The exposition tells of the places and conditions of forced labor of Shostka residents in the Third Reich. Life in cramped wooden sheds and heavy daily work became the daily routine of long wartime years for the 14 million foreigners brought to Germany. Among them were more than 2 million residents of Ukraine who had the worst living conditions, the lowest standards of nutrition, but did physically hard work. The exposition presents a map of Europe where our fellow countrymen worked, photos of Nazi high officials – Fritz Zaukel and Erich Koch, official documents that defined the living and working conditions for foreigners in the Third Reich. Nazi officials called the multinational group of workers from the occupied territories of the USSR “Ostarbeiter” (in German, “Eastern workers”), forcing them to wear the OST badge. Personal documents: workbooks, work cards, letters that were allowed to be sent twice a month, all these tell about the life of forced workers from Ukraine in captivity. Most of the Shostka locals found themselves working for military enterprises in the cities of Magdeburg, Coswig, Güssen, Gera, and Saarbrücken. The exhibit features materials from 40 former Ostarbeiters, prisoners of concentration camps, and prisoners of war from Shostka city and region.
- Fritz (Friedrich) Sauckel (1894–1946), state and party activist in Nazi Germany, Chief Reich Commissioner. Sauckel was among the 24 people charged with war crimes at the main international trial in Nuremberg and sentenced to death. On 16 October 1946, the sentence was executed.
- Erich Koch (1896–1986, State Prison in Barchevo, Poland), statesman and party leader of Nazi Germany. In 1942-1944 – the Reich Commissar of Ukraine. Pursued brutal occupation policy in Ukraine and Poland, in particular, deportation for forced labor in Germany. Koch was arrested in 1949, sentenced to death in 1959, then his sentence was changed to life imprisonment.
- Map of the “German Empire” 1937 – 1943
- A letter from the head of the Labor Exchange in Berlin to the local “Kaiser AG” metallurgical enterprise about paying the cost of shipping for a group of workers from Kharkiv. 11/5/1942 The cost of delivering one Ostarbeiter to this metallurgical enterprise wss 31 reichsmark. (Recruitment and delivery to the Reich border – 8 reichsmark, travel from the border to Berlin – 20 reichsmark, other additional costs – 3 reichsmark).
- An OST badge, that is, Ostarbeiter, translated as Oriental Worker, which persons deported from the occupied territories of the USSR were obliged to wear in Nazi Germany. 1942-1945
- A badge with national symbols of Ukrainians. On June 19, 1944, police ordered that the blue and white OST sign be formally replaced by oval stripes with national symbols of Ukrainians, Russians, and Byelorussians, to be worn on the left-hand side of their clothing. But in most cases, forced workers continued to wear the OST Ostarbeiter badge.
- A badge with national symbols of Russians. On June 19, 1944, police ordered that the blue and white OST sign be formally replaced by oval stripes with national symbols of Ukrainians, Russians, and Byelorussians, to be worn on the left-hand side of their clothing. But in most cases, forced workers continued to wear the OST Ostarbeiter badge.
- A badge with national symbols of Byelorussians. On June 19, 1944, police ordered that the blue and white OST sign be formally replaced by oval stripes with national symbols of Ukrainians, Russians, and Byelorussians, to be worn on the left-hand side of their clothing. But in most cases, forced workers continued to wear the OST Ostarbeiter badge.
- An Instruction Page of German Labor Front for the Heads of Camps for the Ostarbeiters 1942
- A note of Chief Commissioner for the Utilization of Manpower in Reich, F. Sauckel, with respect to taxation and social custody of foreign laborers. September 1, 1942
- A Letter from the ” House Construction – Furstenberg” company to the administration of the “Kaiser AG” metallurgical plant (Berlin) with cost estimates for the construction of barracks for the forced labor camp. 04/30/1942
- A note of the German Labor Front in Berlin to the management of the “Kaiser AG” metallurgical enterprise regarding the wearing of OST markers on their Ostarbeiters’ left arms. 1943
- A German-Ukrainian industrial-technical dictionary used in the Nord Zeelbach general Camp (Baden-Württemberg Land). [1942–1944].
- A circular of the German Labor Front in Berlin, dated September 14, 1942, on prohibiting ostarbeiters from going outside the camp, from appearing in public, and from shopping in any German store
- A postcard with rules of residence and work in Germany for workers from the eastern occupied territories. 1942
- An Ostarbeiter work card. 1943 This document showed the Ostarbeiter’s place of work. It was given to the worker and provided the right to go from the camp to the enterprise. Polish workers had similar cards.
- An Ostarbeiter work card. 1943
- An Ostarbeiter work card. 1943
- An Ostarbeiter work card. 1943
- A foreigner’s workbook. 1944 This document was introduced for Ostarbeiters on May 1, 1943. It records the worker’s basic biographical data, his place of work and the names of his employers. Separate pages were provided for stamps from medical examinations and official records. The foreigner’s employment record was usually kept in the management of the enterprise or at the Labor Exchange, and was not given to the worker.
- A foreigner’s workbook. 1944.