| Reference: | 1. | OKW/WFST/Qu. (Adm.1) Qu.2 (West) No. 05201/44 secret of 8 July 1944 (distributed only to Commander in Chief West and the Military Commanders.) |
| 2. | OKW/WFST/Qu. (Adm.1) Qu.2 (West) No. 05431/44 secret of 19 July 1944. |
(File Notes)
| Subject: | Procurement of Labor in the West. | |
With Ref. to 2, Chief OKW has ordered:
“The communication of Field Marshal Von Kluge of 8 July, addressed to the Reich Minister for Armament and War Production, crossed with my order of the same day.” (OKW/WFST/Qu. (Adm. 1) Qu. 2 (West) No. 05201/44 secret).
From this it is evident that, by order of the Fuehrer, under suspension of orders to the contrary, the wishes of the Plenipotentiary for Labor [Sauckel] and of Reich Minister Speer must, in principle, be carried out. Further, to my teletype, the following additional general directions apply in future, as a result of the conference of ministers in the Reich Chancellery on 11 July, about which the Commander in Chief West will have been informed by the military commander:
Rejecting justified misgivings with regard to peace and security in the interior of the country, seizures must be carried out wherever the opportunities referred to in my above-mentioned teletype offer themselves. As the only limitation, the Fuehrer has ordered that no forcible means shall be employed against the population in the actual combat area as long as it [the population] shows itself prepared to assist the German Armed Forces. However, recruiting of volunteers from among refugees from the combat zone is to be carried out vigorously. Moreover, every means is justified to seize as much labor as possible otherwise, apart from [using] the powers granted to the armed forces.
In order to render as effective as possible the measures which have been introduced, the troops are furthermore to be instructed in general as to the necessity of the organization for conscription of labor in order to put an end to the open and covert resistance which has arisen in many instances. The field commandants and the offices of the military administration must give wide support to the representatives of the Plenipotentiary for Labor Allocation and refrain from encroaching on their sphere of activity.
I now direct that the necessary orders in this sense be given and that I be constantly informed about the measures taken and their execution.
Indorsement of Commander in Chief West: