„Th ey ask ed why we painted our nails and hair yellow”. Everyday life in the Hasag ammunition factory in Skarżysk o-Kamienna from the persp ective of Jewish forced laborers

Abstract

The State Ammunition Factory in Skarżysko-Kamienna, which had been taken over by the German Hasag concern from Leipzig shortly after the outbreak of World War II, produced weapons and ammunition for the Wehrmacht during the occupation period. In Skarżysko, as in many other places of this type in the General Government, the German authorities used the work of Jews, who were forced to make inhumane effort and live in terrible sanitary conditions. The aim of this article is to attempt to characterize the daily life of the camp, with particular emphasis on the perspective of Jewish forced labourers.