Domestic legitimation obligation

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The Inlandslegitimierungszwang was an edition of the Prussian government , especially for Polish migrant workers from Austria-Hungary and Russia , the seasonal workers to prevent restrictive in longer residence times.

history

Due to the rural exodus of the German population, East German agriculture in particular urgently needed foreign workers. In order to protect itself from a feared Polonization , the Prussian government issued in 1909, among other restrictive measures, the domestic legitimation obligation . In this regard, the southern German states did not follow the rigid Prussian foreign policy . Despite the considerable requirements, the Russian and Austrian Poles made up two thirds of the 1.2 million foreign workers in what was then the Kingdom of Prussia in 1910 .

Legitimation cards

Along the eastern border, 141 branches of the field workers' central office controlled entry traffic . Only seasonal workers with a permanent contract and employer were admitted. The evidence entitles the holder to purchase a legitimation card as a residence permit for a fee on the territory of the German Reich. The cards were sorted by color - Dutch and Belgians received blue immigration permits, Poles red, and Ruthenians yellow.

abuse

The notes recorded information about the employee and employer. The employee needed the employer's consent to change jobs. Otherwise there was a threat of immediate deportation due to "lack of zeal for work" or "breach of contract". If a Polish worker was unable to identify himself, he was immediately deported because of illegal residence or an obvious suspicion of breach of contract. The systemic discrimination, especially against Polish migrant workers, gave employers a free hand to exploit workers. So it was common practice to withhold part of the agreed wages as a deposit and later to provoke the employee through inhuman treatment until he could be found guilty of breach of contract. The police in turn deported the employee who was successfully cheated out of his wages.

Reintroduction

Weimar Republic

Friedrich Heinrich Karl Syrup , Minister in the Schleicher cabinet , issued the ordinance on foreign workers in 1933 in view of the very high unemployment in Germany . The state labor offices reintroduced the domestic legitimation requirement and issue " work cards " and monitor the newcomers (Mark Terkessidis, 2000).

Federal Republic of Germany

The procedure was reintroduced in the 1950s as part of the recruitment of guest workers . (Mark Terkessidis, 2000).

literature

See also