The term action, work-shy Reich can be traced back to official correspondence, which was conducted in conjunction with mass arrests. In the Buchenwald concentration camp, detainees were referred to initially as "Reich compulsory labor prisoners", later being referred to as "work shy Reich" (ASR).Wolfgang Ayaß: „Asoziale“ im Nationalsozialismus. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1995, , S. 165. This term was taken up by Hans Buchheim, originally used by Wolfgang Ayass for both arrest waves and became the standard term used. The "work shy" were those who were criminals, had refused to work, or fit other descriptions deemed socially undesirable.Hans-Dieter Schmid: Die Aktion ‚Arbeitsscheu Reich‘ 1938. In: Herbert Diercks (Red.): Ausgegrenzt. ‘Asoziale und Kriminelle‘ im nationalsozialistischen Lagersystem, Bremen 2009, , S. 33.
