The Social Profile of the Forced Labourers

Gender

Age at arrest

Religious Affiliation

The overwhelming majority of the prisoners were Orthodox Christians.
While this research does not specifically focus on the Shoah (the genocide of the Jews), it has recorded the cases of eight Jewish individuals who either survived or perished as forced labourers. Some of them managed to survive by concealing their Jewish identity.

Origins

The majority of the prisoners hailed from the villages of Mt. Pelion or the Volos urban area. Among them were several internal migrants from the Thessalian hinterland or other parts of Greece, who had moved to Magnesia before the war in search of work.
From the Sporades islands, six boatmen were identified who had participated in the resistance network smuggling Allied forces to the Middle East. Another four boatmen active in the same network were residents of the Sporades at the time of their arrest but had been born elsewhere: three were refugees from Çeşme (Asia Minor) and the fourth had moved from Laconia.

Place of birth

Occupational Background

Occupation	Number
Industrial workers, Construction workers	40
Farm labourers	21
Farmers	21
Craftsmen / Technicians	24
Merchants / Traders	23
Employees / Clerks	18
Boatmen	11
Army Officers	8
Housewives	9
Lawyer	1
Unknown	59

Chronology of Arrests

Year of Arrest	Year of Arrests	Percentage
1941	8	3,4%
1942	30	12,8%
1943	24	10,2%
1944	163	69,4%
Unknown	10	4,2%