Jewish Forced Labor in Berlin, 1941-1943

· Background
· Database
· Acknowledgements
· Searching the Database

Background

The use of Jews as forced laborers in the Nazi era, in Germany and elsewhere, was widespread and is well documented.  Most of this took place in Aussenlager (branches) of concentration camps or in ghettos.  However, there were situations where Jews could still reside at home, but were required to work in local factories, and were even paid, though less than other workers.  Such forced labor was less common and rarely documented.

The book Jüdische Zwangsarbeiter bei Ehrich & Graetz, Berlin-Treptow, (Jewish Forced Laborers at Ehrich & Graetz, Berlin-Treptow), edited by Aubrey Pomerance and published by the Jewish Museum in Berlin in 2003, is a rare exception to the above cited lack of information.  It is probably unique in that it contains photographs from the identity cards of 502 Jews (259 men and 243 women) who were forced to work at Ehrich & Graetz, a metal fabrication and electronics firm in Berlin.  Their "employment" began in 1941 and ended in 1943, when all who had not gone into hiding or who had not successfully emigrated were deported to concentration camps in Eastern Europe.  Few survived this.

This file was computerized by Nolan Altman from data at the Jewish Museum website, http://www.kulturkueche.de/inhalt/ausstellung/ausstellung43.htm.  Permission to put this important list online was given by the Jewish Museum in Berlin.  The Museum has an exhibition showing the identity cards of the Jewish Forced laborers at the Ehrich and Graetz factory.  The database contains 533 names taken from the Jewish Museum site, which mentions that there are 537 names.

Database

The database has the following fields:

In the Comments field, words in German are translated as follows:

The database includes both those who perished and those who survived, but does not include fate.  Researchers interested in particular individuals should consult the book itself, where they will find complete dates of birth, local addresses, and fates, again where known.  In most cases they will also find identity card pictures for most of the forced laborers.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to JewishGen Inc. for providing the website and database expertise to make this database accessible.  Special thanks to Susan King, Warren Blatt and Michael Tobias for their continued contributions to Jewish genealogy.  Particular thanks to the Research Division headed by Joyce Field and to Nolan Altman, coordinator of Holocaust files.

Peter Landé
October, 2004

Searching the Database

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Last Update: 28 Feb 2005 by WSB