Glossary-Detail

A paramilitary group set up to carry out war-related construction work during the Nazi era. It was set up in 1938 under the leadership of Fritz Todt to build defences along the French border. The Organisation Todt (O.T.) was the result of cooperation between building administrations, private companies and, until 1939, the Reich Labour Service (RAD). From 1942, O.T. was under the supervision of the Minister of Armaments, Albert Speer. Organisation Todt was responsible for construction projects in the German Reich and the occupied territories, including the building of defences, roads, railways, telecommunications networks and airfields, but also for securing or repairing vital war industries and, in the German Reich, including the construction of air raid shelters. From 1942, the O.T. used large numbers of forced labourers. By the end of 1944, the number of people exploited by Organisation Todt had reached 1.3 million.