§ LORD MAMHEADasked His Majesty's Government whether in the United States of America or in Germany there are any laws conscripting women for national or war work and if so what are the maximum and minimum ages of the women who can be conscripted.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DOMINION AFFAIRS (LORD CECIL)(Viscount Cranborne)There are as yet so far as our reports show, no such laws in force in the United States of America: my right honourable friend will ask His 527WA Majesty's Ambassador at Washington to report if any should be passed.
As regards Germany, any German national, whether man or woman, is liable for industrial conscription under the Ordinance concerning the Securing of Labour Supplies for Work of National Importance, of the 13th February, 1939, as amended by Decree of 1st September, 1939. The scope of the Ordinance is limited, and only applies to those branches of economic life which are concerned with defence and the satisfaction of essential needs of the community.
Conscription is not by age group and men and women of all ages have been called on for compulsory work. Registration is likewise not by age group, but is carried out for men and women of all ages on the basis of the Work Books, which nearly all members of the community in active employment are now obliged to hold, irrespective of whether they are wage and salary earners or are in dependent occupations. There is evidence, however, that women are called up for interviews at the Labour Offices from time to time, and it is claimed that since June, 1941, women have been interviewed at the rate of about 180,000 per month. Married as well as unmarried women may be conscripted.
Although it is officially estimated that 2,300,000 men and women have been called up since the introduction of labour conscription, the numbers in compulsory labour at the present time are comparatively small. In mid-July last, the latest period for which figures are available, there were 437,000 men and only 174,000 women on conscripted work. Conscription is in general for limited periods only; in this case conscripts have their previous posts kept open for them, unless the firm is forced to close owing to war conditions. Even so, the system of 528WA direct compulsion has proved highly unpopular despite the inducements put forward in the way of separation allowances for workers forced to live away from home. Direct compulsion is, in fact, applied less now than at the outbreak of war. It should be noted that since practically all workers in Germany are now obliged to get permission from the competent labour authorities to relinquish or change their employment, the formal conscription of labour does not play the same role as previously.
In addition to this general industrial conscription, women are recruited for certain special organizations, notably the Women's Labour Service and the Compulsory Year's Service. For the Women's Labour Service, unmarried women between the ages of 17–25 may be called up. They are called up generally by age groups. Certain groups are exempted for the duration of the war, in particular women working in agriculture or those engaged in work of national importance. The period of service is normally six months, but by a special Decree the period of service was extended in July last to one year. During the second six months the work is of the nature of auxiliary war work, and is officially styled Auxiliary War Service. At that time, there were 100,000 women in the Labour Service, but not all of these passed into the Auxiliary Service. The Compulsory Year must be carried out by all girls leaving school who wish to take up clerical or factory work. There are said to be about 420,000 girls on this work at the present time. Both the normal Labour Service and the Compulsory Year are carried out primarily on the land, but whereas the Compulsory Year girls do domestic work in private billets, the Labour Service girls are housed in camps are subject to the discipline of the organization, and are engaged mainly on agricultural work.
House adjourned.