04. März WHY IS FORCED LABOR IN GDR PRISONS PROBLEMATIC? AREN’T PRISONERS IN FRG ALSO OBLIGED TO WORK?

The German Basic Law explicitly declares forced labor permissible in cases of imprisonment. What makes forced labor in the GDR problematic is, on the one hand, the large number of people imprisoned in GDR prisons for political reasons, who were unlawfully detained under the rule of law and later rehabilitated. On the other hand, it is the sometimes horrendous conditions (lack of work safety, handling of toxic and dangerous substances, extent and pay of the work) under which the forced labor had to be performed.