When we think of Nazi brutality, the image that often comes to mind is that of male SS officers orchestrating horror. But some of the most sadistic tormentors in the concentration camps were women—female SS guards known as Aufseherinnen. These women were not just passive bystanders; they were active participants in cruelty, many of whom took a terrifying pleasure in the suffering of their victims.
What they did inside the barbed-wire fences of Auschwitz, Ravensbrück, and Bergen-Belsen defies belief—a descent into sadism, dehumanization, and merciless violence that left survivors scarred for life.
1. Beatings with Whips, Clubs, and Fists
Female guards were notorious for their violent beatings. Survivors describe how women like Irma Grese and Elisabeth Volkenrath carried whips, truncheons, and rubber hoses, which they used daily—often without provocation.
Victims were struck until they bled, bones were broken, and some were beaten to death for minor infractions, such as looking up or not walking fast enough. Pregnant women and children were not spared from the violence. The guards seemed to revel in it—smiling or laughing as they administered pain.
2. Using Starved Dogs to Attack Prisoners
Some female guards trained and kept vicious dogs, which they used as weapons. Juana Bormann, nicknamed "The Woman with the Dogs", was infamous for ordering her German shepherds to maul prisoners.
Survivors recalled seeing women torn apart by dogs while the guard stood by, calmly watching or cheering. Often, the attacks were staged as punishment—or worse, as entertainment.
3. Sending Children to the Gas Chambers
Female guards played a key role in selections—deciding who lived and who died. With cold efficiency, they pointed out the old, the sick, and the children for immediate extermination.
Some survivors described how these guards ripped babies from mothers’ arms and threw them into trucks bound for the gas chambers. They showed no remorse, sometimes even mocking mothers as they were separated from their children forever.
4. Psychological Torture and Humiliation
Torture wasn’t always physical. Female guards often subjected inmates to cruel mind games and psychological torment. They stripped women naked in the freezing cold, forced them to crawl through mud and excrement, or made them sing Nazi anthems while being beaten.
In Auschwitz and Ravensbrück, prisoners were forced to watch as others were tortured or hanged. Some guards would laugh during executions or force victims to dig their own graves before being shot.