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In order to manage the civilian forced laborers they employed, German companies and other employers created personnel cards (Firmenpersonalkarten). These varied from company to company, as there was no set form. Instead, the people responsible, for example, staff in personnel departments, used existing index cards. They almost always used the same preprinted cards as for German workers. Card indexes from various companies have been preserved in the Arolsen Archives. However, in most cases, these are copies rather than the original records.

In order to manage the civilian forced laborers they employed, German companies and other employers created personnel cards (Firmenpersonalkarten). These varied from company to company, as there was no set form. Instead, the people responsible, for example, staff in personnel departments, used existing index cards. They almost always used the same preprinted cards as for German workers. Card indexes from various companies have been preserved in the Arolsen Archives. However, in most cases, these are copies rather than the original records.

Background information on documents relating to forced laborers

Questions and answers

  • Where was the document used and who created it?

    Company personnel cards were kept in the company personnel departments. In smaller companies, where there was no separate personnel department, individual employees were responsible for the card index.

  • When was the document used?

    Personnel card indexes for employees are typical resources used by many companies. The card indexes existed even before records were created for civilian forced laborers, when millions of them were deployed to German companies from 1939, and then especially from 1941/1942. After the end of the war, the card indexes were usually simply continued. The records of foreign civilian laborers were then either left in the card indexes or removed; in some cases, records were also destroyed. Hence, in the late 1940s, and then especially in the 1980s and 1990s, original company card indexes only came to the International Tracing Service (ITS), the predecessor institution of the Arolsen Archives from a relatively small number of companies.

  • What was the document used for?

    Forced labor took place in virtually all sectors of the economy. In the private sector, it ranged from small craft businesses to large industrial companies. Civilian forced laborers were almost always treated in the same way as German employees by personnel departments when it came to administration. They kept their work books and income tax cards and pasted stamps on their receipt cards for invalidity insurance. They also created company personnel cards for them on which they noted all their important personal details.

    Although each company used its own personnel cards, there are a number of similarities which help to identify them. All company personnel cards generally contain personal information about an employee, such as their date of birth, marital status, place of origin, current place of residence, start of employment (Eintrittsdatum), periods of illness, work performed in the company, and employment history. They may also contain a record of any documents that were handed in and kept by employers.

    The company personnel cards that came to the International Tracing Service (ITS), the predecessor institution of the Arolsen Archives, after the war were used for tracing purposes, and to help clarify the fates of their holders. From the beginning of the 1990s, like all documents relating to forced laborers, they were important in connection with compensation for central and eastern European civilian laborers. These laborers were excluded from compensation payments from the Federal Republic of Germany for decades. It was not until the mid-1990s that individual former civilian laborers were able to apply for compensation. Documents such as company personnel cards could prove that they had performed forced labor. Foundations in the native countries of central and eastern European civilian laborers received money from Germany and used it to pay out symbolic amounts in recognition of the persecution suffered by civilian forced laborers. However, most of the civilian forced laborers were no longer alive 60 years after the end of the war.

  • How common is the document?

    At the Arolsen Archives, company personnel cards are part of the War Time Card File (Collection 2.2.2.1), which contains a total of 4.2 million documents related to forced laborers. To make it easier to trace people, ITS staff compiled one card file from various card indexes they had received from companies and other sources. Unfortunately, it is therefore unclear exactly how many company personnel cards are held in the Arolsen Archives. But in the near future, modern computer technology will find the answer: clustering techniques will make it possible to automatically identify company personnel cards, as well as other documents, and to virtually collate cards of the same type. In any case, it is already certain that there are only a few cards from a small number of companies. So if company personnel cards of civilian forced laborers are preserved in the Arolsen Archives, this is an exception rather than the rule.

  • What should be considered when working with the document?

    The preprinted cards used for company personnel cards were not intended specifically for civilian forced laborers, but rather for German employees. Consequently, there are many fields that do not concern civilian forced laborers, such as the question relating to NSDAP membership. This is also the reason why most of the fields on their cards have been left blank.

    In most cases, it is difficult to tell where the company personnel cards come from. As a result of the assimilation of individual company card indexes into one War Time Card File, this information was often lost. The company to which they belong is only known if staff at the International Tracing Service (ITS), the predecessor institution of the Arolsen Archives, stamped the name of the company on the copies of company personnel cards. It is therefore always advisable to search the Arolsen Archives collections for other documents related to the person named on the company personnel card. In many cases, this can clarify where the person was required to perform forced labor. In some cases, it is also possible to search for company names via the archival description.

    Company personnel cards should not be confused with the personnel cards that existed for prisoners of war. The term Personalkarte (personnel card) is printed on the cards of prisoners of war, but these cards originated in a different context. For this reason, the e-Guide distinguishes between the personnel cards issued for prisoners of war and the company personnel cards issued for civilian forced laborers.

    If you have any additional information about this document, please send your feedback to eguide@arolsen-archives.org. The document descriptions in the e-Guide are updated regularly – and the best way for us to do this is by incorporating the knowledge you share with us.

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