Research Catalog

Title

Wearing the letter "P" : Polish women as forced laborers in Nazi Germany, 1939-1945 / Sophie Hodorowicz Knab.

Author

Knab, Sophie Hodorowicz

Publication

New York, NY : Hippocrene Books, [2016]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

ix, 293 pages : illustrations; 23 cm

Summary

"Author Sophie Knab's parents were Polish forced laborers in Germany during World War II. For years her mother was unable to discuss or answer questions about this period of her life. Compelled to learn more about her mother's experience and that of other Polish women, Knab began a personal and emotional quest. Over the course of 14 years, she conducted extensive research of postwar trial testimonies housed in archives in the U.S., London, and in Warsaw to piece together facts and individual stories from this singular and often-overlooked aspect of World War II history. As mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters, female Polish forced laborers faced a unique set of challenges and often unspeakable conditions because of their gender. Required to sew a large letter 'P' onto their jackets, thousands of women, some as young as age 12, were taken from their homes in Poland and forced to work for the Reich for months and years on end. In this important contribution to World War II history, Knab explains how it all happened, from the beginning of occupation in Poland to liberation: the roundups; the horrors of transit camps; the living and working conditions of Polish women in agriculture and industry; and the anguish of sexual exploitation and forced abortions--all under the constant threat of concentration camps. Knab draws from documents, government and family records, rare photos, and most importantly, numerous victim accounts--diaries, letters and trial testimonies--to present an unflinching, detailed portrait of the lives of female Polish laborers, finally giving these women a voice and bringing to light the atrocities that they endured"--Provided by publisher.

Alternative Title

Polish women as forced laborers in Nazi Germany, 1939-1945

Subjects

• Forced labor
• Foreign workers, Polish
• Polish people
• Women
• Poland
• Germany
• World War, 1939-1945 > Conscript labor > Germany
• Poland > History > Occupation, 1939-1945
• Forced labor > Germany > History > 20th century
• Germany > Social conditions > 1933-1945
• Foreign workers, Polish > Germany > History > 20th century
• Polish people > Germany > History > 20th century
• Atrocities
• Personal narratives > Polish
• 1900-1999
• World War (1939-1945)
• Social conditions
• World War, 1939-1945 > Atrocities > Germany
• World War, 1939-1945 > Personal narratives, Polish
• Occupation of Poland (1939-1945)
• World War, 1939-1945 > Women > Germany
• Women > Germany > History > 20th century
• History

Genre/Form

• Personal narratives.
• History.
• Personal narratives – Polish.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-285) and index.

Contents

Recruitment and roundups -- The transit camps -- Transport, arrival and the March decrees -- Life and work in agriculture and factories -- Health, illness and hospitalization -- Pregnancy and childbearing -- Last days of the war and DP camps.

Call Number

JFE 18-2844

ISBN

• 9780781813594
• 078181359X

LCCN

2016034889

OCLC

956688308

Author

Knab, Sophie Hodorowicz, author.

Title

Wearing the letter "P" : Polish women as forced laborers in Nazi Germany, 1939-1945 / Sophie Hodorowicz Knab.

Publisher

New York, NY : Hippocrene Books, [2016]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-285) and index.

Chronological Term

1900-1999

Research Call Number

JFE 18-2844