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Ostarbeiter) Jump to: navigation, search Ostarbeiter badge Woman
with Ostarbeiter badge in Auschwitz German notice from 30
September 1939 in occupied Poland with warning of death penalty
for refusal to work during harvest.  Ostarbeiter (English:
'Eastern Worker(s)') was a designation for slave workers
gathered from Central and Eastern Europe to do forced labor in
Germany during World War II. The Ostarbeiters were mostly from
the territory of Reichskommissariat Ukraine (eastern Ukraine).
Ukrainians made up the largest portion although many
Belarusians, Poles, Russians, and Tatars were also present.[1]
Estimates put the number of Ostarbeiters between 3 million and
5.5 million.[1]  Most were very young, under the age of 16, as
those older than 16 were usually conscripted. 30% were as young
as 12–14 years of age when they were taken to Germany.[1] By
November 1943 the age limit was dropped to 10.[1] 50% of those
taken from Ukraine were girls and women.  Ost