Exploiting the enemy: The economic contribution of prisoner of war labour to Nazi Germany during WWII

Johann Custodis, 18 September 2012

There were 35 million prisoners of war in WWII. This column presents new research on the use of their labour in Nazi Germany, quantifying the economic impact on the Nazi wartime economy.

The subject of foreign and forced labour exploitation by the Third Reich is not one of meagre proportions. More than 14 million forced labourers passed through the Reich from 1939 to 1945, of whom 4.6 million had been prisoners of war (POWs).

Topics: Economic history, Frontiers of economic research, Labour markets
Tags: Labour Markets, Nazi Germany, prisoners of war, WWII

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Hatred transformed: How Germans changed their minds about Jews, 1890-2006

Hans-Joachim Voth, Nico Voigtländer, 1 May 2012

The persecution of Jews during WWII is one of the darkest and most puzzling chapters of recent history. This column asks how economics can help our understanding, particularly of how people’s attitudes to Jews have changed over time. It argues that ‘cultural economics’ shows that there is more to understanding how people behave than looking at their incentives.

How and when do people change their minds? For example, watching a popular television series like AMC’s Mad Men seems to transport us straight to another planet. It shows the lives of advertising executives on Madison Avenue in the 1960s who spend their days drinking heavily (from 9am), chain-smoking, and fornicating.

Topics: Frontiers of economic research
Tags: economic history, genocide, Jews, Nazi Germany, WWII