View source for Female guards in Nazi concentration camps

{{Short description|Role of female guards in Nazi concentration camps}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox Government agency
| agency_name = Female retinue of the SS
| nativename = ''{{lang|de|Weibliches Gefolge der SS}} (SS-Gefolge)''
| picture = SS women camp guards Bergen-Belsen April 19 1945.jpg
| picture_width = 250px
| picture_caption = {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} being escorted to bury deceased prisoners in mass graves following the liberation of [[Bergen-Belsen]] (19 April 1945)
| formed = 1938 
| dissolved = 1945
| jurisdiction = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| employees = Approximately 3,500
| agency_type = Auxiliary organization
| parent_agency = {{flagicon|Schutzstaffel}} {{lang|de|[[Schutzstaffel]]}}<br>[[File:SS Totenkopf.jpg|frameless|24x20px]] {{lang|de|[[SS-Totenkopfverbände]]}}
}}
{{Nazism sidebar}}

'''{{lang|de|SS-Aufseherin}}''' (pl. '''{{lang|de|SS-Aufseherinnen}}'''; {{IPA|de|ˈaʊ̯fˌzeːəʁɪn|lang|De-Aufseherin.ogg}}; {{literally|female SS overseer}}<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 2–3">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=2–3}}</ref>{{efn|{{lang|de|Helferin}} (pl. {{lang|de|Helferinnen}}), which means "female helper", is not synonymous with the position title {{lang|de|Aufseherin}}.}}) was the position title for a female guard in [[Nazi concentration camps]]. Female camp personnel were members of the {{lang|de|SS-Gefolge}} auxiliary organization, which served the {{lang|de|[[SS-Totenkopfverbände]]}} (SS-TV) in a limited capacity as these women were not formally recognized as members of the {{lang|de|[[Schutzstaffel]]}} (SS).<ref group="upper-roman" name="Morrison 24">{{harvnb|Morrison|2000|p=24}}</ref><ref group="lower-roman" name="Gawor 88">{{harvnb|Gawor|2023|p=88}}</ref>

==Background==
In April 1933, a [[Moringen concentration camp# Female camp, October 1933 – March 1938|workhouse in Moringen]] was made into a detention facility under [[Province of Hanover|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 [[Gau Saxony|Saxony]] in late 1937, and became known as the first SS-run women's concentration camp. It was commanded by SS-{{lang|de|Hauptsturmführer}} [[Max Koegel]] and staffed by recruited and conscripted women who worked as guards.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Morrison|2000|p=11–12}}</ref>

{{lang|de|[[Reichsführer-SS]]}} [[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">{{harvnb|Saidel|2006|p=12}}</ref> Ravensbrück commenced operations in May 1939, serving as the central camp for female prisoners. It was here that the position of {{lang|de|SS-Aufseherin}} was established.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 2–3"/>

On 1 September 1939, Hitler delivered a speech at the {{lang|de|[[Reichstag building|Reichstag]]}}, 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">{{harvnb|Domarus|1997|p=1756}}</ref> This was the given order despite his the views he held in regards to women: {{Blockquote |text=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. |author=[[Adolf Hitler]] |source=''Hitler's Table Talk'' (1942)<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Trevor-Roper|2008|p=266}}</ref>}} The {{lang|de|[[Bund Deutscher Mädel]]}} (BDM) was in support of the 1939 speech and had it written in the organization's 1940 yearbook.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Century|2017|p=3}}</ref>

==Recruitment and conscription==
Advertisements were posted in newspapers, such as the {{lang|de|{{ill|Hannoverscher Kurier|de}}}}, which sought out German women between the ages of 20 and 40 to guard women who "committed an offense against the '[[Volksgemeinschaft|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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=45–46}}</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 {{lang|de|[[Oberkommando der Wehrmacht]]}}'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 {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} 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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=56–57}}</ref>

The need for female guards in concentration camps became critical when {{lang|de|Reichsleiter}} [[Joseph Goebbels]] declared total war against Allied forces in his [[Sportpalast speech|''Sportpalast'' speech]] on 18 February 1943.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Longerich|2015|p=559}}</ref> Hitler raised the age limit for women's involvement to 50 and made employment in [[Military production during World War II|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">{{harvnb|Echternkamp|2008|p=45}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=60–61}}</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">{{harvnb|Berkin|Lovett|1980|p=38}}</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">{{harvnb|Broszat|1996|p=178}}</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 {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=74–77}}</ref><ref group="lower-roman">{{harvnb|Lamoureux|2022|p=45}}</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 {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} 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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=79}}</ref> In June 1942, conscripted {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} Anna David<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Sulej|2020|p=180}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Brown|2002|p=57}}</ref> provided testimony of her arrival at Ravensbrück: {{blockquote|At the very beginning, we were issued a uniform and had to give an oath. They instructed us on methods for dealing with prisoners. We were told that escape attempts must be prevented at any cost, and that we were to report even the smallest violation on the part of the prisoners…During the training course, every graduate had to take part in various duties, and learn how to carry them out in accordance with camp regulations.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Strebel|2003|p=94}}</ref>}}

A three-month probationary period follows training, during which each prospective is partnered with an experienced {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} who acts as a mentor and is tasked with overseeing a work detail.{{efn|This aspect of the training program was only implemented in 1939.}}<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=71}}</ref> In 1939, [[Hermine Braunsteiner]] received mentoring from [[Maria Mandl]], who was then the {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} of Ravensbrück.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Eischeid|2024|p=49}}</ref> In a postwar testimony, Braunsteiner states that all {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} were taught how to "handle, shoot, and clean their service weapon".<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Strebel|2003|p=25}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 79"/>

According to Commandant's Order No. 3, issued 24 July 1942, new {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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 {{lang|de|[[Jud Süß]]}}.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Erpel|2007|p=92}}</ref>

==Membership==
Due to missing and destroyed documentation pre-liberation, the exact number of women who became {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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">{{harvnb|Wachsmann|2015|p=544}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Lower|2013|p=21}}</ref> Historian {{ill|Bernhard Strebel|de|Bernhard Strebel (Historiker)}} 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">{{harvnb|Strebel|2003|p=73}}</ref> By late 1944, the total surpassed 3,000.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Morrison|2000|p=22}}</ref> 

==Ranks and uniforms==
[[File:Ssaufseherin-uniform.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Artistic depiction of an {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} uniform]]
{{Expand section|date=March 2025|with=details of responsibilities for each ranking and additions of other notable {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}}}}
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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=92}}</ref> Only after Himmler's visit to Ravensbrück in the spring of 1940 did {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=100}}</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">{{harvnb|Füllberg Stolberg|1994|p=224}}</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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=95–96}}</ref>

===Aufseherin===
{{lang|de|Aufseherin}} means "female SS overseer". {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} were in charge of conducting the daily roll call, or {{lang|de|[[appellplatz]]}}, allocating inmates to work details, and guarding prisoners.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 2–3"/>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|- style="background-color:#D9D9D9; width: 100%"
! colspan="4" | 1 bar<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
|-
| [[Jenny-Wanda Barkmann]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at [[Stutthof]]
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Wynn|2020|p=137}}</ref>
|-
| [[Erna Beilhardt]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at the [[Heiligenbeil concentration camp|Heiligenbeil]] subcamp of Stutthof
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Megargee|2009|p=1459}}</ref>
|-
| [[Erika Bergmann]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück and its [[List of subcamps of Ravensbrück|Genthin subcamp]], and the [[Neurohlau concentration camp|Neurohlau subcamp]] of [[Flossenbürg]]
| 1943–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Fings|Heuss|Sparing|Kenrick|1997|p=90}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Nick|2019|p=294}}</ref>
|-
| [[Johanna Bormann]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück, [[Auschwitz II-Birkenau]] and its subcamp [[List of subcamps of Auschwitz|Hindenburg]], and [[Bergen-Belsen]]
| 1939–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=82}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Benz|Distel|2007|p=181}}</ref>
|-
| [[Hermine Boettcher-Brueckner|Hermine Böttcher Brückner]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück and [[Majdanek]].
| 1942–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=62}}</ref>
|-
| [[Herta Bothe]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück, Stutthof and its [[Bromberg-Ost]] subcamp, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen
| 1942–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Bartrop|Grimm|2019|p=44}}</ref>
|-
| [[Irene Haschke]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at [[Gross-Rosen]] and its subcamp [[List of subcamps of Gross-Rosen|Mährisch-Weißwasser]], and Bergen-Belsen
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=294}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ruth Elfriede Hildner]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück, [[Dachau]], and the Helmbrechts subcamp of Flossenbürg
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=291}}</ref>
|-
| [[Anneliese Kohlmann]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at the [[Neuengamme]] subcamps [[Neugraben-Fischbek#Subcamp Neugraben|Neugraben]] and [[List of subcamps of Neuengamme|Hamburg-Tiefstack]], and Bergen-Belsen
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Buggeln|2015|p=243}}</ref>
|-
| [[Hildegard Lächert]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Majdanek, Auschwitz, [[Bolzano Transit Camp|Bolzano]], and [[Mauthausen-Gusen]]
| 1942–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=268–270}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ewa Paradies]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Stutthof and its subcamp Bromberg-Ost
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=287}}</ref>
|-
| [[Margarete Rabe]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück and its Uckermark subcamp
| 1944-1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Ingmann|2022|p=83}}</ref>
|-
| [[Erna Wallisch]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück and Majdanek
| 1940-1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=56}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=137}}</ref>
|}

==={{lang|de|Hundeführerin}}===
{{lang|de|Hundeführerin}} 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 {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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">{{harvnb|O'Reilly|Dugard|2018|p=241}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Overbey Hilton|2004|p=94}}</ref>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|- style="background-color:#D9D9D9; width: 100%"
! colspan="4" | 1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
|-
| [[Elfriede Rinkel]]
| {{lang|de|Hundeführerin}} at Ravensbrück
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Nick|2019|p=297}}</ref>
|}

==={{lang|de|Kommandoführerin}}===
{{lang|de|Kommandoführerin}} 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">{{harvnb|Długoborski|Piper|1995|p=283}}</ref>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|- style="background-color:#D9D9D9; width: 100%"
! colspan="5" | 1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
|-
| [[Alice Orlowski]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück and Majdanek; {{lang|de|Kommandoführerin}} at Majdanek, Plaszow-Kraków, and Auschwitz II-Birkenau
| 1941–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Lewkowicz|2025|p=68}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=63–64}}</ref>
|}

==={{lang|de|Blockführerin}}===
{{lang|de|Blockführerin}} and {{lang|de|blockleiter}} means "block leader". The terms {{lang|de|blockälteste}}, meaning "block senior" and blockova were the titles given to prisoners if they, like the appointed {{lang|de|blockführerin}}, were put in charge of maintaining order within their respective block.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Hore|2016|p=147}}</ref>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|- style="background-color:#D9D9D9; width: 100%"
! colspan="4" | 1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
|-
| [[Ulla Jürß]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} and {{lang|de|Blockführerin}} at Ravensbrück
| {{circa|1942–1944}}
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Brown|2002|p=129}}</ref>
|-
| [[Elisabeth Lupka]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück; {{lang|de|Blockführerin}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau
| 1943–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=84}}</ref>
|-
|}

==={{lang|de|Arbeitsdienstführerin}}=== 
{{lang|de|Arbeitsdienstführerin}} means "labor service leader". These women were in charge of assigning work details amongst the prisoners, maintaining efficiency within the concentration camp, and overseeing {{lang|de|kommandoführerinnen}}.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Posner|2000|p=219}}</ref>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|- style="background-color:#D9D9D9; width: 100%"
! colspan="4" | 1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
|-
| [[Greta Bösel]]
| {{lang|de|Arbeitsdienstführerin}} at Ravensbrück
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Hördler|2015|p=413}}</ref>
|-
| [[Elisabeth Hasse]]
| {{lang|de|Kommandoführerin}} at the Auschwitz subcamps of Budy and Rajsko; {{lang|de|Arbeitsdienstführerin}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau
| {{circa|1942–1945}}
| <ref group="upper-roman" name="Megargee 233">{{harvnb|Megargee|2009|p=233}}</ref>
|-
| [[Hilde Lobauer]]
| {{lang|de|Arbeitsdienstführerin}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Celinscak|2015|p=73}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|United Nations War Crimes Commission|1947|p=274–277}}</ref>
|}

==={{lang|de|Rapportführerin}}===
{{lang|de|Rapportführerin}} means "report leader". {{lang|de|Rapportführerinnen}} 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"/>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|- style="background-color:#D9D9D9; width: 100%"
! colspan="4" | 1 bar with star<ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 95–96"/>
|-
| [[Irma Grese]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück, {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} Auschwitz II-Birkenau, {{lang|de|Arbeitsdienstführerin}} and {{lang|de|Rapportführerin}} in Bergen-Belsen
| 1942–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Brown|2004|p=28–29, 33–34, 57}}</ref>
|}

==={{lang|de|Erstaufseherin}}===
{{lang|de|Erstaufseherin}} means "first supervisor".

{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|-
| [[Therese Brandl]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at the Dachau subcamp [[Mühldorf concentration camp complex|Mühldorf]], {{lang|de|Rapportführerin}} at Ravensbrück and Auschwitz I, {{lang|de|Erstaufseherin}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau
| 1940–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=309}}</ref>
|}

==={{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}}===
{{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} means "head female overseer". {{lang|de|Oberaufseherinnen}} were responsible for directing and supervising {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} and reporting roll-call numbers to camp headquarters. In some camps, this position was equivalent to that of a {{lang|de|Schutzhaftlagerführerin}}.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Morrison 21">{{harvnb|Morrison|2000|p=21}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 2–3"/><ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 38">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=38}}</ref>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|- style="background-color:#D9D9D9; width: 100%"
! colspan="4" | 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|de|Aufseherin}} at Lichtenburg and Ravensbrück; {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at Gross-Rosen
| 1938–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=87}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Eischeid|2024|p=11}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Hördler|2009|p=33}}</ref>
|-
| [[Dorothea Binz]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} and {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at Ravensbrück
| 1939–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=150}}</ref>
|-
| [[Hermine Braunsteiner]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück and Majdanek; {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at the Genthin subcamp of Ravensbrück
| 1939–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Wynn|2020|p=133–135}}</ref>
|-
| [[Gertrud Heise]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück, Majdanek, Kraków-Płaszów, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Neuengamme; {{lang|de|Kommandoführerin}} at the Obernheide subcamp; {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at the Obernheide subcamp of Neuengamme
| 1941–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman" name="Megargee 1097">{{harvnb|Megargee|2009|p=1097}}</ref>
|-
| [[Johanna Langefeld]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Lichtenburg; {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück and Auschwitz
| 1936–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Herbermann|2000|p=125}}</ref>
|-
| [[Hildegard Neumann]]
| {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at Ravensbrück and [[Theresienstadt]]
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=261}}</ref>
|-
| [[Gerda Steinhoff]]
| {{lang|de| Blockführerin}} at Stutthof and {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}}at its subcamps Danzig–Holm and Bromberg-Ost
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=265}}</ref>
|-
| [[Elisabeth Volkenrath]]
| {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen
| 1941–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Taulbee|2018|p=70}}</ref>
|-
| [[Emma Zimmer]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Lichtenburg; {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at Ravensbrück and Auschwitz II-Birkenau
| 1938–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Eischeid|2024|p=11}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Herbermann|2000|p=195}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=81}}</ref>
|}

==={{lang|de|Chef Oberaufseherin}}===
{{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} means "female chief senior overseer".<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Brown|2002|p=51}}</ref>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|-
| [[Margarete Gallinat]]
| {{lang|de|Chef Oberaufseherin}} at [[Herzogenbusch]]
| 1940–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Erpel|2007|p=25}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Schwartz|2018|p=100}}</ref>
|-
| [[Anna Klein (camp warden)|Anna Klein]]
| {{lang|de|Chef Oberaufseherin}} at Ravensbrück
| 1939–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=81}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Brown|2002|p=139}}</ref>
|}

==={{lang|de|Schutzhaftlagerführerin}}===
{{lang|de|Schutzhaftlagerführerin}}, commonly shortened in literature as {{lang|de|Lagerführerin}}, means "camp leader". {{lang|de|Lagerführerinnen}} 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 {{lang|de|Oberaufseherinnen}}.<ref group="upper-roman" name="Morrison 21"/>
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 35%" | Name
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 40%" | History
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 15%" | Years of service
! bgcolor="#efefef" style="width: 10%" | Ref
|-
| [[Luise Danz]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Ravensbrück, Majdanek, Kraków-Płaszów, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and the Malchow subcamp of Ravensbrück; {{lang|de|Kommandoführerin}} and {{lang|de|Rapportführerin}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau; {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at Malchow; {{lang|de|Lagerführerin}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, Camps B and C
| 1943–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman" name="Hellinger & Lee 207">{{harvnb|Hellinger|Lee|2022|p=207}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman" name="Hellinger & Lee 243">{{harvnb|Hellinger|Lee|2022|p=243}}</ref>
|-
| [[Elsa Ehrich|Else "Elsa" Ehrich]]
| {{lang|de|Lagerführerin}} at Majdanek
| 1940–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman" name="Mailänder 38"/>
|-
| [[Maria Mandl]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} at Lichtenburg, {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at Ravensbrück, {{lang|de|Lagerführerin}} at Auschwitz II-Birkenau
| 1938–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Eischeid|2024|p=24–25, 38, 48}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ruth Neudeck]]
| {{lang|de|Aufseherin}} and {{lang|de|Blockführerin}} at Ravensbrück; {{lang|de|Oberaufseherin}} at [[Uckermark concentration camp|Uckermark]]; {{lang|de|Lagerführerin}} at the Barth subcamp of Ravensbrück
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Heath|2018|p=204}}</ref>
|-
| [[Erna Petermann]]
| {{lang|de|Lagerführerin}} at Gross-Rosen
| 1944–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Rudorff|2018|p=706}}</ref>
|-
| [[Lotte Toberentz]]
| {{lang|de|Lagerführerin}} at Ravensbrück
| 1942–1945
| <ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Schwarze|2009|p=109}}</ref>
|}

==Daily life==
===Housing===
[[File:Ravensbrück Wohnhaus Wachmannschaft.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Ravensbrück residential building (2005)]]
{{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=84, 87}}</ref> Despite the policy that male and female camp personnel be separated on camp grounds, it remained a problem, with {{lang|de|Oberaufseherinnen}} Maria Mandl and [[Dorothea Binz]] engaging in their own liaisons while employed there.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Eischeid|2024|p=48}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Bartrop|Grimm|2019|p=31}}</ref>

===Recreation===
{{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=90, 104}}</ref>

The women did not have to do their own laundry, cleaning, or cooking as prisoners were made to do it for them. Some {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=91–92}}</ref>

==Trials and sentences==
===Majdanek trials===
{{Main|Majdanek trials}}
{{Quote box |quote=We were no longer human. Commands were always given. […] We were not allowed to speak with each other or the prisoners. We had to work whether it was raining or snowing, whether it was cold or hot. Imagine yourself standing in a storm for twelve hours and losing everything. |author=[[Hildegard Lächert]] |align=right |width=34% |qalign=left |salign=right |source=1984<ref>{{cite AV media |last=Fechner |first=Eberhard |title=Der Prozess: Eine Darstellung des Majdanek-Verfahrens in Düsseldorf – II, Beweisaufnahme |trans-title=The Trial: A Presentation of the Majdanek Trial in Düsseldorf – II, Hearing of Evidence |date=1984 |type=VHS |time-caption=Interview occurs at |time=1:01:30–1:02:02 |location=Waltham, Massachusetts |publisher=[[National Center for Jewish Film]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d9wLYJL7kU |language=de}}</ref>}}

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">{{harvnb|Gigliotti|Tempian|2016|p=189}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Marszałek|1986|p=188}}</ref> Between 1975 and 1981, Alice Orlowski, Hermine Braunsteiner (life imprisonment),<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=85}}</ref> Hildegard Lächert (12 years imprisonment),<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Marszałek|1986|p=190}}</ref> and Hermine Böttcher Brückner (acquitted and released)<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Marszałek|1986|p=189}}</ref> appeared in court for the third trial. 

Orlowski died of natural causes during court proceedings,<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Álvarez|2012|p=302}}</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">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=96}}</ref> Conversely, Böttcher Brückner was pinned by survivors at the Majdanek trial as being "good" and "humane", in comparison to other {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}}, though she had struck the prisoners from time to time.<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Mailänder|2015|p=237–238}}</ref>

===Belsen trials===
{{Main|Belsen trials}}
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">{{harvnb|United Nations War Crimes Commission|1947|p=125}}</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">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=86}}</ref><ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Brown|2002|p=247}}</ref>
[[File:Stutthof female SS guards trial.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Row 1, left to right: Becker, Steinhoff, Klaff; Row 2: Beilhardt, Barkmann (April/May 1946)]]
===Stutthof trials===
{{Main|Stutthof trials}}
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">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=83}}</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">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=87}}</ref>
===Kraków Auschwitz trial===
{{Main|Auschwitz trial}}
The 1947 Auschwitz trial in Kraków, Poland sentenced Maria Mandl<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Eischeid|2024|p=265–266}}</ref> and Therese Brandl<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=84}}</ref> to death by hanging. Luise Danz was sentenced to life in prison. Alice Orlowski<ref group="upper-roman">{{harvnb|Theotokis|2024|p=85}}</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 {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}} 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>{{cite AV media |people=Maurice Philip Remy |title=Holokaust, Teil 6 – Befreiung |trans-title=Holocaust, Part 6 – Liberation |date=2000 |type=[[Docuseries]] |location=Germany |publisher=MPR Film und Fernsehproduktion GmbH |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9hOKXgpOqg |language=de |time-caption=Interview occurs at |time=00:27:16–00:29:13}}</ref> Though Bothe claimed that refusal of the job would have resulted in her own arrest—an explanation given by many former {{lang|de|Aufseherinnen}}—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">{{cite news |last=McGuinness |first=Damien |publication-date=17 January 2021 |title=Nazi Ravensbrück camp: How ordinary women became SS torturers |work=[[BBC]] |location=Ravensbrück, Germany |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55661782 |archive-date=19 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319235443/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55661782 |url-status=live |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref>

Former Ravensbrück {{lang|de|Hundeführerin}} 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">{{harvnb|Barbier|2017|p=34}}</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">{{cite news |last=Harding |first=Luke |author-link=Luke Harding |title=Shameful secret of the Nazi camp guard who married a Jew |work=[[The Guardian]] |publication-date=20 September 2006 |location=Berlin, Germany |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/21/secondworldwar.germany |archive-date=7 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207045648/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/21/secondworldwar.germany |url-status=live |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref> The case continued to be examined until her death in 2018.<ref group="upper-alpha">{{cite news |last=Vasagar |first=Jeevan |publication-date=9 August 2013 |title=Six German women investigated over Auschwitz crimes |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=Berlin, Germany |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/10233520/Six-German-women-investigated-over-Auschwitz-crimes.html |archive-date=17 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117194020/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/10233520/Six-German-women-investigated-over-Auschwitz-crimes.html |url-status=dead |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[SS-Totenkopfverbände#Concentration camp personnel|SS-Totenkopfverbände concentration camp personnel]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Books===
{{notelist-ur|21em}}
====Bibliography====
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Álvarez |first=Mónica González |title=Guardianas nazis: El lado femenino del mal |trans-title=Female Nazi Guards: The Feminine Side of Evil |language=es |publication-date=2012 |publisher=Editorial Edaf |location=Madrid, Spain |isbn=978-8-4414-3950-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Barbier |first=Mary Kathryn |title=Spies, Lies, and Citizenship: The Hunt for Nazi Criminals |publication-date=2017 |publisher=[[Potomac Books]] |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |isbn=978-1-61234-971-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Bartrop |first1=Paul R. |author-link1=Paul R. Bartrop |last2=Grimm |first2=Eve E. |title=Perpetrating the Holocaust: Leaders, Enablers, and Collaborators |publication-date=2019 |publisher=[[ABC-Clio]] |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=978-1-4408-5896-3}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Benz |editor-first1=Wolfgang |editor-link1=Wolfgang Benz |editor-last2=Distel |editor-first2=Barbara |title=Der Ort des Terrors: Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager |trans-title=The Place of Terror: History of the National Socialist Concentration Camps |title-link=Der Ort des Terrors |publication-date=2007 |volume=5 |language=de |publisher=[[C. H. Beck]] |location=Munich, Germany |isbn=978-3-406-52965-8}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Berkin |editor-first1=Carol R. |editor-last2=Lovett |editor-first2=Clara M. |author-link1=Carol Berkin |author-link2=Clara Lovett |title=Women, War, and Revolution |publication-date=1980 |publisher=Holmes & Meier Publishers |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-8419-0545-0}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Broszat |editor-first=Martin |author-link=Martin Broszat |title=Rudolf Höß: Kommandant in Auschwitz, Autobiographische Aufzeichnungen |trans-title=Rudolf Höss: Commandant in Auschwitz, Autobiographical Notes |language=de |publication-date=1996 |publisher=[[dtv Verlagsgesellschaft]] |location=Munich, Germany |isbn=978-3-423-02908-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Brown |first=Daniel Patrick |title=The Beautiful Beast: The Life & Crimes of SS-Aufseherin Irma Grese |publication-date=2004 |publisher=Golden West Historical Publications |location=Ventura, California |isbn=978-0-930860-15-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Brown |first=Daniel Patrick |title=The Camp Women: The Female Auxiliaries Who Assisted the SS in Running the Nazi Concentration Camp System |publication-date=2002 |publisher=[[Schiffer Publishing]] |location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-7643-1444-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Buggeln |first=Marc |title=Slave Labor in Nazi Concentration Camps |title-link=Slave Labor in Nazi Concentration Camps |publication-date=2015 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford, England |isbn=978-0-19-870797-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Celinscak |first=Mark |title=Distance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp |publication-date=2015 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |location=Toronto, Ontario, Canada |isbn=978-1-4426-1570-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Century |first=Rachel |editor-last1=Kühne |editor-first1=Thomas |editor-link1=Thomas Kühne |editor-last2=Mayersen |editor-first2=Deborah |editor-last3=Lawson |editor-first3=Tom |title=Female Administrators of the Third Reich |series=Palgrave Studies in the History of Genocide |publication-date=2017 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |location=London, England |isbn=978-1-137-54892-4}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Długoborski |editor-first1=Wacław |editor-last2=Piper |editor-first2=Franciszek |editor-link2=Franciszek Piper |title=Auschwitz 1940–1945: Central Issues in the History of the Camp |publication-date=1995 |language=pl |publisher=[[Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum]] |location=Oświęcim, Poland |isbn=978-8-38504-787-2 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Domarus |editor-first=Max |author-link=Max Domarus |title=Hitler: Speeches and Proclamations, 1939–1940 |title-link=Hitler: Speeches and Proclamations |series=Der Grossdeutsche Freiheitskampf |volume=3 |publication-date=1997 |publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers |location=Wauconda, Illinois |isbn=978-0-86516-230-3}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Echternkamp |editor-first=Jörg |author-link=Jörg Echternkamp |title=Germany and the Second World War: German Wartime Society 1939–1945: Politicization, Disintegration, and the Struggle for Survival |volume=IX/I |publication-date=2008 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford, England |isbn=978-0-19-928277-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Eischeid |first=Susan |title=Mistress of Life and Death: The Dark Journey of Maria Mandl, Head Overseer of the Women's Camp at Auschwitz- Birkenau |publication-date=2024 |publisher=[[Kensington Publishing|Citadel Press]] |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-8065-4285-0}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Erpel |editor-first=Simone |title="Im Gefolge der SS": Aufseherinnen des Frauen-KZ Ravensbrück |trans-title="In the wake of the SS": Wardens of the Ravensbrück Women's Concentration Camp |edition=1st |publication-date=2007 |language=German |publisher=[[Metropol Verlag]] |location=Berlin, Germany |isbn=978-3-938690-19-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fings |first1=Karola |author-link1=Karola Fings |last2=Heuss |first2=Herbert |last3=Sparing |first3=Frank |last4=Kenrick |first4=Donald |title=The Gypsies During the Second World War: From "Race Science" to the Camps |volume=1 |publication-date=1997 |publisher=[[University of Hertfordshire Press]] |location=Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England |isbn=978-0-900458-78-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Füllberg Stolberg |first=Claus |title=Frauen in Konzentrationslagern: Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbrück |trans-title=Women in Concentration Camps: Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbrück |language=de |publication-date=1994 |publisher=Edition Temmen |location=Bremen, Germany |isbn=978-3-86108-237-8}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Gigliotti |editor-first1=Simone |editor-last2=Tempian |editor-first2=Monica |title=The Young Victims of the Nazi Regime: Migration, the Holocaust and Postwar Displacement |publication-date=2016 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-1-4725-3075-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Heath |first=Tim |title=In Hitler's Shadow: Post-War Germany & the Girls of the BDM |publication-date=2018 |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]] |location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England |isbn=978-1-5267-2003-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Herbermann |first=Nanda |translator-last=Baer |translator-first=Hester |editor-last=Baer |editor-first=Elizabeth R. |editor-link=Elizabeth R. Baer |title=The Blessed Abyss: Inmate #6582 in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp for Women |publication-date=2000 |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |location=Detroit, Michigan |isbn=978-0-8143-2920-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hellinger |first1=Magda |last2=Lee |first2=Maya |author-link1=Magda Hellinger |title=The Nazis Knew My Name |publication-date=2022 |publisher=[[Atria Publishing Group]] |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-1-982181-23-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Overbey Hilton |first=Fern |title=The Dachau Defendants: Life Stories from Testimony and Documents of the War Crimes Prosecutions |publication-date=2004 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-0-7864-1768-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Hördler |first=Stefan |author-link=Stefan Hördler |title=Dokumentations- und Gedenkort KZ Lichtenburg: Konzeption einer neuen Dauerausstellung für Werkstattgebäude und Bunker |trans-title=Lichtenburg Concentration Camp Documentationa and Memorial Site: Conception of a new permanent exhibition for the workshop building and bunker |language=de |publication-date=2009 |publisher=[[LIT Verlag]] |location=Münster, Germany |isbn=978-3-643-10038-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Hördler |first=Stefan |author-link=Stefan Hördler |title=Ordnung und Inferno: Das KZ-System im letzten Kriegsjahr |trans-title=Order and Inferno: The Concentration Camp System in the Last Year of the War |language=de |publication-date=2015 |publisher=Wallstein Verlag |location=Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany |isbn=978-3-8353-1404-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Hore |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Hore (historian) |title=Lindell's List: Saving British and American Women at Ravensbrück |publication-date=2016 |publisher=[[The History Press]] |location=Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England |isbn=978-0-7509-6945-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Ingmann |first=Lorenz |title=KZ-Aufseherinnen im Visier der Fahnder in »Ost- und Westdeutschland« |trans-title=Female Concentration Camp Guards Targeted by Investigators in "East and West Germany" |language=de |publication-date=2022 |publisher=Romeon Verlag |location=Jüchen, Germany |isbn=978-3-9622928-7-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lewkowicz |first=Josef |author-link=Josef Lewkowicz |title=The Survivor: How I Made it Through Six Concentration Camps |publication-date=2025 |publisher=[[Harper Horizon]] |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-1-4002-4952-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Longerich |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Longerich |translator-last1=Bance |translator-first1=Alan |translator-last2=Noakes |translator-first2=Jeremy |translator-last3=Sharpe |translator-first3=Lesley |title=Goebbels: A Biography |publication-date=2015 |orig-date=Originally published in 2010 in German by Siedler Verlag |publisher=[[Random House]] |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-1-4000-6751-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Lower |first=Wendy |author-link=Wendy Lower |title=Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields |publication-date=2013 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |location=Boston, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-547-86338-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Mailänder |first=Elissa |translator-last=Szobar |translator-first=Patricia |title=Female SS Guards and Workaday Violence: The Majdanek Concentration Camp, 1942–1944 |orig-date=First published in Germany in 2009 |publication-date=2015 |publisher=[[Michigan State University Press]], originally published by [[Hamburger Edition]] |location=East Lansing, Michigan |isbn=978-1-61186-170-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Marszałek |first=Józef |translator-last=Petrowicz |translator-first=Lech |title=Majdanek: The Concentration Camp in Lublin |publication-date=1986 |publisher=Interpress |location=Warsaw, Poland |isbn=978-8-322-32138-6}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Megargee |editor-first=Geoffrey P. |editor-link=Geoffrey P. Megargee |title=Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945 |series= Early Camps, Youth Camps, and Concentration Camps and Subcamps under the SS-Business Administration Main Office (WVHA) |volume=1 |publication-date=2009 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]], [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]] |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=978-0-253-35328-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Jack G. |title=Ravensbrück: Everyday Life in a Women's Concentration Camp, 1939–1945 |publication-date=2000 |publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-1-55876-218-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Nick |first=I. M. |title=Personal Names, Hitler, and the Holocaust: A Socio-Onomastic Study of Genocide and Nazi Germany |publication-date=2019 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4985-2597-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=O'Reilly |first1=Bill |author-link1=Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) |last2=Dugard |first2=Martin |author-link2=Martin Dugard (author) |title=Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History |title-link=Killing the SS |publication-date=2018 |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-1-250-16554-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Posner |first=Louis |title=Through a Boy's Eyes: The Turbulent Years, 1926–1945 |publication-date=2000 |publisher=Seven Locks Press |location=Santa Ana, California |isbn=978-0-929765-74-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Saidel |first=Rochelle G. |author-link=Rochelle Saidel |title=The Jewish Women of Ravensbrück Concentration Camp |publication-date=2006 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |location=Madison, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-299-19864-0}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Rudorff |editor-first=Andrea |title=Das KZ Auschwitz 1942–1945 und die Zeit der Todesmärsche 1944/45 |trans-title=The Auschwitz Concentration Camp 1942–1945 and the Time of the Death Marches 1944/45 |language=de |publication-date=2018 |publisher=[[De Gruyter]] |location=Berlin, Germany |isbn=978-3-11-057110-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Schwartz |first=Johannes |title=«Weibliche Angelegenheiten»: Handlungsräume von KZ-Aufseherinnen in Ravensbrück und Neubrandenburg |trans-title="Female Affairs": Scope of action of Female Concentration Camp Guards in Ravensbrück and Neubrandenburg |language=de |publication-date=2018 |publisher=[[Hamburger Edition]] |location=Hamburg, Germany |isbn=978-3-86854-316-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Schwarze |first=Gisela |title=Es war wie Hexenjagd: Die vergessene Verfolgung ganz normaler Frauen im Zweiten Weltkrieg |trans-title=It was like a witchhunt: The forgotten persecution of ordinary women during World War II |language=de |publication-date=2009 |publisher=Ardey-Verlag |location=Münster, Germany |isbn=978-3-87023-327-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Strebel |first=Bernhard |title=Das KZ Ravensbrück: Geschichte eines Lagerkomplexes |trans-title=KZ Ravensbrück: The History of a Camp Complex |language=de |publication-date=2003 |publisher=[[Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh]] |location=Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |isbn=978-3-506-70123-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Sulej |first=Karolina |title=Rzeczy osobiste: Opowieść o ubraniach w obozach koncentracyjnych i zagłady |trans-title=Personal belongings: The story of clothing in concentration and extermination camps |language=pl |publication-date=2020 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Czerwone i Czarne |location=Warsaw, Poland |isbn=978-83-66219-39-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Taulbee |first=James Larry |title=War Crimes and Trials: A Primary Source Guide |publication-date=2018 |publisher=[[ABC-Clio]] |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=978-1-4408-3800-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Theotokis |first=Nikolaos |title=Imprisoning the Enemy: How 12 million Axis POWs were held in captivity during WW2 and after |publication-date=2024 |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]] |location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England |isbn=978-1-03-610001-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Trevor-Roper |first=H.R. |author-link=Hugh Trevor-Roper |translator-last1=Cameron |translator-first1=Norman |translator-last2=Stevens |translator-first2=R.H. |title=Hitler's Table Talk, 1941–1944: His Private Conversations |publication-date=2008 |publisher=Enigma Books |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-1-929631-66-7}}
* {{cite book |author=United Nations War Crimes Commission |author-link=United Nations War Crimes Commission |title=Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals: The Belsen Trial |edition=English |volume=2 |publication-date=1947 |publisher=[[His Majesty's Stationery Office]] |location=London, England |lccn=2011525464 |oclc=122275472}}
* {{cite book |last=Wachsmann |first=Nikolaus |author-link=Nikolaus Wachsmann |title=KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps |title-link=KL – A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps |publication-date=2015 |publisher=[[Farrar, Straus and Giroux]] |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-374-11825-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Wynn |first=Stephen |title=Holocaust: The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities |publication-date=2020 |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]] |location=South Yorkshire, England |isbn=978-1-5267-2821-0}}
{{Refend}}
===Scholarly articles===
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
{{notelist-lr|21em}}
{{Refend}}
====Works cited====
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
* {{cite journal |last=Gawor |first=Adrian |title=Zwyczajne kobiety czy bezwzględne zabójczynie. Kryminologiczne ujęcie zbrodni dokonywanych przez żeński personel obozów koncentracyjnych. |trans-title=Ordinary women or ruthless killers. A criminological account of crimes committed by female concentration camp personnel. |language=pl |publication-date=2023 |journal=Problemy Współczesnej Kryminalistyki |trans-journal=Problems of Contemporary Forensic Science |volume=27 |pages=61–102 |publisher=[[University of Warsaw]] |doi=10.52097/pwk.8459 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Lamoureux |first=Ashley Ruth |title="The Women's Hell": Distinctions Between Forms of Sexual Violence at the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, the Liberalization of Sexuality in the Weimar Republic, and the Exploitation of Sexuality in the Third Reich |publication-date=2022 |degree=Master's |publisher=[[Liberty University]] |location=Lynchburg, Virginia |url=https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/833}} {{open access}}
{{Refend}}
===Interviews===
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
{{reflist}}
{{Refend}}
===Articles===
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
{{notelist-ua}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Helm |first=Sarah |author-link=Sarah Helm |title=If This Is a Woman: Inside Ravensbrück: Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women |title-link=If This Is a Woman |publication-date=2015 |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |location=London, England |isbn=978-1-4087-0107-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Kompisch |first=Kathrin |title=Täterinnen: Frauen im Nationalsozialismus |trans-title=Women Perpetrators: Women Under National Socialism |language=de |publication-date=2008 |publisher=[[Böhlau Verlag]] |location=Cologne, Germany |isbn=978-3-412-20188-3}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Wódz |editor-first1=Kazimiera |editor-last2=Klimczak |editor-first2=Jolanta |title=O współczesnych praktykach genderyzacji ciała |trans-title=On contemporary practices of gendering the body |series=Prace naukowe Uniwersytetu Śląskiego w Katowicach [Scientific Papers of the University of Silesia in Katowice] |number=3170 |language=pl |publication-date=2014 |publisher=[[Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego]] |location=Katowice, Poland |isbn=978-8-3226-2267-4}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
* {{cite AV media |people=Filmed by Ebba Rohweder |title=Die KZ-Überlebende Edith Sparmann beim Besuch eines ehemaligen Aufseherinnenhauses |trans-title=Concentration camp survivor Edith Sparmann during a visit to a former female guard house |date=2002 |type=Videotape |language=de |location=Fürstenberg, Oberhavel, Brandenburg, Germany |publisher={{ill|Ravensbrück Memorial|de|Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Ravensbrück}} |url=https://www.ravensbrueck-sbg.de/en/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/in-the-ss-auxiliary-the-female-guards-of-the-ravensbrueck-womens-concentration-camp/places-of-residence-places-of-crime-the-house-of-the-female-guards/ |archive-date=14 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314143124/https://www.ravensbrueck-sbg.de/en/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/in-the-ss-auxiliary-the-female-guards-of-the-ravensbrueck-womens-concentration-camp/places-of-residence-places-of-crime-the-house-of-the-female-guards/ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite AV media |interviewer-last=Walz |interviewer-first=Loretta |title="Eine seidene Steppdecke" – Interview mit der ehemaligen Aufseherin Frau T. (2004) |trans-title="A silk quilt" - Interview with the former ''Aufseherin'' Mrs. T. (2004) |date=26 June 2004 |type=Videotape |publisher={{ill|Ravensbrück Memorial|de|Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Ravensbrück}} |language=de |url=https://www.ravensbrueck-sbg.de/en/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/in-the-ss-auxiliary-the-female-guards-of-the-ravensbrueck-womens-concentration-camp/eine-seidene-steppdecke-interview-mit-der-ehemaligen-aufseherin-frau-t-2004/ |archive-date=14 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314143359/https://www.ravensbrueck-sbg.de/en/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/in-the-ss-auxiliary-the-female-guards-of-the-ravensbrueck-womens-concentration-camp/eine-seidene-steppdecke-interview-mit-der-ehemaligen-aufseherin-frau-t-2004/ |url-status=live}}
{{Refend}}

{{Nazi concentration camps}}
{{The Holocaust}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Female guards in Nazi concentration camps| ]]
[[Category: Nazi concentration camp occupations]]