Organizacja Todta – rozwój i zakres działalności w latach 1940–1942
Organisation Todt – Development and Scope of Activities During the Years 1940–1942

Summary/Abstract: Organisation Todt (OT) – a structure originally established to build a line of fortifica- tions on the border of Germany with France (Western Wall). Starting from the September Campaign of 1939, it operated in the rear of the Wehrmacht, organising war logistics, and carried out numerous construction projects subordinated to the German war effort in the occupied territories. Its activities significantly influenced the effectiveness of the German armed forces and provided significant support for the economy of the Third Reich. During the period indicated in the title of the article, the OT experienced enormous growth, caused by the expansion of the area of military operations and the demands of a conflict that was heading towards total war. The founder of the organisation, Fritz Todt, until his death (8 February 1942), expanded the OT and managed it efficiently, creating the foundations for a gigantic structure, and at the same time expanding the scope of his personal influence. This was fully taken advantage of by his successor, Albert Speer, who improved the well-functioning construction machine and exploited its reserves. The assessment of Todt’s activities, apart from his indisputable organisational and engi- neering competences, requires emphasising his obvious tendencies towards careerism and boundless devotion to Nazi ideology. This resulted in the ruthless implementation of the tasks entrusted to him, which led to thousands of victims losing their lives or health as a result of the very hard work on construction sites managed by OT.This text contains a description of the OT’s activities from the end of the French cam- paign until Speer took control of it after the accident in which Todt died. It is a supplement to the article that appeared in the 38th issue of “Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość” [“Remembrance and Justice”] under the title Organizacja Todta – powstanie, rozwój i zakres działalności w latach 1938–1940 [Organisation Todt – creation, development and scope of activity in the years 1938–1940] and contains a discussion of the history of OT from the moment its creator was entrusted with the responsibility for the construction of the Western Wall (28 May 1938) to June 1940. The entire material is an attempt at a synthetic approach to the activities of the discussed organisation under Todt’s leadership.

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