"The German Electrical Industry and Coerced d Labour between the German Colonial Era and the Second World War - The Case of the Oberspree Cable Factory in Berlin"

In my presentation, I will discuss the role of coerced labor in the electrical industry in the 20th century. I will focus on the German electrotechnical supply industry between German colonialism and World War II.
During the two world wars in the first half of the 20th century, the German electrical industry was a major supplier to the armaments industry. Rising demand led to an expansion of the workforce in the electrical industry, where the recruitment of workers and the structuring of working conditions were of crucial importance. Especially during the Second World War, arms production increasingly relied on coerced labor of foreign civilians from Western and Eastern Europe. Did the electronics industry also rely on coerced labor during the First World War? Was the use of coerced labor a constant in such specific, extreme situations? Was there continuity in the use of coerced labor during these wars, as well as a transfer of knowledge and experience?
These questions will be explored through the history of the Berlin cable factory "Kabelwerk Oberspree", founded in 1897 by the German electrical company "Allgemeine Electrizitäts-Gesellschaft" (AEG), also known as German GE. At times, KWO was the largest metalworking company in Germany. After a brief look at the history of KWO, I look at connections of AEG to European colonialism and developments during the First World War. The then AEG director Walther Rathenau was a fierce critic of German colonialism. Later he played a key role in shaping the German war economy during the First World War. I will then focus at developments during the Second World War, when Jewish forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners were also deployed there.
Finally, a comparison is drawn between the various forms of coecered labor regarding the question of efficiency.