When most people think of Nazi war crimes, they picture male officers overseeing mass executions—but history reveals a chilling truth: female guards played a devastating role in the Nazi extermination system. These women were not just passive participants. In many camps, they became sadistic enforcers of terror, especially in places like Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Ravensbrück. Their actions shattered the myth that women were incapable of committing such cruelty.
How Women Became SS Guards
As the Nazis expanded their camp system, they needed more personnel—especially as male guards were sent to the front lines. In response, the SS began recruiting women in large numbers between 1942 and 1945. Many of these women were young, unmarried, and often from working-class backgrounds. They were trained at places like Ravensbrück, where they were taught discipline, loyalty to Nazi ideology, and how to manage prisoners through violence.
What These Women Did
Female guards, known as Aufseherinnen, held tremendous power over women and children in the camps. Their duties included:
Overseeing forced labor squads
Selecting prisoners for gas chambers
Enforcing camp rules through beatings and torture
Reporting escape attempts or minor infractions, which could lead to immediate execution
They worked in gas chamber operations, monitored roll calls in freezing temperatures, and often used their power for cruel amusement. Some were known to beat children, starve pregnant women, and force inmates to perform degrading acts.
Infamous Female Guards
Several of these women became notorious for their brutality:
Irma Grese, the “Hyena of Auschwitz,” was infamous for whipping prisoners with her riding crop, sending thousands to their deaths, and showing no remorse during her trial.
Maria Mandel, head of the women’s camp at Auschwitz, was responsible for selecting countless victims for the gas chambers and was obsessed with maintaining “order” through deadly punishments.
Herta Bothe, who served at Bergen-Belsen, was known for her violent temper and for beating prisoners to death during forced marches.
These women were not mindless followers. Survivors described them as voluntary participants in cruelty, who often took pleasure in humiliating and killing inmates.
Punishment After the War
After the fall of the Third Reich, many female guards were brought to justice in trials such as the Belsen and Auschwitz trials. Some, like Irma Grese and Elisabeth Volkenrath, were executed by hanging. Others received prison sentences, though a few escaped punishment altogether.