Albert Corrieri, a former forced labourer during WWII, is suing the French government for compensation based on his experience of working in grueling conditions in Nazi Germany. Corrieri, who was forcibly taken in 1943, aims to bring attention to the suffering endured by himself and over 600,000 other French labourers under the Service Travail Obligatoire (STO). They were subjected to long hours and harsh conditions while contributing labor to significant German companies. The legal battle serves to highlight a historical injustice and demand recognition for the impacted individuals.
The story begins on March 13th, 1943. I was working in a restaurant in the Vieux Port in Marseille when the Germans took my papers. They told me, 'You're going to cross the street and get on the train'. When it was full, we left and arrived in Ludwigshafen. We were parked in barracks.
I loaded coal with a shovel every day, 12 hours of work every day, non-stop. It was months of slavery.
In total between 600,000 and 650,000 Frenchmen were transported to Germany to work between 1943 and 1945 - they joined the roughly 900,000 French prisoners of war...who were the subject of forced labour in Germany during World War II.
My main goal is recognition of my suffering, and the suffering of my fellow forced labourers.
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