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On numerous cards for arriving prisoners in the period from 1934 to 1937, a red square can be found in the top right-hand field instead of the abbreviation for the prisoner catergory. These are cards for prisoners who were taken into protective custody on the ground of Paragraph 20 of the Reichsfürsorgepflichtverordnung of 1924 – the so-called Arbeitszwanggesetz. People who, as a result of their “own moral fault”, claimed welfare benefits for themselves or their relatives could be subjected to “work education” in Dachau, for a minimum of three months and a maximum of three years. This usually concerned people who persistently refused the work opportunities offered to them, for example due to supposed “work aversion” or addiction, and were therefore unable to meet with their maintenance obligations. The red rectangle was to separate the cards of these “compulsory work” prisoners from the cards of others who were taken into political custody because of political reasons. It was only in 1937/38, when, due to the more and more differetiated prisoner categories, it was begun to mark the cards of “compulsory work” prisoners with the abbreviation “AZ” (for “Arbeitszwang”).
On numerous cards for arriving prisoners in the period from 1934 to 1937, a red square can be found in the top right-hand field instead of the abbreviation for the prisoner catergory. These are cards for prisoners who were taken into protective custody on the ground of Paragraph 20 of the Reichsfürsorgepflichtverordnung of 1924 – the so-called Arbeitszwanggesetz. People who, as a result of their “own moral fault”, claimed welfare benefits for themselves or their relatives could be subjected to “work education” in Dachau, for a minimum of three months and a maximum of three years. This usually concerned people who persistently refused the work opportunities offered to them, for example due to supposed “work aversion” or addiction, and were therefore unable to meet with their maintenance obligations. The red rectangle was to separate the cards of these “compulsory work” prisoners from the cards of others who were taken into political custody because of political reasons. It was only in 1937/38, when, due to the more and more differetiated prisoner categories, it was begun to mark the cards of “compulsory work” prisoners with the abbreviation “AZ” (for “Arbeitszwang”).
The e-Guide distinguishes between main cards and variations. The reason for this is that there are sometimes different versions of a single type of document that can vary significantly.
The documents referred to as main cards in the e-Guide are standard documents that were used especially frequently in concentration camps, DP camps, and for the registration of forced laborers, and about which a good deal of information is available. The Arolsen Archives also hold variations of these documents, however, which served the exact same purpose as the corresponding main cards, but which look different. There are various reasons for this: Some camps used their own individually produced cards instead of the standard versions. In many other cases, individual cards and forms were used before the introduction of standardized pre-printed forms.
If you have any additional information about this document or any other documents described in the e-Guide, we would appreciate it very much if you could send your feedback to eguide@arolsen-archives.org. The document descriptions 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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