Since November 1943, notices for the voluntary enlistment of Italian workers for the Reich had appeared repeatedly in local newspapers in Padua, and brightly-coloured posters were posted on the walls, reporting the great advantages offered to those who agreed to go to work in Germany: high wages, excellent treatment, payment of part of the salary to families in Italy, salary bonus paid upon crossing the border; equipment allowance, doubled family allowances, severance pay, and life insurance. The task of recruiting voluntary workers for the Reich was entrusted to the “Group for the employment of manpower”, an office located in Padua…
