(Sauckel: Some were recruited forcibly.)
The drafting started after the recruiting no longer yielded adequate results.
Sauckel: Out of the five million foreign workers who arrived in Germany, not even 200,000 came voluntarily.
Kehrl: Let us forget for the moment whether or not some slight pressure was used. Formally, at least, they were volunteers. After this recruitment no longer yielded satisfactory results, we started drafting according to age groups, and with regard to the first age group the success was rather good. Up to eighty percent of the age group were registered and sent to Germany. This started about June of last year. Following developments in the Russian war and the hopes raised thereby in the western nations, the results of this calling-up of age groups became considerably worse, as can be proved by the figures noted; viz., the men tried to dodge this call-up for transport to Germany, partly by simply not registering at all, partly by not arriving for the transport or by leaving the transport en route. When they found out through these first attempts during the months of July and August that the German executive either was not able or was not willing to catch these shirkers and either to imprison them or take them forcibly to Germany, the readiness to obey the call-ups sank to a minimum. Therefore, relatively small percentages were caught in individual countries. On the other hand, these men, moved by the fear the German executive might after all be able to catch them, did not enter French, Belgian, or Dutch factories, but took to the mountains where they found company and assistance from the small partisan groups there.
Milch: Another question. Since now through the transfer of various industries so much is covered by French labor, as in the textile industry, etc., a corresponding number of German workers would necessarily become free as a result of that.
Kehrl: Then they will not be requisitioned here, though they would have been formerly.
Timm: Nobody is going to be released. Probably other requests will be sent to the same factories.
Sauckel: In this respect I must also draw attention to the fact that the German factories which were shut down were much more up to date and probably worked with less personnel than the French factories.
Milch: But we want all the factories to work for armaments.