La «economía de lo humano». La «intervención del trabajo» agrícola en el Tercer Reich, 1939-1945

Abstract

Due to war economy and Nazi Ideology, the organisation of agricultural work in Germany 1939 to 1945 was built upon political forces; however, it also involved economic and socio-cultural forces. The case of the region of Niederdonau highlights the external and internal dynamics of the field of agricultural work's organisation as opposed to the vision of a centralized and efficient 'human economy' (Menschenokonomie) in the eyes of Nazi bureaucracy. The working and living conditions of the rural workers were differentiated according to 'race', nationality, legal status, gender, age and so on. In practice, they depended upon informal relations with other people of the farm or the rural community rather than formal rights, As a consequence, the field of agricultural work's organisation in general and forced labour in particular were highly segmented.