Driven by the chilling winds of history, the story of Zwangsarbeit, or forced labor, in Vienna is a stark reminder of a dark chapter. It serves as a memorial to those who suffered immensely under the Nazi regime.
Zwangsarbeit refers to the forced labor imposed by the National Socialists. People were forced to work due to their race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs. Discriminatory labor laws created extremely different living conditions for these people.
Beginning in 1938, Zwangsarbeit became a harsh reality in Austria. By 1939, the German Reich faced labor shortages because of rearmament. Men from Austria and Germany were conscripted. People from occupied territories were brought in as prisoners of war. They also came as civilian forced laborers. These individuals came from Poland, France, and former Yugoslavia.
By 1944, over a third of jobs in industry and trade were filled by foreign civilians. Their labor was essential for construction and the Reichsbahn. Initially, prisoners of war primarily worked in agriculture and forestry. However, their roles expanded into crafts, industry, and construction. The Mauthausen concentration camp had 40 sub-camps throughout the country. Dachau concentration camp had 13 smaller sub-camps in western Austria. These camps forced people into labor.
Starting in 1942, concentration camp prisoners became a last-resort labor pool. This was used for the German war economy. The Nazis’ racial ideology created a hierarchy among forced laborers. Those deemed “Germanic” such as the Flemish, Dutch, Danes, and Norwegians were at the top. They stood beside German Nazi opponents. Spaniards, French, Italians, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Hungarians, and others followed. Poles and Soviet Union citizens were considered “subhumans.” They endured even harsher conditions. Jews, Roma, and Sinti were at the very bottom. They were labeled “asocials” by the Nazis.
In autumn 1944, about 580,000 people from the Soviet Union, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, France, and other countries were forced laborers in Austria. Around 182,000 prisoners of war were held. They were largely forced to work. At least 55,000 Hungarian Jews were forced to work. They built the “Southeast Wall.” Thousands perished on death marches to concentration camps.
Vienna saw the horrors of Zwangsarbeit firsthand. Camps and makeshift accommodations housed forced laborers from Albania, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Russia, Czechia, Turkey, and Hungary. In summer 1944, Vienna’s Mayor Hanns Blaschke requested forced laborers. He wanted to address the labor shortage in Vienna. The Eichmann Special Operations Command established a Vienna office to manage forced labor. At least 55,000 Hungarian Jews were deported to eastern Austria for forced labor in 1944. As the front approached, these Jews were forced on death marches. Their destination was Mauthausen and Gunskirchen.
The catastrophic working and living conditions led to countless deaths. Many Zwangsarbeiter died in Vienna. They cleared bombs or were caught in attacks on industrial sites. Some died escaping. They drowned in the Danube or were shot by guards.
Today, memorials like this one serve as somber reminders. They commemorate the suffering endured by those forced into labor. They stand as testaments to the resilience of the human spirit. They warn against the dangers of hatred and oppression.