During World War II, several thousand women served as concentration camp guards in Nazi Germany, particularly within the SS women’s auxiliary. These female guards—known as Aufseherinnen—were deployed mainly in camps like Ravensbrück (a women’s camp), Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Majdanek. Recruited largely from working-class backgrounds, many were trained at Ravensbrück before being assigned to other camps. While some acted under orders, many participated willingly in brutal acts, including beatings, selections for the gas chambers, and other atrocities. Notorious female guards like Irma Grese, Maria Mandl, and Ilse Koch became infamous for their cruelty. After the war, some were tried and executed for war crimes, but many others evaded justice. Their role highlights the active participation of women in the Nazi regime’s machinery of genocide.

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