“Generalbevollmächtigter für den Arbeitseinsatz” (General Plenipotentiary for the Labor Deployment)

With the lack of military success and the increased demand for labor in the armaments industry and agriculture, the Nazi regime massively expanded the deportation of forced laborers, especially from Eastern Europe, starting in 1942. At the same time, the system of forced labor was further professionalized. A separate authority was created for this purpose: the “Generalbevollmächtigter für den Arbeitseinsatz” (General Plenipotentiary for the Labor Deployment, GBA). At its head was Fritz Sauckel, district leader of Thuringia. The organization was subordinate to Göring’s Four-Year Plan Authority, and the employees of the Reich Ministry of Labor worked for the GBA. Here, among other things, specific guidelines were drawn up on how many workers should be brought into the Reich from the various regions of Europe. Sauckel was one of the 24 main defendants at the main Nuremberg war crimes trial. He was sentenced to death and executed by the International Military Tribunal.