BACKGROUND: One of the NSDAP’s most ambitious, and successful, projects was the elimination of the overwhelming unemployment suffered in Germany following WWI. To achieve this goal, a national labor registration law was enacted in February of 1935, and the "Arbeitsbuch" (Labor-book) was instituted, as a record of an individual’s employment history. The "Arbeitsbuch" underwent three minor modifications during the Third Reich, with the first pattern book issued in 1935, a second pattern in 1939, and a third pattern in 1942.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: A first pattern, 10.5cm x 15cm, 32 page employment record booklet which features, to its brown and grey cardstock cover, "Deutches Reich" above and "Arbeitsbuch" beneath a stylized eagle. Swastikas may be seen to each of the four corners. All pages with entries have been photographed.