Hard Labour

by Bert Hermans · Gouda, NL

Artist Bert Hermans created this painting after a visit to the Völklingen Ironworks (Völklinger Hütte) in Germany on June 12, 2024. The painting depicts some forced laborers (of the more than 12,000 forced laborers and prisoners of war) in the foreground who were employed here during World War II. Völklinger Hütte is now part of the industrial heritage in the town of Völklingen in Saarland. Since 1994, it has been a World Heritage site. The ironworks is a prime example of an integrated iron and steel complex where the entire production process took place at one location. The complex has six blast furnaces. The factory was founded in 1873 by Julius Buch and grew under the leadership of the Röchling family from 1881 into one of the most important iron and steel factories in Europe. In its heyday around 1965, more than 16,000 workers were employed. Through the supply industry, over 30,000 people found work. The global steel crisis in the mid-1970s marked the end. Völklinger Hütte was closed in 1986. Later, it became a museum with exhibition space and a concert hall. The Völklingen Ironworks is a so-called anchor point of the European Route for Industrial Heritage.