The Enemy on the Farm: The Economic Contribution of German and Italian POW Employment in Britain and the British Dominions during and after the Second World War
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Johann Custodis
Abstract
This paper attempts to fill the gap of the economic aspect of prisoner of war (POW) employment with regards to German and Italian POWs in British hands during and after the Second World War. It quantifies German POW employment in Britain and Canada, its productivity, economic contribution and revenues for the captors. Germans and Italians contributed almost 200 million man days and at peak one per cent to GDP to the British economy, mostly in agriculture and mostly post-war. Canada’s rural sector equally appreciated German POW labour and revenues almost exceeded costs. German POWs presented an asset in disguise: The unskilled, unwilling enemy was turned into a compliant and productive fire fighter against raw material bottlenecks.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Abhandlungen und Studien
- Historical Economics of Wars in the 20th Century
- Health on the Home Front: Infant Deaths and Industrial Accidents during Mobilization for World War II
- Productivity Change and Mine Dynamics: The Coal Industry in Japan during World War II
- Democracy at a Disadvantage? British Rearmament, the Shadow Factory Scheme and the Coming of War, 1936-40
- Swiss Trade with the Allies and the Axis Powers during the Second World War
- The Enemy on the Farm: The Economic Contribution of German and Italian POW Employment in Britain and the British Dominions during and after the Second World War
- The Wartime Origins of the Wirtschaftswunder: The Growth of West German Industry, 1938-55
- How did the Capital Market Evaluate Germany’s Prospects for Winning World War I? Evidence from the Amsterdam Market for Government Bonds
- II. Dokumentation
- An Input-Output Table for Germany in 1936: A Documentation of Results, Sources and Research Strategy
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Abhandlungen und Studien
- Historical Economics of Wars in the 20th Century
- Health on the Home Front: Infant Deaths and Industrial Accidents during Mobilization for World War II
- Productivity Change and Mine Dynamics: The Coal Industry in Japan during World War II
- Democracy at a Disadvantage? British Rearmament, the Shadow Factory Scheme and the Coming of War, 1936-40
- Swiss Trade with the Allies and the Axis Powers during the Second World War
- The Enemy on the Farm: The Economic Contribution of German and Italian POW Employment in Britain and the British Dominions during and after the Second World War
- The Wartime Origins of the Wirtschaftswunder: The Growth of West German Industry, 1938-55
- How did the Capital Market Evaluate Germany’s Prospects for Winning World War I? Evidence from the Amsterdam Market for Government Bonds
- II. Dokumentation
- An Input-Output Table for Germany in 1936: A Documentation of Results, Sources and Research Strategy
