Ravensbruck was a concentration camp that was slightly different to others inside of
the Third Reich. It was established as a camp exclusively for women, and it was here where
many of the most evil female Nazi guards were trained. They were taught at Ravensbruck how
to show mass barbarity and contribute to the depravity caused inside of camps such as Bergen-Belsen
and Auschwitz. They were taught utter violence and brutality, but inside Ravensbruck itself
it’s estimated that between 30,000 and 90,000 were killed inside of the barbed wire fences.
However after the Second World War, a number of trials took place in Hamburg, aimed at
bringing a number of the former guards and officials at the camp to justice. Despite
a huge number of guards working at the camp, only a small amount ever saw justice inside
of a court room. Today we look at the Justified Executions of the Female Guards of Ravensbruck.
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Construction of Ravensbruck began in November 1938, and it was to hold only female prisoners.
In May 1939 it opened with 900 women moved from another camp, and within 8 months of
the Second World War starting it was at capacity. Because of this it was expanded, and the biggest
amount of prisoners at Ravensbruck at one time was around 45,000. It’s estimated that
around 130,000 female prisoners passed through the camp, but around 50,000 died form disease,
starvation, the harsh labour conditions, and around 2,200 were killed inside the gas chambers.
Amongst the thousands executed were spies from other countries including members of
SOE, and the camp was huge with 70 sub camps serving it. There were many male members of
staff who worked there along with over 150 female SS guards, who were tasked with overseeing
the prisoners. As mentioned, as a training camp over 4000 female overseers learned there,
and many of these women went on to be known in infamy with the horrific treatment of the
holocaust. For example Irma Grese the Hyena of Auschwitz was based at Ravensbruck.
The treatment of the prisoners was barbaric, with guards accompanied by SS men, armed with
dogs and whips overseeing the prisoners during their day. Prisoners would be forced to undergo
the long roll call, and were often beaten rather awfully sometimes to death. One guard
Elfriede Muller was so harsh that she became known as the Beast of Ravensbruck. Maria Mandl
a guard who worked in a senior capacity at Auschwitz was a chief overseer at Ravensbruck,
and was later executed for the deaths of 500,000 people. Prisoners were forced to wear symbols
denoting what sort of prisoner they were and where they were from, and many when they arrived
at Ravensbruck were forced to have their hair shaved.
Over the years, mass deportations of women from Ravensbruck to Auschwitz took place,
with them being forced to undergo selections once there, resulting in the deaths of thousands
as soon as they arrived at the camp. Conditions in the camp were rather terrible, and they
deteriorated quickly as the camp expanded. It was said by a survivor that, ‘They didn’t
shoot the women, we were to die of misery hunger and exhaustion, when we arrived at
Ravensbruck, it was the worst. The first thing I saw was a cart with all the dead piled on
it. We didn’t even feel like we had the value of cattle. You worked and then you died.’
The sort of work women were required to do varied in it’s purpose but it was all hard
and heavy work. Some women worked in the factory making soldiers socks, and some worked to
build V2 rocket parts.
Before Ravensbruck was liberated, the SS leadership tried to remove as many prisoners as possible,
and they forced all women physically able to embark on a death march. When the camp
was liberated, less than 3500 were found malnourished and ill, but after the clean up operation,
the focus shifted to bringing those responsible of the crimes of humanity at the camp to justice.
The SS guards, female and male and former workers at the camp were arrested by the allies,
and from 1946 to 1948 a series of trials took place. Many of the guards were never brought
to justice, and did escape following the end of the war. Ultimately there were 7 Ravensbruck
Trials, the first was held on December 5th 1946 and lasted a few months, with 16 members
of staff on trial.
During the first trial, 7 women faced the judge. These were Dorothea Bins, Greta Bosel,
Magarete Mewes, Elisabeth Marschall, Carmen Mory, Vera Salvequart and Eugenia von Skene.
Dorothea Binz served as the deputy warders, and she was known for brutality, having personally
been responsible for the torture and death of many. She was said to have beaten, slapped,
shot, kicked and whipped prisoners on a daily basis. She carried a whip with her German
Shepherd, and at a moments notice she would kick prisoners to death, or set her dog on
them. Allegedly she even had a boyfriend whom she would take on romantic strolls around
the concentration camp. Greta Bosel, was involved the selection of prisoners, and was heard
saying ‘if they cannot work, let them rot.’
Margaret Mewes worked as a jail warden, and during the trial was sentenced to 10 years
imprisonment. Elisabeth Marschall worked as a nurse at the camp, and she was involved
in overseeing medical experiments, and at times she even killed some of the prisoners
herself with lethal injections. She was involved in also seeing which prisoners would be shipped
to Auschwitz to be killed. Carmen Mory was a spy who also worked as a kapo at the camp,
and she developed a terrible reputation for sadomasachistic brutality towards many of
the inmates. She initially was even alleged to be sent to the gas chambers, but her friend
struck her name off the list and she then rose to prominence.
Vera Salvequart also was a kapo, and her job was to serve as a nurse in the medical wing
and fill out death certificates. She took an active role in the killings however, poisoning
many of the prisoners, rather than sending them to the gas chambers as she couldn’t
be bothered to arrange their transport. Eugenia von Skene was also an inmate and kapo, but
was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
At the first trials conclusion, Dorothea Binz, Greta Bosel, Elisabeth Marschall, Carmen Mory
and Vera Salvequart were sentenced to death, along with other men were executed. Carmen
Mory took her own life before the sentence could be carried out, and it was Albert Pierrepoint
who executed these women. Inside Hamelin Prison, a gallows had been created, and the usual
rule for these was ladies first. The condemned were held inside the condemned cells at Hamelin
for a short amount of time, and then they were taken out of their cells to face the
executioner.
Pierrepoint before would have met all of the condemned to calculate their weights, heights
and drops required to snap their necks, killing them instantly. Upon being called from the
cells, they were then brought into the cell, with their arms fastened behind their backs.
Identification took place at the bottom of the gallows, and then once this was done they
were marched up the stairs by the guards. Last words were asked, before Pierrepoint
straightened the women and checked their restraints, before placing a black hood over her head.
He then placed the noose over their head, and shuffled them over the chalk X he had
drawn on the floor, before Pierrepoint then pulled the lever. The executions were performed
swiftly and within seconds of the condemned entering the execution chamber. Dorothea Binz
interestingly was executed first on May 2nd 1947, with the other women executed on the
3rd, and Vera Salvequart being executed the following month.
During the Second Ravensbruck Trials, no female guards were brought to justice, however five
female camp officials were brought to trial in the third Ravensbruck Trial. These were
involved in the leadership of the Uckermark sub camp, which was found around 1 mile from
Ravensbruck and it housed teenage girls aged 16 to 21 labelled criminal or difficult. Of
the 5 women brought to trial, two were acquitted, one was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment,
and one was sentenced to life in prison, but only Ruth Neudeck was sentenced to death.
She served as the Chief Warden of the Extermination Camp, and was known for her murderous actions.
In one incident she allegedly cut the throat of a prisoner with the sharp edge of a shovel.
She was also involved in the executions and selections of over 5000 women and children,
and for this she was executed in exactly the same way as the female guards in the first
Ravensbruck trials, with Pierrepoint taking her life at Hamelin Prison on the gallows.
During the fourth Ravensbruck Trial, 3 former female members of staff, all nurses were brought
to face the judge. Their charges focussed around mistreatment, sending people to the
gas chambers and also torture. Only one Gerda Ganzer was sentenced to death, but her sentence
was later withdrawn, and instead she spent a number of years in prison.
The Fifth and Sixth Ravensbruck Trials resulted in the imprisonment of a number of male guards,
and also one death sentence. But during the final seventh Ravensbruck Trial, six female
camp wardens of Aufehreinnens were tried from the 2nd July to the 21st 1948. They were accused
of ill-treatment towards prisoners of allied countries, and also in sending many prisoners
to the gas chambers. On trial were Luise Brunner a chief warden who was given 3 years imprisonment,
Anne Klein a chief warden who was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, Christine Holthower
who also was acquitted and Ilse Vettermann who was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
However there were 2 more death sentences carried out with regards to crimes at Ravensbruck.
Emma Zimmer an assistant chief warden who was known for sadistic behaviour was sentenced
to death. It was said, ‘She was vicious and dangerous and frightening us constantly
with threats, proclaiming in a sadistic voice, ‘I will report you and you will go away,
you know where? Just one way up the chimney.’ Also sentenced to death was Ida Schreither,
who was known for selecting prisoners to die. She also was responsible for the murders of
prisoners, due to overworking them. Both of these died in the same manner as before, with
Albert Pierrepoint being the hangman at Hamelin Prison who took their lives.
The Ravensbruck Trials were just one series of trials that aimed to punish those perpetrators
of the crimes against humanity which occurred at the camp. Of course there were many other
guards who worked at Ravensbruck who were brought in front of judges at different trials.
In fact of those women who were known for war crimes, and were sentenced to death, the
majority learned everything they knew at Ravensbruck, being schooled in genocide and depravity.
The Belsen trials for example sentenced a number of female guards to death who worked
at Ravensbruck including Irma Grese. In total there were 38 defendants in the Ravensbruck
Trials, 21 were women. Despite less than 40 facing trial for crimes at Ravensbruck, there
were a huge number who never faced up to their crimes, and were never punished for them.
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