 children and more.

At the end of the conference, the Councellor to the Ministry Letsch-as he had done previously with new notices-tried to get the proposed notice for the German housewomen ratified by those who took part; however, the undersigned protested against that by demanding a copy to determine his position. The representatives of the party chancellery, the nutrition ministry and other offices joined in this demand so that Gauleiter Sauckel promised to make available the draft of the text for September 4, 1942 with the request that final positions be taken by 1400 o'clock.

Generally one gathered from this conference that the questions concerning the recruitment and mobilization as well as the treatment of the female domestic workers from the East are being handled by the General Deputy for labor mobilization, the Reichsfuehrer SS and the Chief of the German police and the party chancellery and that the Reich’s ministry for the occupied territories of the East is not considered as competent or only as half competent. In reference to this the undersigned established specifically that the Reich’s ministry for the occupied territories for the East has not until now participated in the drafting of the notice. He declared furthermore that the Reich’s ministry for the occupied territories of the East is greatly interested in the Propaganda for the mobilization of domestic workers, and that it be carried out in a favored way considering the necessity to have only volunteer forces at the disposition for housekeeping.

Gauleiter Sauckel took knowledge of this with satisfaction.

(signed) Gutkelch