German WWII Deutsches Reich Arbeitsbuch (Work Book)

A state-issued worker's identification document from the Deutsches Reich, with a cloth-bound spine and card cover printed in dark red with gilt lettering. The cover bears the national eagle above a wreathed swastika, with the title "Deutsches Reich" above and "Arbeitsbuch" below in Gothic script. Such books were issued to record an individual's employment history and were required for civilian workers during the period.

The Arbeitsbuch was introduced by the Nazi state in 1935 as part of efforts to control and direct labour under the Reichsstelle fuer Arbeitsvermittlung und Arbeitslosenversicherung, later administered through the Reich Ministry of Labour. It recorded an individual's employment history, qualifications and skills, and possession of one was compulsory for taking up or changing employment, allowing authorities to allocate workers to sectors deemed essential, particularly armaments and war production as the regime moved toward and through wartime mobilisation. The system tightened further after 1938 as labour conscription measures expanded, making the book a key instrument of state control over the civilian workforce.