Furthermore, sufficient food, and at least primitive shelter, are to be provided for the prisoners within the framework of possibility. In the camps for prisoners, scheduled for work projects, as well as in those for the others, skillful propaganda is necessary, which must be carried out by camp newspapers, movies, lectures, simple musical events, games, etc.

Every camp commandant must be made responsible that every prisoner of war, guarded by him, will return to his home later on as a propagandist for Germany. Of course, on the other side, action must be taken with utmost severity against possible agitators. In any case, in the future a difference must be made between real prisoners of war and deserters. The deserters are to be provided with identification certificates, and in any case are to be treated better than the prisoners of war. Especially this measure should have far-reaching success in reference to the deterioration of the Red Army.

I would appreciate an expression of opinion soon, and information of appropriate action.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 084-PS

Berlin NW 7, The 30 Sept.
Hegelplatz 2

Central Office [Zentralstelle] for Members of Eastern Nationals. In (ZO)

Concerning: Present Status of the question of Eastern Laborers.

The commitment and treatment of foreign laborers, who have been brought into the Reich from occupied Eastern territories, depicts a proceeding which will not only be of significant importance to the German war production and the securing of food, but also for the carrying out of German administrative interests in a former Soviet area. Two large fields of action are affected by the way in which the problems connected with the inclusion of millions of Eastern nationals in the Reich are solved: 1. Development of the war situation. 2. The enforcement of the German claim to leadership in the East after the war.

When the call for labor in Germany was increased in January, 1942 among the occupied Eastern territories, this set up a situation among those classes of Russian and Ukrainian civilians concerned which had by all means the appearance of a risk. Even if one group (the volunteers) set excessive hopes on the journey into the Reich under the impression of irresponsible promises while the other (forced laborers) left their homes reluctantly or at least with misgivings because of memories of former Bolshevist deportations as well as planted anti-German rumors, the fact remains that the trip to Germany had to be felt as journey into the unknown not only by the two concerned but also by those relatives who remained behind because of the isolation of the USSR from Europe for decades. The public judgment of the Reich and its leadership would be dependent upon the outcome of this measure taken by the German military and civilian authorities in the occupied Eastern territories. The employment in Germany offered an unusual opportunity to learn to know by personal experience, which no propaganda could replace. The greater German Reich was much slandered by the Soviet press, and the National Socialistic position to the working class and thus to gain a basis of comparison to the corresponding Communistic doctrines and methods. This meant no more nor less, than that the draft of Eastern laborers would be of importance in the development of political opinions among the Eastern nationals towards the power which was presently occupying the region which would aid measures taken to accomplish the recruitment, the housing etc., in the Reich, which should have been taken into consideration from the start, since in view of the necessity to keep the aid of the native inhabitants in the huge areas behind the front, factors which cannot be controlled by regulations or orders, namely the frame of mind, which is of war potential value, must be considered.

Instead of taking consideration of this, the drafting and the employment as well as the housing, treatment etc. of the so-called Eastern laborers has so far been taken care of exclusively according to labor, technical and the security police points of view, with the result that the headquarters responsible for this were able to report the due numerical fulfilment of the program as well as the security of the German nationality and of the businesses. At the time, however, facts had to be hushed which could have been avoided not only in the interests of German prestige and to the satisfaction of the occupied Eastern territories but which even today cost the lives of thousands of German soldiers by their efforts. The facts which up to the fall of 1942, have undergone only part or incomplete changes, among others, the following.