Polish decrees

Polish decrees, Polish directives or decrees on Poles (Polen-Erlasse, Polenerlasse) were the decrees of the Nazi Germany government announced on 8 March 1940 during World War II to regulate the working and living conditions of the Polish workers (Zivilarbeiter) used during World War II as forced laborers in Germany. The regulation intentionally supported and even created anti-Polish racism and discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity and racial background. The decrees were an important step towards codifying Nazi Germany policies and laws on foreign forced labor. They were meant to provide a legal basis for discriminating against Poles, fulfilling at the same time Nazi ideology and the needs of the Nazi economy. The racist notion of the inferiority of the forced laborers and prisoners of war from Poland when compared with the German master race was a prominent feature of the orders. The decrees, which recommended that examples of severe punishment be demonstrated to workers early on, were also aiming at clearly distinguishing the new conditions from pre-war voluntary seasonal labor. Polish workers were required to wear a clearly visible letter "P" badge, in addition to a work permit with a photo. The letter "P" badge was to be to worn on the right breast of every garment worn. Those who did not obey the rules were subject to a fine of up to 150 RM [Reichsmarks] and arrested with a possible penalty of six weeks detention. They should also be kept away from German "cultural life" and "places of amusement" (this included churches and restaurants). Sexual relations between Poles and Germans was prohibited as Rassenschande (race defilement), and so it was recommended that the same numbers of Polish males and females should be recruited, or that brothels should be set up. To keep them segregated from the German population, they were often housed in segregated barracks behind barbed wire. Mobility of workers, housed as far away as possible from Germans, was to be restricted, hence they were barred from using public transportation.