CB: No, it was just compensation for the investment of upbringing education and ork training, all free under a socialist system, in those people who would now e using their training to produce for another country ( and in fact for a ountry on the imperialist side in the Cold War). It wasn't anti-Semitism, nor nywhere close to being like slavery.
Intersting judgement, surprising only only a few facts:
1) That the government was not so proud of selling their citizens - sorry: the "just compensation". They were quite keen on covering up the business.
2) They took not only money for the younger ones, educated under socialism, they took it for the older ones too.
3) That they never tried to impose such "poll tax" on those, in the normal adminstrative procedure leaving the country: These were not persons imprisoned, but free to speak out in private meetings about all the demands of the government and so the needed cover up was impossible to realize. And were quite aware how normal, loyal to the socialist state thinking and behaving citizens were thinking about such such a "just compensation" : I never met somebody who shared your view, not even in the ranks of the party members ore my officers in the military, not before, not after 1989. To decide what is "just" is not so much the task of an outside observer, but of those, living in the country.
Last remark: Work training was and is - in all the westeuropean normal countries - like in socialism not=2 0only free, but a apprentice has to be paid. Only in the latest years the owning class tried to change this, up to now with no broad success.
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