Steinmeier calls for clarification of forced labor in GDR

In the accord, political prisoners were once forced to labor in the largest women's prison in the DDR, Hoheneck. The products such as stockings were sold to the West.

, and John Stellmacher

2024 July 11 . 2:52 PM

2 min read

In the famed Women's Prison Hoheneck, a new memorial site remembers the fates of political... — In the famed Women's Prison Hoheneck, a new memorial site remembers the fates of political prisoners.

DDR-History - Steinmeier calls for clarification of forced labor in GDR

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls for more enlightenment about forced labor in the GDR (East Germany) and holds accountable former profiteers in the West. At the opening of the new memorial site in the former women's prison Hoheneck, Steinmeier spoke in Stollberg near Chemnitz about a dark chapter in German-German economic history. The inmates were once forced to work under contract and their labor was exploited for foreign currency.

It's good that historians are investigating the former German-German supply chains and the consequences this work had for the political prisoners in the GDR. "I wish that companies, which imported products from GDR production back then, would help with this clarification and engage in dialogue with the former political prisoners," explained Steinmeier. "That would at least be a necessary, but also good gesture of respect."

Hoheneck was once the largest women's prison in the GDR. Between 1950 and 1989, approximately 24,000 women were imprisoned there, around 8,000 of them for political reasons. According to testimonies from eyewitnesses, hard shift work was part of the routine, sometimes until exhaustion. Items such as bed sheets and fine stockings were produced, which were then sold in West Germany. A new memorial site was opened at the former women's prison on a Thursday.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier advocated for increasing awareness about the punishment of forced labor in East Germany, highlighting the need for accountability from former profiteers in the West.
During the opening of the new memorial site in Hoheneck, a former women's prison in East Germany, Steinmeier emphasized the importance of acknowledging this dark chapter in German-German economic history.
Steinmeier urged companies that imported products from East Germany during that period to contribute to the clarification of the consequences of forced labor and engage in dialogue with former political prisoners.
The former Hoheneck women's prison in Saxony, once the largest of its kind in East Germany, housed around 24,000 women between 1950 and 1989, with around 8,000 imprisoned for political reasons.
The new memorial site at Hoheneck is a crucial reminder of the sacrifices women made during this period, often working under harsh conditions for long hours, producing items like bed sheets and stockings that were subsequently sold in West Germany.