Morning all
I've just watched Mark Felton's latest video on D-Day - The Forgotten Italian Army.
In the video, Mark presents the history of the Italian Service Units, formed from groups of Italian POWs unsympathetic to Fascist Italy and/or Germany.
Specifically, Mark mentions how the ISUs' working conditions were comparable to their new American allies', with 6-day work weeks, regular leave, rations, etc.
But I'm wondering, how well were these Italians paid (if at all)? Considering they were POWs you might imagine they weren't paid at all, but that could be considered slave labour (even if they were volunteers), and the fact they were given other comparable benefits suggests they were treated at least as a lesser among equals.
POWs were paid a regular wages for work that they conducted, as required by treaty obligations. German and Italian POWs in American care received $0.80 per day if they volunteered for work details, either within the camp, or contracted outside it. This was in addition to a monthly stipend that was provided based on rank, with enlisted men getting $3.00 per month in credit that could be spent at the PX, and officers than scaling from $20 for an LT, up to $40 for Majors and above. Prisoners were expected to have administrative jobs running the camp, for which they weren't paid extra beyond the stipend, and only those who volunteered for these work details would get the extra pay.
The ISUs complicated things a bit though, since nominally Italy became an ally in late 1943, but the labor provided by POWs was something that the no one wanted to lose, as it provided millions of man hours per year. Germans who volunteered for labor details were still, obviously, POWs, but what exactly were Italians who had stepped up to assist?
As such, the ISUs were given considerably better treatment as befitted their nominal "allied" status - Keefer notes it was "almost luxurious" compared to their initial treatment as official POWs - but it was half-freedom at best. Although food improved, and they were given more leeway to interact with civilians outside the camps for work, they still lived within the camps, and still labored away, but at least for nominally better pay, being provided with an additional $24.00 wage per month on top of the already existing payscale for POWs that remained in place. Only $8.00 was actually in cash though, with the remaining $16.00 being provided in PX credit. If they prefered, the credit could be deposited into a trust fund that they would be given upon discharge.
Source*
Keefer, Louis E.. Italian Prisoners of War in America, 1942-1946: Captives or Allies?. Praeger, 1992.