Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Golfo Alexopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Prison System ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Concentration Camp ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Labor Camp

This introductory chapter argues that violent human exploitation constituted the essential purpose of Stalin's Gulag. Over the course of the Stalin years, this system of exploitation was unrelenting, punitive, and increasingly brutal. Camp prisoners had to be maximally “utilized” and worked to the point of utter depletion. Stalin's Gulag was, in many ways, less a concentration camp than a forced labor camp and less a prison system than a system of slavery. The official language of the camps, as revealed by recently declassified Gulag archival sources, illustrates the degree to which prisoners were constituted, exploited, and discarded as “human raw material.”

The Banality of Evil Reconsidered: SS Mid-Level Managers of Extermination Through Work

1997 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Thad Allen
Keyword(s):  
Good Reason ◽  
Concentration Camp ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Banality Of Evil ◽  
Managerial Problem

Historians have mostly, and with good reason, examined the industrial exploitation of concentration-camp prisoners from the standpoint of its injustice. Studies have covered either the politics which led to forced labor, the involvement of individual factories where prisoners suffered starvation and death, or the harrowing experience of the Victims. Yet few have considered forced labor as the perpetrators saw it: coldly, as a colossal managerial problem. A surprisingly small number, no more than 200 top and mid-level bureaucrats within the Wirtschaftsverwaltungshauptamt of the SS (WVHA), brokered prisoners to labor sites across the Reich, and, after 1941, across the breadth of Europe. Of course, many more German managers were involved in the execution of forced labor programs, and an examination of the WVHA can by no means capture the whole picture.

scholarly journals Industrial Activity of the Southern Kuzbass Corrective Labour Camp of the USSR Ministry on Internal Affairs (1947–1948)

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 116-126
Author(s):  
Yu. V. Ryabova
Keyword(s):  
Spare Parts ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Industrial Activity ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The Road ◽  
Labor Camp ◽  
Internal Affairs ◽  
Harsh Climate ◽  
Main Activity ◽  
Council Of Ministers

The article considers the process of formation of industrial activity of the Southern Kuzbass Corrective Labor Camp of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. The chronological framework of the study is set between 1947–1948. Particular attention is paid to the development of the road infrastructure of the camp and additional areas of production activities such as timber processing and agriculture. The main issues of material, housing and food security for convicts are also examined. The main activity of the camp was logging. The camp was located in the south of Kemerovo Oblast in the Gornaya Shoria district. The Southern Kuzbass Corrective Labor Camp was established based on resolution № 409 of the Council of Ministers dated 1 March 1947 and replaced the previously existing Southern Kuzbass Logging Trust. At first it was difficult to undertake a major restructuring of the principles of economic activity which were inherited by the camp from the Southern Kuzbass Logging Trust. Although the workforce of the Southern Kuzbass Corrective Labor Camp was based primarily on the use of forced labor, civilian workers still continued to work there. Difficult working conditions, harsh climate conditions, spatial dispersion of manufacturing sites, supply issues, lack of human resources along with inflated state plans led to significant difficulties in the labor camp. The camp was in desperate need of warm clothing for the prisoners, special tools, food, personnel and paramilitary protection for spare parts and fuel for vehicles, traction power, and so on. However, the amounts of procurement, transportation and removal of wood by the camp was significantly higher than previous results of the Southern Kuzbass Logging Trust. This allows us to conclude that the use of forced labor resulted in the increase of overall volume of logging in Kuzbass and reduce the need for timber in coal mines.

A New Approach to Pre-Columbian Pottery

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Dean E. Arnold ◽  
Yumi Park Huntington ◽  
Johanna Minich
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Ceramic Production ◽  
Specific Group ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Archaeological Ethics ◽  
The World ◽  
Material Agency ◽  
Art Historians

Clay is the most malleable raw material used by many cultures across the world. Its fired product, ceramics, are commonly studied by archaeologists, art historians, and anthropologists. This introductory chapter describes the various perspectives and how these disciplines study the ceramics of ancient America and the cultures that produced them. Bringing together a variety of approaches and terminologies used by these three disciplines, this chapter reveals the complementarity of the differences of these varied approaches. Since ceramic objects constitute part of the history and identity of a specific group of people, it is also important to consider the archaeological ethics of studying Pre-Columbian ceramics, especially how archaeologists and art historians perform authentication and respect cultural heritage. Summarizing the unique properties of ceramics, the operational sequences of their production, and considerations of both human and material agency, the chapter also shows how recognizing various ceramic production sequences (chaîn opératoire) enables reconstruction of ancient societies through different disciplines. This multidisciplinary approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of ceramics than possible with any single discipline.

Krzesiny i Kreising – między pamiętaniem a pomijaniem. Polskie miasteczko wobec historii, pamięci i rywalizacji w cierpieniu

2014 ◽  
pp. 443-461
Author(s):  
Danijel Matijevic ◽  
Jan Kwiatkowski
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Local Population ◽  
The Other ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
World War ◽  
The Past ◽  
Labor Camp ◽  
The City

The area around Krzesiny, located near the city of Poznań, Poland, witnessed several dark events during World War II: Germans oppressed the local population, culminating in a terrorizing action dubbed “akcja krzesińska;” also, a forced labor camp, named “Kreising,” was built near the township, housing mainly Jews. After the war, the suffering in Krzesiny was remembered, but selectively – “akcja” and other forms of Polish suffering were commemorated, while the camp was not. By exploring the “lieux de mémoire” in Krzesiny – dynamics of memory in a small township in Poland – this paper uses localized research to address the issue of gaps in collective memory and commemoration. We briefly look at the relevant history, Polish memory regarding wartime events in Krzesiny, and the postwar dynamics of collective memory. Discussing the latter, we identify a new phenomenon at work, one which we dub “collective disregard” – group neglect of the past of the “Other” that occurs without clear intent. We argue that “collective disregard” is an issue that naturally occurs in the dynamics of memory. By making a deliberate investment in balanced remembrance and commemoration, societies can counter the tendencies of “disregard” and curb the controversies of competitive victimization claims, also called “competitive martyrdom”.

scholarly journals Narrativa, imagem e potência em “Tudo o que tenho levo comigo”, de Herta Müller

Scriptorium ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 33267
Author(s):  
Lóren Cristine Ferreira Cuadros
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Literature ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Psychological Violence ◽  
Testimonial Literature ◽  
Labor Camp ◽  
Labor Camps ◽  
Physical And Psychological Violence

O romance “Tudo o que tenho levo comigo”, da escritora romeno-alemã Herta Müller, é constituído por uma série de imagens poéticas que são produto da visão pictórica de seu narrador, Leo Auberg. Aos dezessete anos, o jovem romeno é deportado para um gulag após a ocupação de seu país pelas tropas soviéticas e encontra na observação da beleza dos elementos de seu cotidiano no campo de trabalhos forçados uma forma de resistir à violência física e psicológica a que é submetido. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo sugerir que em vez de encobrir os horrores dos gulags, a estetização presente na obra de Müller evidencia a crueldade dos crimes cometidos pelos soviéticos tornando-a, portanto, tão válida quanto as narrativas testemunhais sobre o assunto.*** Narrative, imagery and potency in Herta Müller’s “Atemschaukel” ***“The Hunger Angel”, a novel by Romanian-born German author Herta Müller, consists of successive ima- gery arising from the picturesque vision of its narrator, Leo Auberg. At the age of seventeen, the young Romanian is deported to a gulag after the occupation of his country by Soviet troops and finds in observing the beauty of the elements of his daily life at the forced labor camp a way of resisting the physical and psychological violence to which he is subjected. This article aims to suggest that instead of concealing the horrors of the forced labor camps, the aestheticization found in Müller’s novel rather emphasizes the cruelty of the crimes committed by the Soviets, thus making it as valid as testimonial literature works on the subject.Keywords: Comparative Literature; Gulag; Herta Müller; Imagery.

scholarly journals ACTIVITIES OF THE FORCED LABOR CAMP IN THE CHUVASH AUTONOMOUS REGION IN THE TOWN OF CHEBOKSARY

2021 ◽  
pp. 22-26
Author(s):  
Elena V. Vyrlan
Keyword(s):  
Regional Level ◽  
Volga Region ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Autonomous Region ◽  
Labor Camp ◽  
Historical Archive ◽  
Labor Camps ◽  
History Of ◽  
Chuvash Republic ◽  
The Town

The article attempts to analyze the activities of forced labor camps using as an the example the functioning of the Forced Labor Camp of the Chuvash Autonomous Region (ChAO) in 1920–1921. The work is based on previously unpublished sources of the State Historical Archive of the Chuvash Republic. The study shows the features of classifying the prisoners, their number in the forced labor camp of the Chuvash Autonomous Region in the town of Cheboksary, the regime restrictions imposed on them, it also analyses the most frequent violations of discipline in the camp, shows the issues of the camp organization and the conditions of service in it, the system of employees’ remuneration, as well as the difficulties in the institution’s functioning under existing socio-economic situation during the years of mass famine in the Volga region. The history of establishment and operation of forced labor camps is currently poorly covered, especially at the regional level. Basing on the results of the study, the author makes a conclusion on the reasons for liquidation of forced labor camps, as well as on the need for detailed studying the regional aspects of the problem under consideration.

scholarly journals Croatian scientists and politicians falsifying the number of victims in the Jasenovac concentration camp in the ISC from 1941 to 1945

Napredak ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-100
Author(s):  
Marko Atlagić
Keyword(s):  
Concentration Camp ◽  
Concentration Camps ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Independent State ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Labor Camp ◽  
The People ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Republic ◽  
To Come

The Jasenovac Concentration Camp, run by the Ustashas in the ISC from 1941 to 1945, was the largest human slaughterhouse in the Balkans and one of the biggest concentration camps in Europe in the Second World War. In was where the crime of genocide was committed in the most cruel fashion against 800 000 Serbs, 40 000 Jews and 60 000 Roma, as well as the murder of around 4000 Croat, 2000 Slovene and 1800 Muslim antifascists. The terrible crimes of genocide were documented by local as well as foreign historical sources and even the very participants in the events. Recently, we have been witnesses to the daily falsifying of not only the number of Jasenovac victims but also the character of the camp itself by Croatian historians and statesmen. Their aim is to redefine the fascist past of Croatia in order to avoid having to face the crime of genocide committed against Serbs not only in the so-called Independent State of Croatia [ISC] (1941-1945) but also during the so-called Homeland War (1991-1995). This presents a very clear danger for the future of so-called Independent State of Croatia (ISC). Also misrepresented is the nature of the camp itself, which is falsely defined as a labor camp or even holiday camp. Amongst others, the persons involved in this altering of facts are: Ivan Supek, Academy member, Josip Pečarić, Academy member, Prof. Stjepan Razum, Igor Vukić, Mladen Ivezić, Franjo Kuharić, the Society for the Study of the Jasenovac Triple Camp [Društvo za istraživanje trostrukog logora Jasenovac], Dr Franjo Tuđman and Stjepan Mesić. The first and greatest distortion of the number of victims and the character of the camp was performed by Dr Franjo Tuđman, who established the foundations for this in his works, and in particular in his book Wastelands of Historical reality. The aim of these falsifications is a redefining of the fascist past of the country, the misrepresentation of fascists as antifascists and antifascists as fascists. All of this represents a serious danger for the future of Croatia, which is failing to come to terms with the past and refusing to condemn the all of the crimes committed, including genocide. Croatia today, an independent and democratic country, is showing signs of Ustasha tendencies, much like those seen in Pavelić's ISC. It is necessary to face this fact and the sooner it is done, the better it will be for the people of the Republic of Croatia.

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