Reign of Terror and Displacement 1939-1949

3. Speech of the “deputy Reichsprotketor” Reinhard Heydrich. Czech workers in a rolling mill of the Siemens works

3a. Speech of the “deputy Reichsprotketor” Reinhard Heydrich on 2.10.1941 in front of the tops of the protectorate’s administration

[...] die Weisung des Führers lautet: „dass ich mit aller Härte in diesem Raum eindeutig sicherzustellen habe, dass die Bevölkerung, soweit sie tschechisch ist, einsieht, dass an den Realitäten der Zugehörigkeit zum Reich und des Gehorsams gegenüber dem Reich nicht vorüberzugehen ist [...]

Die erste, die Nahaufgabe ist diktiert von den Notwendigkeiten der Kriegsführung. Ich brauche also Ruhe im Raum, damit der Arbeiter, der tschechische Arbeiter für die deutsche Kriegsleistung hier vollgültig seine Arbeitskraft einsetzt und damit wir bei dem riesigen Vorhandensein von Rüstungsindustrien hier den Nachschub und die rüstungsmäßige Weiterentwicklung nicht aufhalten. Dazu gehört, dass man den tschechischen Arbeitern natürlich das an Fressen geben muss – wenn ich das so deutlich sagen darf, dass er seine Arbeit erfüllen kann. [...]

Diese Nahaufgabe setzt voraus, dass wir zunächst einmal dem Tschechen zeigen, wer Herr im Haus ist, dass er genau weiß, hier diktiert das deutsche Interesse und hier ist letzten Endes entscheidend das Reich. [...]

Source: Speech of the “deputy Reichsprotketor” Reinhard Heydrich on 2.10.1941 in front of the tops of the protectorate’s administration.

3b. Czech workers in a rolling mill of the Siemens works, August 1943

Click image to enlarge

Source: BArch, image 183-R46088 http://www.bundesarchiv.de/tools/docview.html?file=/imperia/md/images/zwangsarbeiter/bild_183-r46088_.jpg.

Presentation

The long-term objective of NS politics in the “Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia” was the “Germanization” of the protectorate. All resistance was fought against uncompromisingly by imprisonment, detention in concentration camps, death sentences and retaliatory measures.

Resulting from the war, during the six-year NS reign in Czechia, there also was ruthless exploitation of Czech economic power. The areas which had been spared by the Second World War for a long time provided the NS regime with optimal conditions for armament production. At the same time, about 600.000 Czechs were employed as forced workers in German.

Questions

Which positions do the Czechs take in the thoughts of Heydrich?
How were the Czech forced workers treated by the NS regime?

Display teacher's view to find the answers.

Geographical/Historical Context

The “Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia” encompasses an area of about 49.000 square metres with about 7.5 million inhabitants, of which less than 250.000 were Germans. “Reichsprotektor” Neurath and his deputy Reinhard Heydrich had final discretionary competence. The ultimate aim was the “Germanization” of the protectorate. All resistance was to be blighted. In the course of the six-years occupation, there were several cruel waves of terror in the protectorate. They were, above all, aimed against personalities of Czech public life. Over 20.000 Czechs died in concentration camps like Theresienstadt, on death marches or in Gestapo prisons. Resulting from the war, during the six-year NS reign in Czechia, there also was ruthless exploitation of Czech economic power. The areas which had been spared by the war for a long time provided the NS regime with optimal conditions for armament production due to their rich ground deposit and their skilled workers. At the same time, about 600.000 Czechs were employed as forced workers, also in Germany.

Answer to the Questions

The Czechs were considered inferior in Nazi thought. German interests had absolute priority, the Czechs had to bow to German rule. For Heydrich, the worth of Czechs only consisted in their workforce for the war.
The treatment of Czech workers by the NS regime was degrading; they were forced to hard labour in “total employment” (“Totaleinsatz”) for the war and poorly provided for. They only received food in order to work for German war interests. Especially in Germany, they were poorly accommodated and suffered from cold, hunger as well as often poor sanitary conditions. One wrong word could have life-threatening consequences.