they had to work with Polish labourers as they could not keep up with the
pace, particularly during harvest. Some willing ones, however, needed only
4−6 weeks of practice and good board to meet the requirements.
In early April 1940, I was called to the Arbeitsamt and, in the presence of
the Polish police commandant, I was obliged to deliver 30 female labourers
every day to Laski (3 km from Grodzisk) to do farm and garden work in the
forest inspectorate estate managed by receivership. At first, we sent different
labourers every day, though due to a demand and complaint filed with
the Landkomissar,¹¹³⁶ we had to provide the same labourers for a period of
14−28 days plus a regular group commander. The labourers received no remuneration for their work. We coped in the following way: We sent well-off girls
who could buy food with their own funds. They complained that the poor were
privileged. Some wealthy daughters regarded it as harassment. Personally,
I believed that each, even the richest Jewish daughter, could and should do
that 4-week sort of farming course. Groups of labourers marched to work
every day and returned tanned, healthier, and with a new experience of working
on a farm. We intervened several times to force the Oberförstmeisterin¹¹³⁷
to provide at least midday meals to the poorer labourers, but she refused
even though that agricultural estate brought good profits. Significantly, for
her two children (grandchildren) she had a Jewish governess assigned by the
Judenrat. Except for food, the governess was not remunerated, on the basis
that Die Juden sind Sklaven und müssen unentgeltlich arbeiten.¹¹³⁸ At the same
time, however, she did not care that the “Jewish slave” was bringing up her
grandchildren, of pure, Nordic, blue blood in their veins. The Labour Office
intervened, but to no avail. The girls worked there until late autumn. Some
of them were even happy [x],¹¹³⁹ but they could not accept that the enemy was
making a profit on their work.
1136 The Sochaczew-Błonie county governor’s office had two delegate offices, in Żyrardów and Grodzisk, each headed by a commissioner (Landkomissar). The Landkommissar in Grodzisk in 1940 was Richard Lissberg. See Max Freiherr du Prel, Das Deutsche Generalgouvernement Polen. Ein Überblick über Gebiet Gestaltung und Geschichte (Krakau, 1940), p. 207.
1137 (German) female forest inspector.
1138 (German) Jews are slaves and they must work without remuneration.
1139 [x] [with] that work.
