Reich Labour Service

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Reich Labour Service

Reichsarbeitsdienst – RAD
House flag with RAD symbol
An RAD squad in 1940
Agency overview
Formed	26 June 1935
Preceding agencies	Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst (FAD) Nationalsozialistischer Arbeitsdienst (NSAD)
Dissolved	8 May 1945
Type	Labour Army
Jurisdiction	Nazi Germany Occupied Europe
Headquarters	Berlin–Grunewald 52°29′31″N 13°17′6″E / 52.49194°N 13.28500°E / 52.49194; 13.28500
Employees	200,000 (1935) 350,000 (October 1939)
Agency executives	Konstantin Hierl Wilhelm Decker, Deputy
Parent agency	Reich Ministry of the Interior[1]

The Reich Labour Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst; RAD) was a major paramilitary organization established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate it with Nazi ideology. It was the official state labour service, divided into separate sections for men and women.

From June 1935 onward, men aged between 18 and 25 may have served six months before their military service.^[vague] During World War II, compulsory service also included young women, and the RAD developed to an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht armed forces.