Publication details
„Jste vojáky, jejichž zbraní je krumpáč a lopata!“ Využití „politiky cukru“ k motivaci českých „zákopníků“ (1944–1945)
| Title in English | “You are Soldiers whose Weapons are Pickaxe and Shovel!” Application of “Sugar Policy” to Motivate Czech “Trenchers” (1944–1945) |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | At the end of World War II, more than 100,000 Czechs from the so-called Protectorate involuntarily participated in the construction of German field fortifications to stop the advancing Allied armies. These workers (so-called “trenchers”) were not only negatively motivated to work (i.e. by the threat of repression), but also positively motivated. The methods of positive motivation, which can be described as “sugar politics”, can be divided into two types. Firstly, there was ideological motivation – propaganda convinced the trenchers that their work was meaningful because they were contributing to the struggle of good against evil. Secondly, it was material incentives of various kinds. On the one hand, the authorities tried to ensure the best possible living and working conditions for the trenchers in the place of deployment (e.g. free food) and, on the other hand, they motivated them with relatively high salaries and special rations of alcohol and cigarettes, which they received free of charge. Sources show that, despite the views of older Czech historiographical literature, the attitude of Czech trenchers towards the fortification work was not always necessarily negative. Although some of them sabotaged the work imposed on them out of resentment towards the Nazi regime, there were also those who carried it out quite conscientiously. The “sugar policy”, was, despite the opinions of some historians, not mere “demagoguery” – it was manifested in real actions. However, its effectiveness was limited by the critical economic situation in Nazi Germany in the final months of the war, when the authorities were unable to provide the trenchers with all the necessities they had promised them (e.g. enough good food). |
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