1. Legal Basis

2. History

3. Hand and tension services today

4. See also

5. References

In Germany Hand and tension services (German: Hand- und Spanndienste) are allowed and possilbe by law in some German States. Although it is still valid legislation, no municipal administration since WWII used this possilbe mandatory workforce yet, if at all, this obligatory service only will be executed during or after a severe disaster.

Legal Basis

Beside several state´s regulations the Hand- und Spanndienste are covert by international agreements like the agreement on the Forced Labour Convention of the ILO of 1930. Following work services, amongst other exceptions, especially for military services, are exceptions of forced or compulsory labour:^[1]

• any work or service which forms part of the normal civic obligations of the citizens of a fully self-governing country;
• any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, that is to say, in the event of war, of a calamity or threatened calamity, such as fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent epidemic or epizootic diseases, invasion by: animal, insect or vegetable pests, and in general any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population;
• minor communal services of a kind which, being performed by the members of the community in the direct interest of the said community, can therefore be considered as normal civic obligations incumbent upon the members of the community, provided that the members of the community or their direct representatives shall have the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services.

History

There were different types of services:

• Hand Services: The citizen must perform work with his own hand.
• Tensioning services (of tensioning of the draft animals): The person obliged to provide the service has to put a team or carriages (train cattle and dishes).
• Shovel services: construction of buildings, construction of roads, ditches

Hand and tension services in history often have been done by the public. This was, for example, the setting of field bridges in the fields, the preservation of dams or even the construction of agricultural roads and local roads. The necessary materials (stones, wood, etc.) usually has been provided the authorities.

Hand and tension services today

Even today municipal regulations in Germany provide that municipalities may, under certain circumstances, oblige their inhabitants to carry out manual and tension services, for example in Baden-Württemberg^[3] or Bavaria.^[4] These are public service obligations within the meaning of the German constitution^[5] which are not contrary to the prohibition of compulsory labor.

See also

• Compulsory Border Guard Service
• Compulsory Fire Service
• Conscription in Germany
• Unfree labour

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