Labour Education in the Socialist State

Education for work

In the communist worldview, only those who were able and willing to work were considered complete human beings. The first socialist constitution of 1918 therefore stipulated the duty to work: ‘The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic considers labour to be the duty of all citizens of the republic and proclaims the slogan: “He who does not work shall not eat”.’[1] The formulation is not so severe in the constitution of the GDR. However, at all times there were regulations and laws according to which so-called ‘work-shy’ people could be punished or forced to work.

Education through work

Labour education was one of several methods used by communist dictatorships to force people into submission. It was applied in special children’s homes, youth reformatories, venereological stations, labour education camps and penal institutions such as probation camps, youth detention centres, prisons and penitentiaries. In all institutions, the aim was to educate the inmates to become well-adjusted citizens (‘socialist personality’). In addition to social isolation, military drill and ideological indoctrination, the means of education also included ‘education through labour’. The latter consisted of the obligation to fulfil every assigned task in production with a high level of personal commitment. Refusal to do so could lead to severe penalties. In this sense, labour education was education for unquestioning subordination. In most institutions, this educational goal was combined with the pursuit of maximum labour performance. Medical care, vocational training or qualification were of secondary importance.

Labour education as a form of punishment

In the GDR, the courts could sentence convicts to labour education as a separate type of punishment alongside imprisonment. The legal basis for this only existed between 1968 and 1977. At all other times, this type of punishment was regulated on the basis of ordinances, contrary to the rule of law. The complete lack of any time limit on sentences was a particular characteristic of labour education. Such sentences could last ‘until educational success has been achieved.’ This type of punishment was preferred in youth detention centres and work education camps, which otherwise did not differ from other penal institutions.