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In the autumn of 192*4, co-operation between the OT Frontfuhrungand the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (Diff 1 : German Labour Front,see IIG94i) became closer than it had ever been before in respectto ttie control of OT worker camps. It is not known, however, towhat extent the USF put the facilities of their Gemeinschaftslager(Group Personnel Camps) at the disposal of the OT.c) Administrative Personnel.i) Basic Construction Sector (OBL).125. Referat Frontftlhrung (Front Area Personnel Section),Definition, Origin and Development.The sections Frontfflhrung and Technik constitute between themthe essential administration of the QBL (see IIAc) and are its twomost important branches. Inasmuch as the Froatftlhrung deals withall phases of personnel management in the construction sector, theFrontfuhrer, as its head, is therefore the Oberbauleiter'srepresentative in all questions involving the human factor. Consequentlythe Frontfuhrer i s responsible for the individualcapability of OT personnel in respect to output of work, affectedas it migjit be by ill-health, worry, recalcitrant or contumaciousattitudes, or just plain laziness. Responsibility for thecollective work output rests with the Oberbauleiter as part of hisresponsibility for the entire building progranme of hie sector. Acaptured document, translated in sumnary below, defines the Frontfflhrer'ssphere of responsibility both in respect to his duties onthe construction site and during leisure hours at canp, as follows:"The basic duty of the Frontfflhrer is to facilitate theconstruction of defensive installations insofar as the humanelement is concerned. The Frontftthrung is created in agreementwith the DAP as an instrument of National Socialistleadership of men at work, according to the experiencegained in front zone activity. It is the task of the Frontfuhrungto ensure high, productivity on the part of theFrontarbeiter (Front zone workers), even in the face of enemyactivity. The post comprises, moreover, the functions of the.Betriebsobniann (see below), i t is the Frontftthrer's goal tocreate a contented and disciplined following, whose honour itis to work and produce on behalf of Germany. The Frontftthrersupervises the regulations concerning the discipline, deportmentand fellowship in the OT. OT personnel is subject toits own disciplinary regulations as well as to those of theWehrmacht and to the international rules of warfare 11 ,It will be seen from the above that the functional sphere ofpersonnel administration in the OT as represented by the Frontftthrungis far broader than that of personnel administration ineither the British or the .American Airay.The term Frontftlhrung originated when the OT was put on a warfooting in September 1939, while it was working on the West Wall.Before that time, the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DjflF: German LabourFront) had ministered to the welfare of the OT labour army fromthe material and the intellectual, or rather ideological, standpoint,along the same lines as the DAP Betriebsobmann. (DAPpersonnel administrator in German factories).s See also IIGb94i, and Chart 7.urn. For Referat Technik, see para. 127 below.-131­