Forced Laborers in Luxembourg: “Keiner weinte, es gab keine Tränen mehr”

The book “´No one cried, there were no more tears´. Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian Female Forced Laborers in Luxembourg during the Second World War from a Transnational Perspective”, published by capybarabooks and the C²DH, sheds light on the everyday life and working conditions of Soviet forced laborers in Luxembourg during the Second World War. How did they experience the hard times under the German occupation, and how did these experiences shape their later lives? With the help of German, American, Luxembourgian and Soviet documents, as well as the personal memories of the so called “Ostarbeiters”, Eastern workers, a comprehensive picture is drawn: from the deportation from the occupied Soviet Union, the hardships of the transport and the stay in transit camps, to the working and living conditions in the Grand Duchy. It also describes the fate of Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians after the liberation of Luxembourg and their return to their homeland – although this only rarely meant a return to their old lives.

This book is the result of a scientific project led by Dr. Inna Ganschow from 2021 to 2024 at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), funded by the Luxembourg Ministry of State and is edited by the C²DH and capybarabooks.

The presentation will be held in German by Inna Ganschow, with words of introduction by Professor Denis Scuto who holds the Chair Histoire & Migrations of the University of Luxembourg and the City of Dudelange.