“As a former National Socialist … I suffered most severely.” How National Socialists’ Atonement Work Became a Reconstruction Myth

Abstract Due to severe shortages of volunteer labor for repairing the damage immediately after World War II, the provisional Austrian federal government decided in September 1945 to make work compulsory, primarily for former National Socialists. As a result, these individuals were forced to perform a wide variety of reconstruction work over a period of two years. These workers subsequently sued the Republic of Austria for compensation payments and received a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court in 1951. The work of these conscripted former National Socialists was increasingly forgotten as the years went on, and, therefore, toward the end of the twentieth century, a form of “ Trümmerfrauen ” myth emerged in Austria. According to this myth, the immediate repair of war damage was mainly carried out by volunteer women. This article examines for the first time the people that worked in the removal of rubble in 1945 and 1946, how they described their work afterward, and how this compulsory labor gave rise to a positive reconstruction myth of voluntary women’s work.