“Unrecht niemals vergessen” the inscription proclaims. This is the Memorial to Forced Laborers in Ettlingen. Stand here and feel the weight of history. Over 3000 people from 13 nations were forced to work in Ettlingen during the Nazi regime. Imagine 800 women among them.
These individuals were prisoners of war or foreigners. They were forced into labor for German war production. Most came from France and the Soviet Union. They toiled in agriculture forestry trade crafts city administration and private homes. 250 businesses in Ettlingen profited from their exploitation. These were the so-called “foreign workers”.
This memorial isn’t the first to acknowledge their suffering. Earlier memorials with name plates and sandstone crosses existed on the town’s cemetery. This current structure however was a major expansion. It was initiated by the Ettlingen Alliance Against Racism and Neo-Nazism during Thomas Fedrow’s term as mayor.
A team shaped this memorial. It included members from the Alliance the City Historical Commission the German-Russian Society and the German Trade Union Federation. The city archives and building department also contributed.
Architect Johannes Jakubeit designed the memorial. Karlsruher artist Hannelore Langhans brought his vision to life. The memorial was officially inaugurated on September 8 2019.
The memorial is a striking half-globe. Burning Europe is depicted in red. A large black marker pinpoints Ettlingen’s location. Black lines connect Ettlingen to 13 countries. These lines symbolize the connection between Ettlingen and the homelands of the forced laborers. The inscription visible on the white surface of the globe serves as a powerful reminder.
World War II witnessed widespread exploitation. Countless businesses farms and construction sites used forced laborers. They replaced German workers drafted into the Wehrmacht. This ensured continued war production and supplied the remaining population. Over 20 million men women and even children were forced into labor across Europe. Most were violently abducted from their homes.
It took decades after 1945 for Europe to fully acknowledge the injustice. German society eventually took responsibility for its actions. Zwangsarbeit had an economic function. It was also a tool of exclusion and persecution. It was part of the Nazi regime’s racist social order. It served to demean and increasingly to physically exterminate victims.
Groups deemed “subhuman” suffered especially. Jews Roma Sinti prisoners of war and “Ostarbeiter” endured brutal conditions. They lacked labor protections. They faced frequent abuse and punishment for minor infractions. Forced labor became a key part of Germany’s war effort. By late summer 1944 around a quarter of the German workforce were forced laborers. Laws decrees and administrative guidelines regulated the treatment of foreign workers. These regulations however stripped workers of fundamental human rights.
The German population showed a deep contradiction in their treatment of these workers. They were to be spared as the worker pool dwindled towards the war’s end. Yet their well-being was deemed irrelevant to the possibility of a German victory. The treatment of forced laborers varied greatly. It depended on the individual German who employed them in their businesses.
Over 3000 foreign workers are documented in Ettlingen between 1939 and 1945. Many came from France and the Soviet Union. Workers from Turkey and the Netherlands were also present. They were employed across various sectors. They weren’t just in war-related industries.
Let this memorial serve as a lasting testament. Let it remind us of the profound suffering caused by the Nazi regime. Never forget. Never again.