LEADER 03747cam a2200481 i 4500001 254946 005 20240621200541.0 008 170126s2016 nyu b 000 0deng 010 2016034889 020 9780781813594 |q(paperback) 020 078181359X |q(paperback) 035 (OCoLC)ocn956688308 035 254946 042 pcc 043 e-gx---e-pl--- 049 LHMA 040 DLC |beng |erda |cDLC |dBTCTA |dYDXCP |dBDX |dJAO |dJQM |dLHM 050 00 D805.G3 |bK593 2016 100 1 Knab, Sophie Hodorowicz, |eauthor. 245 10 Wearing the letter "P" : |bPolish women as forced laborers in Nazi Germany, 1939-1945 / |cSophie Hodorowicz Knab. 264 1 New York : |bHippocrene Books, |c[2016] 300 ix, 293 pages : |billustrations ; |c23 cm 336 text |btxt |2rdacontent 337 unmediated |bn |2rdamedia 338 volume |bnc |2rdacarrier 520 2 "Author Sophie Knab's parents were Polish forced laborers in Germany during World War II. For years her mother was unable to discuss or answer questions about this period of her life. Compelled to learn more about her mother's experience and that of other Polish women, Knab began a personal and emotional quest. Over the course of 14 years, she conducted extensive research of postwar trial testimonies housed in archives in the U.S., London, and in Warsaw to piece together facts and individual stories from this singular and often-overlooked aspect of World War II history. As mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters, female Polish forced laborers faced a unique set of challenges and often unspeakable conditions because of their gender. Required to sew a large letter 'P' onto their jackets, thousands of women, some as young as age 12, were taken from their homes in Poland and forced to work for the Reich for months and years on end. In this important contribution to World War II history, Knab explains how it all happened, from the beginning of occupation in Poland to liberation: the roundups; the horrors of transit camps; the living and working conditions of Polish women in agriculture and industry; and the anguish of sexual exploitation and forced abortions--all under the constant threat of concentration camps. Knab draws from documents, government and family records, rare photos, and most importantly, numerous victim accounts--diaries, letters and trial testimonies--to present an unflinching, detailed portrait of the lives of female Polish laborers, finally giving these women a voice and bringing to light the atrocities that they endured"--Provided by publisher. 504 Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-285) and index. 505 0 Recruitment and roundups -- The transit camps -- Transport, arrival and the March decrees -- Life and work in agriculture and factories -- Health, illness and hospitalization -- Pregnancy and childbearing -- Last days of the war and DP camps. 591 Record updated by Marcive processing 21 June 2024 650 0 World War, 1939-1945 |xConscript labor |zGermany. 650 0 World War, 1939-1945 |xWomen |zGermany. 650 0 Polish people |zGermany |xHistory |y20th century. 650 0 Women |zGermany |xHistory |y20th century. 650 0 Forced labor |zGermany |xHistory |y20th century. 650 0 Foreign workers, Polish |zGermany |xHistory |y20th century. 650 0 World War, 1939-1945 |vPersonal narratives, Polish. 650 0 World War, 1939-1945 |xAtrocities |zGermany. 651 0 Poland |xHistory |yOccupation, 1939-1945. 651 0 Germany |xSocial conditions |y1933-1945. 650 7 Women. |2homoit 650 7 Womyn. |2homoit 655 7 Personal narratives. |2lcgft 852 0 |bscstacks |hD805.G3 |iK593 2016