As an industrial metropolis, Nuremberg's demand for foreign workers was high. Arms manufacturers such as Siemens and Diehl, and Nuremberg city council were the main employers. During the war, more than 100,000 forced civilian labourers – men and women – as well as thousands of prisoners of war maintained Nuremberg's wartime economy in life-threatening and frequently inhumane conditions.

Forced labourers and prisoners of war were denied access to air raid shelters. After attacks, they had to risk their lives clearing rubble and removing bombs.

In 1979, Luigi Collo, an Italian military internee recalled: "We were detailed to clear the rubble in the city and to put into paper bags the remains of thousands of people killed and blown to pieces by the bombing."

In their role as employers, foremen, guards and informers, many Germans excluded male and female deportees from society. Not all Germans abused their power. Despite the bans, contacts were numerous and in hindsight, difficult to interpret. Items made by forced labourers like this wooden toy, were a token of gratitude for acts of human sympathy or served as bread currency in barter transactions.