Fritz Sauckel

Fritz Sauckel was an early Nazi who rose to become, in 1942, Plenipotentiary General for the Utilization of Labor, with authority for the "the utilization of all available manpower including that of workers recruited abroad and of prisoners of war." In one of the more controversial decisions, he was hanged by order of the Trial of the Major War Criminals of the International Military Tribunal. Airey Neave, one of the prosecutors, suggests that both Albert Speer and Hermann Goering were more guilt of the title of "the greatest slaver of all time", and comments that Sauckel appears to have tried to obtain humane treatment for workers.

Early Nazi career

Sauckel joined the Nazi Party in 1923, and became Gauleiter of Thuringia in 1927. He was a member of the Thuringian legislature from 1927 to 1933, was appointed Reichsstatthalter for Thuringia in 1932, and Thuringian Minister of the Interior and head of the Thuringian State Ministry in May, 1933. He became a member of the Reichstag in 1933. He held the formal rank of Obergruppenfuehrer in both the SA and the SS.

Economic role

Hitler's decree directed Sauckel to operate within the scope of Goering's Four Year Plan for the German economy. On 27 arch, 1942 Goering issued a decree as Commissioner for the Four Year Plan transferring his manpower sections to Sauckel. Hitler, in a supplemental decree of 30th September 1942, gave Sauckel authority to appoint Commissioners in the various occupied territories, and "to take all necessary measures for the enforcement" of his original decree.

Sauckel, a former merchant saior, described his role as "I was like a seamen's agency — if I supply hans for a ship, I am not responsible for any cruelty that may be exercised aboard ship without my knowledge."

Under the authority which he obtained by these decrees. Sauckel set up a program for the mobilization of the labor resources available to the Reich. One of the important parts of this mobilization was the systematic exploitation, by force, of the labor resources of the occupied territories. Shortly after Sauckel had taken office, he had the governing authorities in the various occupied territories issue decrees, establishing compulsory labor service in Germany. Under the authority of these decrees Sauckel's commissioners, backed up by the police authorities of the occupied territories, obtained and sent to Germany the laborers which were necessary to fill the quotas given them by Sauckel.

He described so-called "voluntary" recruiting by a whole batch of male and female agents just as was done in the olden times for shanghaiing". That real voluntary recruiting was the exception rather than the rule is shown by Sauckel's statement on 1st March, 1944, that "out of five million foreign workers who arrived in Germany not even 200,000 came voluntarily".