As the Second World War progressed, German men were drafted into the armed forcesWehrmacht
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. At the same time, the war effort required an increase in production. To make up for the shortfall in male workers, German industries increasingly relied on women, foreigners, enslaved Jews, and prisoners-of-war.

Workforce Demographics Overview

The tables in this section is a summary of the tables shown in the later sections.

All industries by sex

Workforce demographics for all industries by sex.1Kräftebilanz der gewerblichen Wirtschaft. NARA T78 R145. 2Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57.
Month Male Female
1939-05 74.6% 26.4%
1940-05 71.0% 29.0%
1943-08 58.2% 41.8%
1943-11 58.3% 41.7%
1944-02 58.4% 41.6%
1944-05 57.8% 42.2%
1944-08 57.3% 42.7%
1944-11 56.4% 43.6%

Armaments industry by sex

Workforce demographics for armaments industry by sex.3. Überblick über die rüstungswirtschaftlichen Grundlagen der Fertigung : Stand 1. Dezember 1942. Wa Stab I a St/Nr. 2000/42 g.Kdos. NATA T78 R155 H 15/22. Pages 68-71. 4Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57.
Month Male Female
1941-03 80.5% 19.5%
1941-06 77.4% 22.6%
1941-09 76.6% 23.4%
1941-12 76.3% 23.7%
1942-03 76.5% 23.5%
1942-06 75.7% 24.3%
1942-09 74.1% 25.9%
1942-12 73.6% 26.4%
1943-07 69.4% 30.6%
1943-08 68.6% 31.4%
1943-09 68.4% 31.6%
1943-10 68.7% 31.3%
1943-11 68.5% 31.5%
1943-12 68.7% 31.3%
1944-01 68.9% 31.1%
1944-02 68.9% 31.1%
1944-03 68.7% 31.3%
1944-04 68.8% 31.2%
1944-05 68.8% 31.2%
1944-06 68.7% 31.3%
1944-07 68.6% 31.4%
1944-08 67.9% 32.1%
1944-09 66.3% 33.7%
1944-10 65.4% 34.6%
1944-11 64.8% 35.2%
1944-12 64.3% 35.7%

All industries by ethnicity

Workforce demographics for all industries by ethnicity.5Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57.
Month German Foreign workers and Jews POWs
1943-08 77.1% 17.9% 5.0%
1943-11 75.1% 18.5% 6.4%
1944-02 74.7% 18.7% 6.6%
1944-05 75.6% 18.1% 6.3%
1944-08 75.0% 18.7% 6.3%
1944-11 74.9% 19.8% 5.3%

Armaments industry by ethnicity

Workforce demographics for armaments industry by ethnicity.6. Überblick über die rüstungswirtschaftlichen Grundlagen der Fertigung : Stand 1. Dezember 1942. Wa Stab I a St/Nr. 2000/42 g.Kdos. NATA T78 R155 H 15/22. Pages 68-71. 7Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57.
Month German Foreign workers and Jews POWs
1943-07 69.2% 27.1% 3.8%
1943-08 68.8% 27.7% 3.5%
1943-09 68.7% 27.7% 3.6%
1943-10 67.3% 27.2% 5.5%
1943-11 67.0% 27.4% 5.7%
1943-12 66.3% 27.4% 6.4%
1944-01 65.6% 27.7% 6.7%
1944-02 65.2% 27.9% 6.9%
1944-03 65.3% 27.9% 6.9%
1944-04 65.6% 27.6% 6.8%
1944-05 65.7% 27.6% 6.7%
1944-06 65.0% 28.2% 6.7%
1944-07 64.6% 28.6% 6.8%
1944-08 64.3% 29.5% 6.2%
1944-09 63.8% 31.7% 4.5%
1944-10 63.4% 32.4% 4.2%
1944-11 62.9% 32.9% 4.2%
1944-12 62.4% 33.5% 4.1%

Size and Demographics, 1943-1944

Demographics of the workforce employed in Germany's industries. Foreign workers and Jews were counted as a single category. Prisoners-of-war were not divided by sex in the original documents and are all included under male workers in the total. Not all numbers are available for all months. The numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. For different months, numbers were gathered at the middle and end of the month, respectively. From February 1944 the numbers include Reichgau Wartheland in occupied Poland.8Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57.
Month German Foreign workers and Jews POWs Total by sex Total
Male Female Male Female Male Female
1943-07 1 528 000
1943-08 11 916 000 10 512 000 3 540 000 1 659 000 1 462 000 16 918 000 12 171 000 29 089 000
1943-09 11 693 000 10 449 000 3 587 000 1 698 000
1943-11 11 418 000 10 337 000 3 613 000 1 732 000 1 855 000 16 886 000 12 069 000 28 955 000
1943-12 11 477 000 10 381 000 3 640 000 1 738 000
1944-02 11 290 000 10 218 000 3 628 000 1 757 000 1 901 000 16 819 000 11 975 000 28 794 000
1944-03 11 996 000 11 022 000 3 657 000 1 787 000
1944-05 11 968 000 11 056 000 3 715 000 1 815 000 1 917 000 17 600 000 12 871 000 30 471 000
1944-06 11 922 000 11 194 000 3 831 000 1 905 000
1944-08 11 795 000 11 144 000 3 814 000 1 908 000 1 930 000 17 539 000 13 052 000 30 591 000
1944-09 11 633 000 11 304 000 3 944 000 1 975 000
1944-11 11 432 000 11 207 000 4 016 000 1 978 000 1 596 000 17 044 000 13 185 000 30 229 000

Armaments Industry, 1941-1944

Demographics of the workforce employed in Germany's armaments industry. Foreign workers and Jews were counted as a single category. Prisoners-of-war were not divided by sex in the original documents and are all included under male workers in the total. Not all numbers are available for all months. In 1941 and 1942 the numbers were in exact numbers, while the 1943 and 1944 numbers were rounded to the nearest thousand. For different months, numbers were gathered at the beginning, middle, and end of the month, respectively.9. Überblick über die rüstungswirtschaftlichen Grundlagen der Fertigung : Stand 1. Dezember 1942. Wa Stab I a St/Nr. 2000/42 g.Kdos. NATA T78 R155 H 15/22. Pages 68-71. 10Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57.
Month German Foreign workers and Jews POWs Total by sex Total
Male Female Male Female Male Female
1941-03 3 775 404 915 020 4 690 424
1941-06 3 346 420 979 292 4 325 712
1941-09 3 498 322 1 067 349 4 565 671
1941-12 3 515 218 1 088 906 4 604 124
1942-03 3 590 604 1 103 268 4 693 872
1942-06 3 515 401 1 129 056 4 644 457
1942-09 3 629 004 1 265 399 4 894 403
1942-12 2 651 977 840 844 216 060 3 708 881 1 330 115 5 038 996
1943-07 2 515 000 1 209 000 1 022 000 437 000 202 000 3 739 000 1 646 000 5 385 000
1943-08 2 300 000 1 151 000 966 000 426 000 176 000 3 442 000 1 577 000 5 019 000
1943-09 2 391 000 1 203 000 1 000 000 451 000 190 000 3 581 000 1 654 000 5 235 000
1943-10 2 378 000 1 213 000 992 000 460 000 296 000 3 666 000 1 673 000 5 339 000
1943-11 2 399 000 1 237 000 1 014 000 472 000 307 000 3 720 000 1 709 000 5 429 000
1943-12 2 418 000 1 238 000 1 023 000 487 000 352 000 3 793 000 1 725 000 5 518 000
1944-01 2 341 000 1 190 000 1 005 000 484 000 361 000 3 707 000 1 674 000 5 381 000
1944-02 2 343 000 1 193 000 1 021 000 495 000 372 000 3 736 000 1 688 000 5 424 000
1944-03 2 474 000 1 268 000 1 071 000 528 000 393 000 3 938 000 1 796 000 5 734 000
1944-04 2 542 000 1 291 000 1 078 000 534 000 396 000 4 016 000 1 825 000 5 841 000
1944-05 2 571 000 1 306 000 1 094 000 537 000 396 000 4 061 000 1 843 000 5 904 000
1944-06 2 575 000 1 312 000 1 132 000 556 000 402 000 4 109 000 1 868 000 5 977 000
1944-07 2 564 000 1 320 000 1 148 000 569 000 408 000 4 120 000 1 889 000 6 009 000
1944-08 2 553 000 1 368 000 1 210 000 591 000 375 000 4 138 000 1 959 000 6 097 000
1944-09 2 484 000 1 451 000 1 329 000 625 000 277 000 4 090 000 2 076 000 6 166 000
1944-10 2 452 000 1 496 000 1 358 000 656 000 262 000 4 072 000 2 152 000 6 224 000
1944-11 2 374 000 1 502 000 1 362 000 667 000 256 000 3 992 000 2 169 000 6 161 000
1944-12 2 265 000 1 470 000 1 338 000 664 000 245 000 3 848 000 2 134 000 5 982 000

Workforce by Industry, 1939-1940

Work force numbers and changes between 31 May 1939 and 31 May 1940, by industry.11Kräftebilanz der gewerblichen Wirtschaft. NARA T78 R145.
Industry 31 May 1939 Conscripted men Natural inflow and military service outflow 31 May 1940
Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total
Industrial 7 953 340 2 665 570 10 618 910 1 361 249 497 790 -64 094 433 696 7 089 881 2 601 476 9 691 357
Crafts 4 176 290 973 139 5 149 429 794 288 -354 493 -31 480 -385 973 3 027 509 941 659 3 969 168
Trade 1 558 717 1 263 572 2 822 289 360 038 -63 051 -52 050 -115 101 1 135 628 1 211 522 2 347 150
Transportation 1 760 639 127 816 1 888 455 176 478 18 412 87 928 106 340 1 599 573 215 744 1 815 317
Tourism 322 363 414 700 747 063 47 520 -62 610 -34 433 -97 043 222 233 380 267 602 500
Energy 214 185 17 254 231 439 40 502 8 304 4 277 12 581 181 987 21 531 203 518
Banking 170 579 51 453 222 032 50 619 -1 616 18 471 16 855 118 344 69 924 188 268
Insurance 78 154 30 912 109 066 25 828 -2 938 3 468 530 49 388 34 380 83 768
Total 16 244 267 5 544 416 21 788 683 2 859 522 39 798 -67 913 -28 115 13 424 543 5 476 503 18 901 046

References

  1. Kräftebilanz der gewerblichen Wirtschaft. Statistisches Reichamt, Abteilung VI, 1940. NARA T78 R145. Back
  2. Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. Plannungsamt - Hauptabteilung Planstatistik, 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57. Back
  3. . Überblick über die rüstungswirtschaftlichen Grundlagen der Fertigung : Stand 1. Dezember 1942. Heereswaffenamt, 1942. Wa Stab I a St/Nr. 2000/42 g.Kdos. NATA T78 R155 H 15/22. Pages 68-71. Back
  4. Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. Plannungsamt - Hauptabteilung Planstatistik, 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57. Back
  5. Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. Plannungsamt - Hauptabteilung Planstatistik, 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57. Back
  6. . Überblick über die rüstungswirtschaftlichen Grundlagen der Fertigung : Stand 1. Dezember 1942. Heereswaffenamt, 1942. Wa Stab I a St/Nr. 2000/42 g.Kdos. NATA T78 R155 H 15/22. Pages 68-71. Back
  7. Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. Plannungsamt - Hauptabteilung Planstatistik, 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57. Back
  8. Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. Plannungsamt - Hauptabteilung Planstatistik, 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57. Back
  9. . Überblick über die rüstungswirtschaftlichen Grundlagen der Fertigung : Stand 1. Dezember 1942. Heereswaffenamt, 1942. Wa Stab I a St/Nr. 2000/42 g.Kdos. NATA T78 R155 H 15/22. Pages 68-71. Back
  10. Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. Plannungsamt - Hauptabteilung Planstatistik, 1945. BArch R 3/1730. Pages 55-57. Back
  11. Kräftebilanz der gewerblichen Wirtschaft. Statistisches Reichamt, Abteilung VI, 1940. NARA T78 R145. Back

Sources

  1. Kräftebilanz der gewerblichen Wirtschaft. Berlin : Statistisches Reichamt, Abteilung VI, 1940. 19 p. NARA T78 R145.
  2. Statistischen Schnellberichte zur Kriegsproduktion : Stand: Januar 1945. Plannungsamt - Hauptabteilung Planstatistik, 1945. 57 p. BArch R 3/1730.
  3. . Überblick über die rüstungswirtschaftlichen Grundlagen der Fertigung : Stand 1. Dezember 1942. Heereswaffenamt, 1942. 90 p. Wa Stab I a St/Nr. 2000/42 g.Kdos. NATA T78 R155 H 15/22.