Wearing the letter "P" : Polish women as forced laborers in Nazi Germany, 1939-1945

Resource Information

The work Wearing the letter "P" : Polish women as forced laborers in Nazi Germany, 1939-1945 represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in European University Institute. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Wearing the letter "P" : Polish women as forced laborers in Nazi Germany, 1939-1945

Title remainder

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

Statement of responsibility

Sophie Hodorowicz Knab

Creator

• Knab, Sophie Hodorowicz

Subject

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

Genre

• Personal narratives, Polish

Language

eng

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"--

Assigning source

Provided by Publisher

Biography type

contains biographical information

Cataloging source

DLC

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography