In 1941 Labor Minister Robert Ley promisedGerman workers a grandiose housing program. In 1944, bombed-out workerswere getting: a one-room house, 8 feet high from floor to roof peak, 12by 18 feet of floor space. A curtain separated sleeping space fromcombined kitchen, living room. A privy hung on an outside wall.Families with more than five children were allowed two houses, twoprivies.
Such a home Germans called a Leyhaus, a bitter pun on Leihhaus, whichmeans pawnbroker.