The German Democratic Republic since its early beginnings encountered a significant lack of labor force, which made its authorities to solicit workers from other socialist countries, especially from the People's Republic of Poland. Since the middle sixties, in accordance with relevant contracts, the German Democratic Republic started to employ Polish workers from border regions, especially women. Until the end of 1971 several thousand Polish women started their jobs in various industrial plants on the other side of the Oder and Neisse. Working conditions there were usually better than in Poland; the same refers to the salaries that the Poles were paid there. However, this phenomenon was not free from any stress or problems due to the fact that Polish women were in fact discriminated by the management of the Eastern German factories. This was due to the fact that the Poles were assigned to harder and more difficult jobs, payment of sick leave benefits was delayed and the salaries were in general, lower than those of the German workers. Despite this, the number of Polish women working in East Germany at the time was still growing. This mass flow of the Polish labor force to the German Democratic Republic had also other than economic significance because of contacts between the Polish and German people working in the same enterprises. After overcoming initial prejudice and distrust the relations were beneficial for establishing informal relationships and bringing together both societies located across the Polish - German border.
Archiwum Akt Nowych, Komitet Centralny Polskiej Zjednoczonej Par¬tii Robotniczej, sygn. 237/XXII/1409, Notatka służbowa, k. 129.
Archiwum Akt Nowych, Komitet Centralny Polskiej Zjednoczonej Par¬tii Robotniczej, sygn. XIA/45, Notatka informacyjna o okolicznościach nie przystą¬pienia do pracy 90 polskich robotników zatrudnionych w kopalni Lauchhammer, przebywających w NRD w ramach umowy pomiędzy rządami PRL-NRD o zatrudnieniu i prze¬szkoleniu 500 polskich robotników, k. 454-455.
Archiwum Akt Nowych, Komitet Centralny Polskiej Zjednoczonej Par¬tii Robotniczej, sygn. XIA/46, Notatka dla Towarzysza Ministra mgr inż. J. Mitręgi dotycząca sprawozdania z wyjazdu do NRD na akademię z okazji Święta Odrodzenia PRL przez grupę polskich pracowników i Dyrekcję Elektrowni Lübbenau, k. 601.
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