1941 - Die Hermann Goering Werke bauen - In Watens (1939 1941)

DISCLAIMER & HISTORICAL CONTEXT

This video is an unaltered historical document originally created in Germany in 1943. It contains propaganda, symbols, and statements from the National Socialist (Nazi) regime, including references to Hermann Göring and the war economy. The material is shared exclusively for educational, historical, and research purposes — to analyze the methods, visual language, and industrial mobilization of the Nazi dictatorship.

I do not endorse, support, or glorify any ideology, action, or statement presented in this film. My goal is to preserve and examine authentic primary sources from the period 1939–1941, so viewers can understand how the regime used cinema to justify forced labor, rearmament, and territorial expansion.

Viewer discretion is advised. This content may be disturbing, especially for survivors, victims’ families, and communities targeted by the Nazi regime. Please watch with an awareness of the historical crimes committed by the government that produced this film: the Holocaust, slave labor, mass murder, and aggressive war.

The uploader does not claim ownership of the original footage. No copyright infringement is intended; this archive material is shared under fair use for non‑commercial, educational commentary and historical preservation.

DESCRIPTION – “Die Hermann‑Göring‑Werke bauen – In Watenstedt 1939‑1941”

Title: 1941 – The Hermann Göring Works build – In Watenstedt 1939‑1941
Summary
This rare, shortened version of a Nazi propaganda film (original length ~60 min, censored in February 1943) shows the construction of the Hermann Göring industrial complex in Watenstedt (today part of Salzgitter, Lower Saxony) between 1939 and 1941. The plant was one of the largest heavy‑industry projects of the Nazi war economy, designed to process low‑grade domestic iron ore and produce steel for armaments.

What you will see (historical analysis)

Forced and slave labor – The film deliberately hides the fact that thousands of concentration camp prisoners, prisoners of war, and foreign civilians built these factories under inhuman conditions. The real workforce included inmates from KZ Drütte (a subcamp of Neuengamme) and later from KZ Salzgitter‑Bad (a subcamp of Buchenwald).

Architecture of war – Blast furnaces, rolling mills, and power plants constructed to feed Germany’s rearmament (Luftwaffe, tanks, ammunition). Hermann Göring personally oversaw the project.

Propaganda aesthetics – Heroic camera angles, clean “model workers,” cheerful music and voiceover – all typical Nazi “performance community” (Leistungsgemeinschaft) lies used to conceal exploitation.

Chronology – From groundbreaking (1939) to partial operation (1941), presented as a success story while the war against Poland, France, and the USSR was already raging.

Why this film matters for researchers

It illustrates how the Nazi regime integrated heavy industry, the SS, and military logistics.

It demonstrates the transition from a “normal” labour force to systematic slave labour – by 1944, the Hermann Göring Werke relied on more than 50,000 concentration camp inmates.

It is a primary visual source for the study of economic history, propaganda studies, and Holocaust education (specifically “Extermination through labour”).

Technical note
The original 35mm black‑and‑white footage has been digitized in low resolution (384x288). The audio is German; subtitles (English translation) were generated using AI‑assisted transcription (Whisper medium model) and may contain minor errors.

Historical corrections
The film claims: “German workers proudly build the future.”
✅ Historical truth: The workforce included Belgian, French, Soviet, and Polish POWs, plus thousands of Jewish and non‑Jewish concentration camp prisoners. Mortality rates in nearby camps were extremely high.

The film claims: “Hermann Göring protects the plants.”
✅ Historical truth: Göring was a leading war criminal, convicted at Nuremberg. The Werke directly profited from Aryanized Jewish property and from the forced labour system.

Recommended further reading

Karl Liedtke, Hermann Göring Werke – Rüstungsproduktion und Zwangsarbeit (2001, German)

Marc Buggeln, Slave Labor in Nazi Concentration Camps (2014, English)

Jens‑Christian Wagner (ed.), KZ Drütte – Ein Konzentrationslager bei Salzgitter (1998)

Видео 1941 - Die Hermann Goering Werke bauen - In Watens (1939 1941) канала Das Stahlarchiv