Female Camp Guards E-Book

Lorenz Ingmann

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 164

Beschreibung

Through extensive research, the author has compiled the biographies of three former female concentration camp guards and one former political inmate. These are examples of how such cases were treated differently in East and West after the end of the Nazi regime. With the help of numerous historical documents, he traces the lives of these women and the atrocities they committed. The different approaches to the prosecution of these perpetrators in the two states of Germany, and the omissions that are highlighted, are thought-provoking. Some of them escaped punishment and were able to lead carefree lives without remorse until the end of their days.

Leseprobe

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the employees who gave me access to the archive material. My special thanks go to Jenny Gohr for preparing the files of the Ministry of State Security of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Annemarie Ruth Uhlmann: Under Strict Observation

Friederike Ziegenhagen on a Secret Mission: The Trail to »West Germany«

Anni Rauschenbach: The Search for the Missing Woman

Closing Words

Excursus: Friederike Ziegenhagen: A Communist from Deepest Conviction

List of Sources

Introduction

Dorothea Binz, Assistant Chief Warden, stands in the dock and listens as a sentence of execution by hanging is announced at the first Ravensbruck camp trial, in Hamburg on February 3, 1947.

Binz held a key position among the female guards at Ravensbrück concentration camp from July 1943 to the end of April 1945. She trained newly recruited female guards, instructed them in their rights and duties, and influenced their behavior toward prisoners. In their post-war testimonies, many former female guards, most of whom were conscripts, reported that they had been trained by Binz. At the end of the war, Binz was transferred to the British occupation zone. On December 5, 1946, she and fifteen other defendants were tried in the first Ravensbrück Trial at the Hamburg Curiohaus. The verdict on February 3, 1947, was: Death by hanging! The sentence was carried out on May 2, 1947, in Hameln prison.

Dorothea Binz, one day before her execution on May 1, 1947, before, during, or after her transfer to Hameln prison.1

The prison administration in Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel stated: »Prisoners may leave the prison (including visits to the doctor in the basement) with the permission of the warden or his representative.«2 The context in which this photo taken—outside the prison cell—is unknown.

As soon as former concentration camp personnel, including many female SS guards, were located by the Western victors, they were immediately taken into custody. There they were subjected to identification procedures, interned, and placed on a wanted list. If the suspicions against individual internees were confirmed, the investigations were carried out thoroughly and comprehensively. Investigators collected and evaluated all testimony. If there was sufficient evidence, they were brought to trial. However, this only applied to a fraction of the Nazi perpetrators. Most were released after internment before the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany. This happened mainly when there was insufficient evidence against them at the time. After they were released and thus forewarned or even deterred to some extent by their internment, many of them took the opportunity to go into hiding. They had to reckon with the fact that they could still be called to account, especially during the denazification phase. They either disappeared into anonymity or went into hiding abroad.

The Central Office of the State Justice Administrations for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes, which officially began its work in Ludwigsburg on December 1, 1958, compiled all information on Nazi perpetrators for the Public Prosecutor’s Office. It also drew on existing archival material that had already been collected by the Western occupying powers. This could be faded or undiscovered testimony, documents from war crimes trials, or other material. In most cases, however, it was no longer possible to prove the crime of murder or accessory to murder, so many cases were dropped. As a result, some Nazi perpetrators have been able to live in the Federal Republic of Germany unmolested and unpunished.

In the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR), former Nazis were punished more severely. After the establishment of the GDR, the Ministry of State Security was solely responsible for investigating Nazi crimes. They were extremely meticulous in their investigations. It was not uncommon for them to use hired informants or contacts from the target’s environment to uncover and investigate. There was also close cooperation with the Association of Persecutors of the Nazi Regime (VVN). The persecution of Nazi perpetrators was always subject to the proviso that they were considered special enemies of the GDR because they were directed against »communism« and the »Working Class«. If, for example, former SS guards remained in the Eastern Zone after the end of the war, they were threatened with severe punishment, ranging from long prison sentences to the death penalty. After the Ravensbrück trial in Rostock in 1966, however, there were no more convictions of former SS guards.

»Inmates of Auschwitz, Ravensbrück and Spergau! This is Charlotte Arps, born 1919 in Weissenfels [Saxony-Anhalt], Georgenbergstrasse 12. She was a chief guard in the mentioned camps. The defendant was trained as a dog handler and admits to having beaten concentration camp prisoners with a dog whip. In addition, the defendant appropriated underwear, boots, coats, and jewelry and later exchanged them for food. Who knows her?«

This wanted advertisement, based on the example of former SS guard Charlotte Arps, was published in the magazine »Freiheit« No. 33 in the 1950s at the instigation of the Association of Victims of the Nazi Regime (VVN). The aim was to find witnesses.

Charlotte Arps during the identification process, November 1950

Luise Gebhardt during the identification process in 1949. This photo was also sent to the newspaper’s editors for research purposes, to get as many concentration camp survivors as possible to identify the accused. It stated: »Luise Gebhardt, born in Strasbourg on February 8, 1919, was a guard at the Ravensbrück concentration camp from 1944 to 1945. She is suspected of crimes against humanity. Who can provide incriminating evidence so that she can be brought to justice?«

Annemarie Grete Naumann from Neustrelitz (Mecklenburg-Pomerania), born in 1921, was conscripted to Ravensbrück as a guard in July 1943. There, she was temporarily in charge of the block for the green-angled prisoners and supervised the prisoners, mainly in the factories. This was followed by brief assignments in the Velten and Grüneberg subcamps. At the end of October 1944, she and another female guard were sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she guarded prisoners in the women’s quarters. After about three weeks, she was ordered back to Ravensbrück by camp commandant Fritz Suhren. At the end of December 1944, she was supposed to take over the leadership of the Uckermark extermination camp, but she fell ill with diphtheria and was only able to resume her duties in January 1945. After Ruth Closius took over her position as head of the camp, Naumann was put in charge of guarding the gassing transports. Due to her poor state of health, she was released in February 1945. According to several concentration camp survivors who passed through the Uckermark extermination camp, Naumann accompanied the gassing transports. Together with Vera Salvequart, a prisoner functionary, she is said to have been involved in spiking honey bread with strychnine when prisoners refused to be injected by Salvequart. However, these acts could never be proven as her identity could not be established. After the end of the war, she disappeared into anonymity and was only tracked down by a journalist on the Lower Rhine in the summer of 2006. Naumann was successfully persuaded to give a detailed interview.

Only her middle name and surname were known from the judicial authorities’ investigation files, but not her date of birth. She remained a phantom for years and was never prosecuted. The survivors of the Ravensbrück and Uckermark concentration camps, Lotte Brainin and Irma Trksak, stated in the spring of 2009 that Naumann, together with Vera Salvequart, had participated in the mutilation of corpses. During the night shift, Naumann and Vera Salvequart broke out the gold teeth of the murdered women. Naumann was not seen again after mid-February 1945. According to family members, the photo was taken by a photographer on the island of Fehmarn in 1949.3

The Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes (FRG) kept a file on Grete Naumann based on relevant witness statements in which the surname »Naumann« appeared in connection with the gassing transports. Due to the lack of personal data, however, she could not be identified. Investigations were therefore unsuccessful.

Erika Lenz, another female concentration camp guard at the Uckermark »Youth Protection Camp«. No further personal details are known. In the 1950s, Lenz was registered by the investigative service of the Association of Victims of the Nazi Regime (VVN) and a wanted notice was issued. It was never determined whether her position as a guard related to the »Youth Protection Camp« as such or to the Uckermark extermination camp. After the end of the war, her trail was lost.

This publication deals with four different biographies: three former female SS guards and one former female political prisoner. Regarding the Nazi perpetrators, the focus here is less on their conviction and more on shedding light on the different paths of investigation between »East and West Germany«.

In addition to the table of contents and the introduction, this publication is subdivided as follows:

Annemarie Uhlmann

lives in the Soviet occupation zone near Chemnitz (Saxony). Even during the war, she wanted to pursue a career in the police force. She applies to the police. But they discover a dark chapter in her past.

Friederike Ziegenhagen

, a concentration camp survivor, lives in Waren/Müritz (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). One day, she receives a visit from »some gentlemen«. They are members of State Security (Stasi) who give Friederike an assignment of »state political importance«. The trail leads to the West:

Margarete Rabe.

Anni Rauschenbach

, a former female SS guard, has been missing since the end of the war. The investigation proved difficult. But then came a decisive clue…

Private photos from the estate initially give the impression of fleeting snapshots, but in the context of the previous history, they provide information about a world of gratitude and thus allow a glimpse behind the facade.

In the

conclusion

, the findings are summarized and assessed.

An Excursus contains the biography of former political prisoner Friederike Ziegenhagen. A biography that contrasts and polarizes with the biographies of female Nazi perpetrators.

The list of sources lists all the institutions that provided the archive material. It also contains the sources of the images, which are only listed at the end.

The biography of Friederike Ziegenhagen was therefore included as a digression to clearly distinguish her from the group of perpetrators and to emphasize the contrast between the group of perpetrators and the group of victims. In this manner, the complex of crimes becomes more comprehensible. The disclosure of the biographies of the perpetrators should only be treated in connection with the biographies of the victims.

The biographies are essentially documentary, although the section on Anni Rauschenbach is clearly commented on, especially in the case of the surviving photographs.

The documentation and analysis are based on previously undiscovered files and images from public archives.

For better visualization, this publication is provided with numerous images and illustrations. These include not only documents from the investigation files, but also attractive cityscapes that are integrated into the various biographies.

All quotes have been translated into English by me. They reflect the original meaning. Words that are part of the terminology of the Third Reich are, of course, in quotation marks. Of course, this does not apply to fixed terms. Quotation marks are also used for terms whose meaning is to be emphasized.

It should also be emphasized that the main aim of this book is to publish forgotten files in the form of a descriptive factual text or report and thus prevent them from being forgotten. This should be an important contribution to the culture of remembrance.

Lorenz Ingmann

1 After extensive research, the estate of the British executioner Albert Pierrepoint was acquired from private collections in London. The purpose for which the condemned were photographed shortly before their execution could not be determined. Apparently, such photographs, like this one, were used to document the executed. In any case, it is certain that such photographs were not obligatory.

2 The Hamburg State Archive (Hamburger Staatsarchiv), Penitentiary file card Binz, StAHH 242-1_II_Delivery 13.

3 Cf. »Ravensbrück – Kontraste der Erinnerungen und Ansichten«, by Lorenz Ingmann and E. Schulz, November 2023, published by Cuvillier.

Annemarie Ruth Uhlmann

Under Strict Observation

Annemarie Uhlmann, former SS guard, private photograph, undated

If Annemarie Ruth Uhlmann from Siegmar-Schönau (Saxony) had not been interested in joining the police force in Chemnitz, it is likely that she would have never been exposed as a former concentration camp guard. Her desire to join the police in the Eastern Zone was ultimately her undoing. Her career turned out to be nothing short of adventurous, especially since the later GDR State Security Service even recruited her for the »Secret Service« (some kind of espionage activity).

Uhlmann’s application, dated February 26, 1946, triggered a meticulous investigation. It quickly brought her to the attention of the investigators:4

»Subject: Application to the Criminal Investigation Department

In connection with my application to the local Criminal Investigation Department, I, the undersigned, take the liberty of sending a summary of my experience, five copies of certificates, and a photograph.

I am 26 years old, I was not a member of the party, and I was not organized in the women’s association (Frauenbund). This was often used against me in my previous job and made my job extremely difficult.

I know shorthand and typewriting, am used to working correctly, safely, and independently, and I am familiar with all criminal matters. I speak Italian and English, and throughout my professional life, I have financially supported my mother, who has been a widow for twelve years, and my underage and sickly sister, who is still an apprentice. My enthusiasm for the criminal profession and my unconditional self-sacrifice in this profession have led me, especially in today’s difficult situation, to double my efforts to contribute to and participate in the common reconstruction of our homeland and political unity.

Let me also say that my mother was neither a party member nor a member of the women’s association.

I would be grateful if your personnel department could review my CV and send me a favorable reply as soon as possible. I am available for a personal conversation at any time.

Attachments: 5 certificates 1 CV 1 photo

Yours sincerely, signed Annemarie Uhlmann«5

In her application, Uhlmann not only proved to be eloquent and knowledgeable, but she also showed herself to be politically reliable. The personnel department of the Chemnitz police headquarters then began an investigation and on March 15, 1946, received a recommendation from the Anti-Fascist Democratic Bloc in Siegmar-Schönau to »take a close look« at Uhlmann based on the existing entries. Uhlmann, who was single and childless, had last lived at Hohensteiner Str. 58 in Siegmar-Schönau and had not been a member of the National Socialist Party (NSDAP). From March 31, 1939, to June 5, 1944, she lived in various cities, including Limbach, Prague, Auschwitz (Bielitz District), Paris, Saarburg (Treves District) and Verona (Italy). During the Nazi era, she worked as a saleswoman, secretary, and warden. On February 16, 1946, she returned to her homeland. Particularly striking were the entries that she had been employed as a guard in Auschwitz and had belonged to the Gestapo in Paris. She was generally described as »a lax and inaccurate person«. The personnel office then forwarded her application documents internally to the Chemnitz Criminal Investigation Department, which immediately opened a criminal investigation. On April 11, 1946, she appeared for questioning by the police for the first time. At first, she denied, among other things, that she had ever worked as a guard in the Auschwitz camp and that she had ever belonged to the Gestapo in Paris. She had always been interested in a career in the Women’s Criminal Investigation Department (WKP). She even cultivated influential contacts to advance her career aspirations:6

»After school, I spent one year in Rabenstein. Then I went to the company Martha Krauss in Siegmar, where I worked for five years. Afterward, I worked one year in Limbach in the Central Drugstore. In 1940, I was drafted into the ›German Armed Forces‹ and sent to Prague to work in the home motor pool in Prague-Nussl. I was there for about a year.

During this time, I applied for a career in the Women’s Criminal Investigation Division (WKP). I had to report to Berlin and was sent as a trainee to the ›Uckermark Reformatory‹ near Fürstenberg/Havel (located about 90 kilometers to the north of Berlin).

The director was Inspector Lotte Toberentz. The home housed girls between the ages of 16 and 21, who were difficult to educate. Our job was to supervise and question the girls, but also to give numerous lessons and other training. I wasn’t pleased with this area of responsibility, especially since I didn’t get along well with Commissioner Toberentz, as our views were far apart, and she even turned the other candidates against me. They thought my views were outdated and that I was still too human. In my distress, I turned to the old gentleman I had stayed with in Prague, whom I later often visited and whom I revered as a father. He sent me a letter of recommendation to an old comrade from the First World War who was now a police commissioner in Berlin, responsible for personnel matters in the Criminal Investigation Department.

Through his mediation, I was transferred to Italy. Somehow, Ms. Toberentz must have found out about my highhandedness, and there was a heated exchange of words between us. Among other things, she told me: ›If you think you have high-ranking people behind you, we have many more. We could transfer you, even if it’s to a munitions factory.‹ When I was already in Italy, I wrote a letter to Police Commissioner Schwarz thanking him for his efforts.

He then told me that Toberentz, through Brigadier Glueck, had already arranged for me to be transferred to Auschwitz as a guard.

While working in Prague, I met a detective named Boemmelburg, whose family lived in Prague. Through our mutual acquaintance, Boemmelburg found out that I had taken up the career of a criminologist and was currently on sick leave in my home country. I received a telex from Paris suggesting that I transfer to his office.

At the same time, I received a telegram from my groom, who was in the military hospital in Saarburg. I visited him and told him about the offer.

He firmly refused and wrote to him personally that his bride was ill and wanted to marry soon anyway, so there was no question of him going to Paris.

I am enclosing a copy of the letter of denial from the above-mentioned agency.

I was never in France, I was never in the Gestapo, and my activities were always focused on a criminological career.

Whenever I went on vacation, I spent a few days in Prague with my father’s friend, who was also my younger sister’s guardian.

It is incomprehensible to me how the Chemnitz employment office noted on my record that I was supposed to have been a guard in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

There is only one explanation: my request for transfer at that time ran parallel to that of Commissioner Toberentz, who, not knowing that I was already in Italy, made a corresponding report to the local employment office.

The situation is similar in the residential community of Siegmar-Schönau.

I was also never a member of the Waffen-SS.

When the Hitler state collapsed, I was in the military hospital in Cortina d’Ampezzo, from which I was released in August 1945. I then went through several internment camps and returned home in February 1946 on a Red Cross hospital train.

My statements are based on truth.«7

From this point on, Uhlmann was listed in a criminal police file, although no decision had yet been made on her application. Uhlmann thus blamed the »Auschwitz« notation on criminal police officer Lotte Toberentz, who allegedly did not know that Uhlmann had been transferred to Italy at her request and not to Auschwitz, as Toberentz had planned.8