Book Review: The Exploitation of Foreign Labour by Germany
| Date | 01 April 1946 |
| Author | Eugene Forsey |
| Published date | 01 April 1946 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070204600100214 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book
Reviews
in
1940;
but
for
the
English
Channel
Britain might
well have
shared
the
fate
of
France.
"To
some
Frenchmen the
fact
that
Britain
always
wins
the
last
battle
may
seem less
important
than. the
fact
that
Germany
tends
to win
all
the previous
ones,
which,
on
the
whole,
are
fought
by,
and
in,
France." The r6le
of
the
Fifth
Column
(German
collabora-
tionists)
in,
France
has
been
exaggerated.
Nevertheless,
co-operation
between
the
two
countries
will
not
be
easy.
Britain's
bombing
and
blockading
of
France
during
the war
is
not
forgotten, and
humiliation
has
made France touchy
and
suspicious.
In
spite
ef
a
growing volume
of
mutual
good
will,
their
future
co-
operation
will
be
based
on
a
recognition
of
mutual
need
and
common
interests.
The
Anglo-Soviet
and
French-Soviet
pacts point
to
one
of
these
common
interests;
when
France
is
assured
of
Britain's
whole-
hearted
commitments
to continental
Europe,
and
is
assured
that
she
will
not
again
have
to
face
an
attack
single-handed,
the
basis
is
laid
for
an
enduring
alliance.
The
restoration
of
a
strong
France
is a
pri-
mary
interest
of
Britain,
and
like the
British Commonwealth,
both
nations
will
find
their
security
and
strength
in
the
World
Organization.
Moreover,
the
organization
of
a
united
Western
European
group
is
likely
to
be
one
of
the
principal
objects
of
British
policy in
the
im-
mediate
future.
The
common
interests
of
France
and
Britain
in
the
Mediterranean,
in
their
imperial
responsibilities, and-
in
their
economic
relations
are
reviewed
briefly.
It
is
highly
desirable
that
their cultural
bonds
be
strengthened,
in
order
that
an
enduring
foundation
of
understanding
be
well
and
truly
laid.
They will
share
jointly
very
special
responsi-
bility
as
guardians
of
the
European
heritage.
Western civilization
has
grown
out
of
the
European
tradition,
and
in
spite
of
its
limitations,
we
may believe
that
it
still
has
much
to
contribute
-to
the
building
of
a
healthy
world.
Toronto, November
1945.
Malcolm
W.
Wallace
THE
EXPLOITATION
OF
FOREIGN
LABOUR
BY
GERMANY.
By
John
H.
E.
Fried.
1945.
(Montreal:
International
Labour
Office.
286
pp.
$2.00)
This
is
a
monumental
work. The
mere
collection
of
the
facts
on
which
it
is
based
must have
been
a
stupendous
'task,
especially
under
wartime
conditions.
Their
compression
and
arrangement
have
been
performed
with extraordinary
skill.
Mr.
Fried writes
with
almost
in-
human detachment,
but
the
story
is
one
of
unrelieved,
and
almost
un-
believable
horror.
The Nazis
not
only
oppressed
and
tortured
their
victims,
they
swindled
-them
into
the
bargain,
and
all
this
on
a
scale
that
staggers
the
imagination.
The
exact
number
of
"foreign
workers"
involved
is
difficult
to
estimate,
but
by
January
1944
it
cannot
have been
less
than
8,600,000,
and
was
probably
higher
later.
Certainly
from
1942
on
the number
was
larger
than the
total
of
all
the
German
armed
forces;
and,
taking
account
of
dependants,
the
total
number
affected
must
run
to
thirty
181
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