Ukrainian Ostarbeiters in Erlangen: Socio-Demographic Structure, Employment, and Everyday Practices

Abstract

The study of forced labor of Ukrainians in the Third Reich requires localized reconstructions capable of linking macrohistorical mechanisms of mobilization with the specific urban context of placement and employment. In this regard, Erlangen – as a university-industrial center of Bavaria in 1942–1945–emerges as a representative case of the integration of Ukrainian Ostarbeiters into the structure of the wartime high-precision industrial economy. The aim of this research is to reconstruct the socio-demographic structure, employment parameters, and key features of the everyday life of Ukrainian forced laborers in the city and municipal district of Erlangen. The methodology is based on the analysis of statistical records produced by municipal services in 1941–1944, postwar nominal registers, and archival materials, enabling the reconstruction of gender and age proportions, geographical origins, and patterns of labor and accommodation. The findings indicate that the peak arrival of Ukrainian Ostarbeiters occurred in spring – summer 1942, with the contingent composed predominantly of young women from the central and eastern regions of Ukraine, while the share of minors and older individuals remained relatively small. Employment was concentrated in industrial enterprises, with elements of skill-based selection that generated internal differentiation of labor functions. Everyday life was shaped by the combination of production workload, regulated housing, restricted mobility, and surveillance, forming a system of spatial and social control. The Erlangen case thus makes it possible to conceptualize Ukrainian Ostarbeiters as a structurally defined group characterized by distinct demographic parameters, regional concentration of origin, and typical adaptation strategies under conditions of forced integration into the city’s wartime economy.