Female guards in Nazi concentration camps

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (pl. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; Template:Literally<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 2–3">Template:Harvnb</ref>Template:Efn) was the position title for a female guard in Nazi concentration camps. Female camp personnel were members of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} auxiliary organization, which served the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (SS-TV) in a limited capacity as women were not formally recognized as members of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Morrison 24">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="lower-roman" name="Gawor 88">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Background

In April 1933, a workhouse in Moringen was made into a detention facility under Hanover administration. In November of that year, 141 women, the majority of whom were suspected or confirmed Communists, were imprisoned there. Prisoners usually stayed in Moringen for a few weeks before being released. There have been no reports of mistreatment, and mere group discussions were held daily to "re-educate". The facility closed in March 1938, and was replaced by the Lichtenburg concentration camp, which opened in Saxony in late 1937, and became known as the first SS-run women's concentration camp. It was commanded by SS-{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Max Koegel and staffed by recruited and conscripted women who worked as guards.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Heinrich Himmler directed the construction of a larger second women's concentration camp in November 1938, after Lichtenburg's limited capacity had become an issue due to a rising number of arrests.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Ravensbrück commenced operations in May 1939, serving as the central camp for female prisoners. It was here that the position of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was established.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 2–3"/>

On 1 September 1939, Hitler delivered a speech at the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, in which he stated: "I expect every German woman to integrate herself into the great community-in-struggle in an exemplary fashion and with iron discipline!"<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> This was the given order despite his the views he held in regards to women:

Women have the talent, which is unknown to us males, for giving a kiss to a woman-friend and at the same time piercing her heart with a well-sharpened stiletto. To wish to change women in this respect would be ingenuous: women are what they are. Let's come to terms with their little weaknesses…I prefer to see them thus occupied than devoting themselves to metaphysics. There's no worse disaster than to see them grappling with ideas.{{#if:Adolf HitlerHitler's Table Talk (1942)<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>|{{#if:|}}

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{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }} The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (BDM) was in support of the 1939 speech and had it written in the organization's 1940 yearbook.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Recruitment and conscription

Advertisements were posted in newspapers, such as the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which sought out German women between the ages of 20 and 40 to guard women who "committed an offense against the 'Volk community" at a "military installation". For women seeking employment or a higher pay, the job offer was enticing because of the free housing, prepared meals, and the absence of required qualifications.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 45–46">Template:Harvnb</ref> Although a small number of newspaper clippings have survived after the war, history professor Jack G. Morrison claims that the advertisements neglected to mention concentration camps.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Morrison 24"/>

In December 1942, the age range of 20–40 broadened and became 17–45 as tensions grew with the advancement of Allied forces and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'s loss in the Battle of Stalingrad. During this time, many women were recruited by the labor office, which became a source of contention in postwar testimonies. Johanna Langefeld, who was an {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at numerous concentration camps, stated in her testimony: "There were also cases in which women were sent by one of the labor offices to work as guards at Ravensbrück. This happened most often to women who had refused once or even twice to take the job that had been assigned to them, which meant they were likely to be arrested the next time they refused to take the work assigned to them".<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 56–57">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The need for female guards in concentration camps became critical when {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Joseph Goebbels declared total war against Allied forces in his Sportpalast speech on 18 February 1943.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Hitler raised the age limit for women's involvement to 50 and made employment in military equipment production mandatory in his 1943 and 1944 decrees pertaining to both male and female participation in the defense of the Reich.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> The 1943 order exempted individuals who worked at least 48 hours a week, employers of at least five workers, those working in agriculture or health services, pregnant women, and women with one child under the age of six or two children under the age of fourteen.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Despite these measures, only a small number of women voluntarily sought out such work, resulting in an increase in SS recruiting and labor office conscriptions.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Acclimatisation and training

When the Nazi Party realized that Nazi Germany was losing the war, concentration camp personnel destroyed many records, leaving little information regarding how {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were trained. Ravensbrück has the most preserved records on training practices, largely due to its role as the primary training camp for women from 1942 to 1945.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 74–77">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="lower-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Upon arrival at Ravensbrück, the recruited and conscripted women were made to sign a slew of documents, including a declaration of confidentiality, a vow not to reprimand prisoners physically or verbally, and an oath of loyalty to Hitler and their superiors. The women were then led to their on-camp quarters.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 74–77"/> The ensuing training period lasted anywhere from one to six weeks, but as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} prospects were brought in at an increasing rate, this range decreased to just one week for some women.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 79">Template:Harvnb</ref> In June 1942, conscripted {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Anna David<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> provided testimony of her arrival at Ravensbrück:

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A three-month probationary period follows training, during which each prospective is partnered with an experienced {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} who acts as a mentor and is tasked with overseeing a work detail.Template:Efn<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> In 1939, Hermine Braunsteiner received mentoring from Maria Mandl, who was then the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of Ravensbrück.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> In a postwar testimony, Braunsteiner states that all {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were taught how to "handle, shoot, and clean their service weapon".<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 79"/>

According to Commandant's Order No. 3, issued 24 July 1942, new {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} received ideological training every Saturday between five and six o'clock in the evening. As part of the curriculum, two antisemitic Nazi propaganda films were shown, including {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Membership

Due to missing and destroyed documentation pre-liberation, the exact number of women who became {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} between 1938 and 1945 has been disputed. Based on published literature and surviving evidence from numerous concentration camps, it is estimated that 3,500 women served as guards.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Historian Template:Ill has further broken down this figure, estimating that 313 women were employed at Ravensbrück as camp personnel in late 1942 from payroll records.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> By late 1944, the total surpassed 3,000.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Ranks and uniforms

File:Ssaufseherin-uniform.jpg

lang}} uniform

Template:Expand section Braunsteiner has claimed that the first group of women assigned to Ravensbrück were only given blue smocks to wear. About a year later, prototype uniforms were supplied. In the first design, a light gray loden cloth jacket and culottes were worn with a blue blouse, black boots, and a light gray side cap.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 92">Template:Harvnb</ref> Only after Himmler's visit to Ravensbrück in the spring of 1940 did {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} receive standardized uniforms. Two military gray uniforms, one for winter and one for summer, were provided, together with two pairs of boots, blouses, a cap, and sportswear.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Hats and jewelry were prohibited, with the exception of the designated side cap or a straw hat on hot days.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 92"/>

To denote rank, uniforms displayed aluminum braiding on the shoulders and sleeves, as well as badges and awards such as the War Merit Medal Second Class.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Aufseherin

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "female SS overseer". {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were in charge of conducting the daily roll call, or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, allocating inmates to work details, and guarding prisoners.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 2–3"/>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
1 bar<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
Jenny-Wanda Barkmann	lang}} at Stutthof	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Erna Beilhardt	lang}} at the Heiligenbeil subcamp of Stutthof	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Erika Bergmann	lang}} at Ravensbrück and its Genthin subcamp, and the Neurohlau subcamp of Flossenbürg	1943–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Johanna Bormann	lang}} at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück, Auschwitz II-Birkenau and its subcamp Hindenburg, and Bergen-Belsen	1939–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Hermine Böttcher Brückner	lang}} at Ravensbrück and Majdanek.	1942–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Herta Bothe	lang}} at Ravensbrück, Stutthof and its Bromberg-Ost subcamp, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen	1942–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Irene Haschke	lang}} at Gross-Rosen and its subcamp Mährisch-Weißwasser, and Bergen-Belsen	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Ruth Elfriede Hildner	lang}} at Ravensbrück, Dachau, and the Helmbrechts subcamp of Flossenbürg	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Anneliese Kohlmann	lang}} at the Neuengamme subcamps Neugraben and Hamburg-Tiefstack, and Bergen-Belsen	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Hildegard Lächert	lang}} at Majdanek, Auschwitz, Bolzano, and Mauthausen-Gusen	1942–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Ewa Paradies	lang}} at Stutthof and its subcamp Bromberg-Ost	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Margarete Rabe	lang}} at Ravensbrück and its Uckermark subcamp	1944-1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Erna Wallisch	lang}} at Ravensbrück and Majdanek	1940-1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "female dog handler". There is little documentation on female dog handlers in concentration camps, with the only known name being that of Elfriede Rinkel, though it is assumed that they had similar training and responsibilities to their male counterparts. Himmler allegedly ordered for {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} to not carry guns, though this is refuted by Braunsteiner's testimony, so some women were armed with German shepherds who Himmler demanded to be "trained to savage to death anyone except their handler".<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
Elfriede Rinkel	lang}} at Ravensbrück	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "commanding officer", though the women with this title were just in charge of overseeing certain work details in a concentration camp.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
Alice Orlowski	lang}} at Ravensbrück and Majdanek; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Majdanek, Plaszow-Kraków, and Auschwitz II-Birkenau	1941–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "block leader". The terms {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, meaning "block senior" and blockova were the titles given to prisoners if they, like the appointed {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, were put in charge of maintaining order within their respective block.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
Ulla Jürß	lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Ravensbrück	Template:Circa	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Elisabeth Lupka	lang}} at Ravensbrück; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau	1943–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "labor service leader". These women were in charge of assigning work details amongst the prisoners, maintaining efficiency within the concentration camp, and overseeing {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
Greta Bösel	lang}} at Ravensbrück	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Elisabeth Hasse	lang}} at the Auschwitz subcamps of Budy and Rajsko; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau	Template:Circa	<ref group="upper-roman" name="Megargee 233">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Hilde Lobauer	lang}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "report leader". {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} coordinated daily schedules and work schedules from an office within the camp and received reports from other guards regarding any incidents, illnesses, and deaths.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 38"/>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
Irma Grese	lang}} at Ravensbrück, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Auschwitz II-Birkenau, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in Bergen-Belsen	1942–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "first supervisor".

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
Therese Brandl	lang}} at the Dachau subcamp Mühldorf, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Ravensbrück and Auschwitz I, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau	1940–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "head female overseer". {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were responsible for directing and supervising {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and reporting roll-call numbers to camp headquarters. In some camps, this position was equivalent to that of a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Morrison 21">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 2–3"/><ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 38">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
3 aluminum stripes, 9mm aluminum collar braid; upper edge of hat has a silver-gray braid<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
Jane Bernigau	lang}} at Lichtenburg and Ravensbrück; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Gross-Rosen	1938–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Dorothea Binz	lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Ravensbrück	1939–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Hermine Braunsteiner	lang}} at Ravensbrück and Majdanek; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at the Genthin subcamp of Ravensbrück	1939–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Gertrud Heise	lang}} at Ravensbrück, Majdanek, Kraków-Płaszów, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Neuengamme; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at the Obernheide subcamp; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at the Obernheide subcamp of Neuengamme	1941–1945	<ref group="upper-roman" name="Megargee 1097">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Johanna Langefeld	lang}} at Lichtenburg; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück and Auschwitz	1936–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Hildegard Neumann	lang}} at Ravensbrück and Theresienstadt	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Gerda Steinhoff	lang}} at Stutthof and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}at its subcamps Danzig–Holm and Bromberg-Ost	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Elisabeth Volkenrath	lang}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen	1941–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Emma Zimmer	lang}} at Lichtenburg; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Ravensbrück and Auschwitz II-Birkenau	1938–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "female chief senior overseer".<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
Margarete Gallinat	lang}} at Herzogenbusch	1940–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Anna Klein	lang}} at Ravensbrück	1939–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, commonly shortened in literature as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, means "camp leader". {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} dealt with affairs concerning the prisoners at the concentration camp, coordinated with the Labor Squad office to appoint work details to prisoners, and worked closely with the subordinate {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Morrison 21"/>

Name	History	Years of service	Ref
Luise Danz	lang}} at Ravensbrück, Majdanek, Kraków-Płaszów, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and the Malchow subcamp of Ravensbrück; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Malchow; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, Camps B and C	1943–1945	<ref group="upper-roman" name="Hellinger & Lee 207">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman" name="Hellinger & Lee 243">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Else "Elsa" Ehrich	lang}} at Majdanek	1940–1945	<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 38"/>
Maria Mandl	lang}} at Lichtenburg, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Ravensbrück, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau	1938–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Ruth Neudeck	lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Ravensbrück; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at Uckermark; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} at the Barth subcamp of Ravensbrück	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Erna Petermann	lang}} at Gross-Rosen	1944–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Lotte Toberentz	lang}} at Ravensbrück	1942–1945	<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Daily life

Housing

File:Ravensbrück Wohnhaus Wachmannschaft.jpg

Ravensbrück residential building (2005)

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were housed at Ravensbrück based on their rank. Since personal and intimate contact with the opposite sex was prohibited, the eight apartments on the campgrounds were all far from the men's quarters. Only young and unmarried guards were placed in these apartments, each of which were two stories with ten bedrooms and four attic rooms. Each building is believed to have held at least 112 women. Private housing arrangements were made for married women and mothers.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Despite the policy that male and female camp personnel be separated on camp grounds, it remained a problem, with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Maria Mandl and Dorothea Binz engaging in their own liaisons while employed there.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Recreation

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were allowed to leave Ravensbrück only on specific days and with a curfew of 11 P.M., which a number of them ignored. During the spring and summer, the women frequented movie theaters, pubs, and festivals. If they remained in campgrounds, free time was spent sewing or getting their hair done at the prisoner-run salon.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The women did not have to do their own laundry, cleaning, or cooking as prisoners were made to do it for them. Some {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} considered this a luxury. Herta Ehlert stated in her postwar testimony: "Well, I want to be quite honest, I had never such a good life as in the beginning at Ravensbrück when I arrived".<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Trials and sentences

Majdanek trials

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Quote box

Elsa Ehrich was the first and only woman to face a death sentence in the second Majdanek trial, which took place between 1946 and 1948.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Between 1975 and 1981, Alice Orlowski, Hermine Braunsteiner (life imprisonment),<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Hildegard Lächert (12 years imprisonment),<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> and Hermine Böttcher Brückner (acquitted and released)<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> appeared in court for the third trial.

Orlowski died of natural causes during court proceedings,<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> but had first been tried in the 1947 Kraków Auschwitz trial and received a sentence of fifteen years in prison. Witnesses identified Braunsteiner based on the War Merit Medal, which she wore every day on her jacket whilst working at the Majdanek camp.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Conversely, Böttcher Brückner was pinned by survivors at the Majdanek trial as being "good" and "humane", in comparison to other {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, though she had struck the prisoners from time to time.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Belsen trials

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The first Belsen trial took place in 1945, in which Irma Grese, Elisabeth Volkenrath, and Johanna Bormann received a sentence of death by hanging. Herta Bothe, Hilde Lobauer, and Irene Haschke received prison sentences of ten years, whilst Herta Ehlert received fifteen years.<ref group="upper-roman" name="United Nations War Crimes Commission 125">Template:Harvnb</ref> Gertrud Heise and Anneliese Kohlmann were only sentenced the following year during the second Belsen trial, receiving fifteen years and two years' imprisonment, respectively.<ref group="upper-roman" name=" Theotokis 86">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

File:Stutthof female SS guards trial.jpg

Row 1, left to right: Becker, Steinhoff, Klaff; Row 2: Beilhardt, Barkmann (April/May 1946)

Stutthof trials

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Jenny-Wanda Barkmann, Elisabeth Becker, Wanda Klaff, Ewa Paradies, and Gerda Steinhoff all received a sentence of death by hanging in the first Stuffhof trial, which took place Gdańsk, Poland in 1946. <ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> Erna Beilhardt had been the only woman to not receive a death sentence, having only received five years in prison.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Kraków Auschwitz trial

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The 1947 Auschwitz trial in Kraków, Poland sentenced Maria Mandl<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> and Therese Brandl<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> to death by hanging. Luise Danz was sentenced to life in prison. Alice Orlowski<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> and Hildegard Lächert were sentenced to fifteen years in prison.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Theotokis 86"/>

Aftermath

Perpetrators postwar

One of the few former {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} to tell her story to the public was Hertha Bothe, who had been employed at Ravensbrück in 1942, then at Stutthof and its Bromberg-Ost subcamp, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen. She was given early release in the mid-1950s from her ten-year prison sentence. In an interview recorded in 1999, Bothe was asked if she regretted being a concentration camp guard. She replied, "Did I make a mistake? No. The mistake was that it was a concentration camp, but I had to go. Otherwise, I would have been put into it myself; that was my mistake".<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Though Bothe claimed that refusal of the job would have resulted in her own arrest—an explanation given by many former {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}—it was unlikely to have been true, as surviving records have shown that the new recruits refusing to remain as guards in Ravensbrück did not face consequences.<ref group="upper-alpha">Template:Cite news</ref>

Former Ravensbrück {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Elfriede Rinkel was eighty-four and living in San Francisco when she was deported to Germany by the U.S. Justice Department in August 2006. She kept her participation in the Nazi Party a secret from her family, friends, and Jewish-German husband of forty-two years, Fred.<ref group="upper-roman">Template:Harvnb</ref> She had emigrated to the United States in 1959 in search of a better life, and had omitted Ravensbrück from the list of residences on her visa application. Rinkel ultimately faced no criminal charges in Germany, as the statute of limitations had expired.<ref group="upper-alpha">Template:Cite news</ref> The case continued to be examined until her death in 2018.<ref group="upper-alpha">Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• SS-Totenkopfverbände concentration camp personnel

References

Books

Bibliography

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