SS entourage

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SS entourage in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after the liberation of the camp on April 19, 1945, including Hildegard Kanbach (1st from left), Magdalene Kessel (2nd from left), Irene Haschke (center, 3rd from right), Elisabeth Volkenrath (2nd from the right partially covered), Hertha Bothe (1st from the right) on the way to the burial of the victims.

SS entourage was the name of female civilian employees of the SS during the Nazi era . Women could only become members of the SS in the SS helper corps to a very limited extent. The SS entourage was formally not part of the SS.

The female guards who worked as guards in the concentration and labor camps were uniformed civil servants for the SS. Nurses who were recruited by the “ Reichsbund deutscher Sisters ” also belonged to the SS entourage. They performed medical services in the front hospitals as well as in the SS and police stations, but were also used in the sick bay of the concentration camps. It is unclear whether the doctors who served in the SS were also part of the SS entourage. All members of the SS entourage were subject to SS and police jurisdiction .

SS entourage in the SS administration

Female civilian employees of the SS, such as B. Inge Viermetz , were an integral part of the staff in the main SS offices long before the war began . Such was Heinrich Himmler's girlfriend Hedwig Potthast as assistant in the Secret State Police Office operates, then his private secretary. Her areas of responsibility included the sponsorships that Heinrich Himmler took over as well as sending his gifts.

Many women were recruited to the concentration camps far to the east with their huge commercial operations (e.g. Auschwitz III Monowitz concentration camp ) in order to avoid the dangers of the intensifying Allied bombing raids on Germany's major cities. Female assistants were also deployed in the homes of Lebensborn and the SS hospitals - historical research has yet to come to terms with this part of the history of the SS.

SS entourage in the concentration camps

The female guards in the concentration camps (women's camps) were also part of the SS entourage. By mid-January 1945 around 37,000 men and around 3,500 women are said to have been on guard duty in the concentration camps. In general, in the sparse literature on this, it is assumed that about 10% women make up the concentration camp guards. In Auschwitz concentration camp, however, in addition to 8,000 SS men, only around 200 female guards were on duty between May 1940 and January 1945. On the other hand, with the conversion of the Lichtenburg concentration camp into a concentration camp for women in December 1937, there was a need for female guards for the first time. This increased considerably as more and more women's camps were set up over time, including the Ravensbrück concentration camp (1939) and also the women's camps in Auschwitz-Birkenau (1942), Mauthausen (1943) and Bergen-Belsen ( 1944). Male SS members were not allowed to enter women's camps; they only worked outside the camp for the guard company. The camp commandant , the concentration camp doctors as well as protective custody camp and labor service leaders generally only entered the women's camp when accompanied by female camp personnel.

The functions and tasks of the female guards within the camp sections for women in concentration camps otherwise corresponded to those of the male camp staff of the “ protective custody camp ”. The female guards were always subordinate to male camp personnel with the same function.

Superintendent

The position of head overseer was the highest function in a women's concentration camp that an overseer in the SS entourage could achieve. She was a member of the otherwise male commandant staff and her position was comparable to that of a protective custody camp leader . She was responsible for the organizational and practical management of all female SS personnel in the concentration camp. She had to be briefed and heard on all matters affecting female inmates. The female camp staff subordinate to her turned to the superintendent with so-called reports of misconduct by female prisoners, who then decided what sentence the imprisoned woman would receive. The camp commandant was only involved in this process in special cases and he then decided on the sentencing. The chief overseer had analogue functions in satellite or sub-camps, but was subordinate to the senior overseer.

Report leader

The report leaders were directly subordinate to the superintendent. They were the link between the camp and the superintendent.

Block leaders

The block leaders selected from the Oberaufseherin from the guards were present within the warehouse and have to hold the calls, the classification of work groups and the selection of block heads on the one hand and on the other hand, the female feature prisoners make, such as the block elders.

Overseers

The female guards formed the last link in the SS chain of command. They were assigned to the work columns by the supervisor and were then assigned their area of ​​responsibility by the block manager. In addition to monitoring tasks, they also had to take on positions in the camp kitchen, the effects room and the detention area.

Labor service leaders

The labor service officers were responsible for organizing and monitoring all inmates' work assignments. They were responsible for deciding which prisoners were assigned to the individual work details. The work leader was in turn subordinate to the command leaders, who were responsible for the individual work commands .

Recruiting the female guards

Suitable women could volunteer for service in the concentration camps. However, as demand increased, this option was no longer used sufficiently from 1940, although there was a relatively good financial remuneration (25 years, single: 105  RM and overtime bonus 35 RM) and pension entitlements. Preference was given to women with “nursing” and “social” skills who had no previous convictions. In addition, physical health and political reliability in addition to an entry age of 21 to 45 years were initially required for this activity. The necessary application documents included a police clearance certificate , a curriculum vitae, a photo, a medical health certificate and the assignment of the responsible employment office. With regard to their application, the future supervisors received the following letter from the camp commandant: “Based on your application for employment as a supervisor, you will be briefly informed of the task you will be entrusted with here. In the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp there are women who have committed any violations of the national community and now have to be isolated to prevent further damage. These women are to be supervised during their work inside and outside the camp. You do not need to have any professional knowledge for this work, since it is only about guarding the prisoners. The guards are employees of the Reich and according to the TO.A. (Collective bargaining agreement for salaried employees). [...] Work clothing, such as cloth u. Drill uniform and some underwear will be provided free of charge. With appropriate qualifications and activities, there is the possibility of being deployed as a camp manager in one of the subcamps of KL Ravensbrück. "

For recruitment purposes , the employment offices described this activity in newspaper advertisements and placement talks as "only physically strenuous to a limited extent" and as "light guarding". However, since the need for female guards steadily increased, women were obliged to work in the concentration camps as early as 1940 - tightened from January 1942 by means of the "Ordinance on the registration of men and women for duties in the Reich defense". Unmarried and unemployed women were particularly affected by this measure. Finally, women in the armaments industry were also forced to work as supervisors, since cheap concentration camp prisoners were only assigned to work in the armaments industry if “trained” supervisory staff were available. Women who became overseers in this way completed a training course and then returned to their jobs in the defense industry.

Training, rules of conduct and locations

Between 1942 and 1945, a total of 3,500 women completed state-funded training as overseers in the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp . The mostly short training - a maximum of four weeks - included not only ideological training but also practical and theoretical basics in connection with camp and prisoner management. After successfully completing the course, the women completed a three-month probationary period at their location until they officially became supervisors. As a result, they were then assigned to concentration and satellite camps, where they often carried out different assignments. This was to prevent a personal level with the prisoners; so the inmates did not address the guards by their last name, but simply as "Mrs. Overseer". Disciplinary misconduct such as theft, fraternization with prisoners, carelessness and the like on the part of the guards could be punished with arrest, transfers and ultimately also with dismissal from camp service. But even without misconduct, some of the guards were subject to disciplinary regulations; for example, bans on going out should prevent sick leave and carelessness on duty.

Furnishing

From 1940 uniforms without SS emblems were introduced for the female guards, consisting of a gray costume and a cap. In addition to the uniform, the equipment included leather boots, batons and sometimes whips or firearms. Some of the guards also had service dogs with them. The equipment and clothing were given to the guards.

Implementation of camp penalties and mistreatment

Arbitrary mistreatment and harassment of prisoners by female guards were comparatively mild, if at all, sanctioned. The guards were authorized to use their weapons in the event of escape or physical assault. So-called discipline and punishment regulations were intended to prevent arbitrariness; they only provided for standardized penalties for violations of the rules on the part of the prisoners, such as deprivation of food, standing for hours, transfer to penal detention units, arrest and detention in the dark, and corporal punishment. Nevertheless, abuse of the prisoners was the order of the day, so the dogs were beaten or even tortured for the smallest offenses or even at random.

Selection of members of the SS retinue in concentration camps

Supervisors during the 1st Stutthof Trial in Danzig from April 25 to May 31, 1946 - First row from left to right: Elisabeth Becker , Gerda Steinhoff , Wanda Klaff - Second row from left to right: Erna Beilhardt , Jenny Wanda Barkmann

literature

  • Simone Erpel (Ed.): In the wake of the SS: Overseers of the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. Accompanying volume for the exhibition . Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-938690-19-2 .
  • Ljiljana Heise: Concentration camp guards in court: Greta Bösel - “another of those brutal types of women”? Lang, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin / Bern / Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-631-58465-1 (At the same time, Master's thesis at the FU Berlin 2007 under the title: The first Ravensbrück Trial (1946/47) and the question of perpetration of women under National Socialism ).
  • Anette Kretzer: Nazi perpetrators and gender. The first British Ravensbrück Trial in Hamburg in 1946/47 . Metropol, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-940938-17-6 .
  • Elissa Mailänder Koslov: Violence in everyday work: the SS guards of the Majdanek concentration and extermination camp 1942-1944 . ISBN 3-86854-212-4 , dissertation, 520 pages with 20 illustrations, Hamburg edition , 2009. Interview with the author on Deutschlandfunk , Studiozeit, from cultural and social sciences , broadcast on October 8, 2009.
  • Jutta Mühlenberg: The SS helper corps. Training, deployment and denazification of the female members of the Waffen SS . Hamburger Edition, 2011, ISBN 978-3-86854-239-4 .
  • Silke Schäfer: On the self-image of women in the concentration camp. The Ravensbrück camp. Berlin 2002 (Dissertation TU Berlin), urn : nbn: de: kobv: 83-opus-4303 , doi : 10.14279 / depositonce-528 .
  • Claudia Taake: Accused: SS women in court . Diploma thesis at the University of Oldenburg , Bis, Oldenburg 1998, ISBN 3-8142-0640-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Simone Erpel (Ed.): In the wake of the SS: Overseers of the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. Accompanying volume for the exhibition . Berlin 2007.
  2. ↑ cf. Silke Schäfer: On the self-image of women in the concentration camp. The Ravensbrück camp. Berlin 2002 (dissertation TU Berlin), urn : nbn: de: kobv: 83-opus-4303 , doi : 10.14279 / depositonce-528 , p. 182; Claudia Taake: Accused: SS women in court . University of Oldenburg 1998, p. 29 f.
  3. ↑ Private photos from Auschwitz - Happy hours next to the gas chamber . someday
  4. ↑ a b Jan Stetter: Perpetrators . ( Memento of March 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Presentation at the historical seminar of the University of Hanover
  5. ↑ Silke Schäfer, Jan Stetter: perpetrators . ( Memento from March 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Presentation at the historical seminar of the University of Hanover , p. 178f.
  6. ↑ cf. Silke Schäfer, p. 178 f. and Claudia Taake, p. 33 f.
  7. ^ Standard letter from the camp commandant of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, Fritz Suhren, regarding the application as a guard, Bundesarchiv Koblenz NS 4/1 Ravensburg, quoted from Silke Schäfer, p. 184.
  8. ↑ cf. Silke Schäfer, p. 178 f. and Claudia Taake, p. 33 f.
  9. ↑ cf. Silke Schäfer, p. 178 f. and Claudia Taake, p. 31 f.
  10. ↑ cf. Silke Schäfer, p. 178 f. and Claudia Taake, p. 31 f.
  11. ^ Christiane Herkommer: Review. H-Soz-Kult, December 10, 2007.
  12. ↑ Concentration camp guards and their lust for violence . In: Die Welt , December 29, 2007; Review.
  13. ^ Ljiljana Heise: Review. H-Soz-Kult, November 23, 2009.
  14. ↑ Rachel Century: Review. Reviews in History, December 2011.