Forced Labour

Bert Hermans made this painting after a visit to the Völklingen iron smelter (Völklinger Hütte) in Germany on June 12, 2024. In the background of the painting you can see some forced labourers (out of more than 12000 forced labourers and prisoners of war) who were employed here during the Second World War. A little more in the foreground is a German officer talking to the wife of the former owner and war criminal Hermann Röchling, Theodora Müller.
Völklinger Hütte is now part of the industrial heritage in the town of Völklingen in the Saarland. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1994. The iron smelter is an excellent example of an integrated iron and steel complex where the entire production process took place at one location. 
The factory was founded in 1873 by Julius Buch and grew from 1881 onwards under the leadership of the Röchling family into one of the most important iron and steel factories in Europe. In its heyday around 1965, it employed more than 16,000 workers. The complex has six blast furnaces. 
Völklinger Hütte was closed in 1986. It later 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.