Ravensbrück
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Maastricht is one of my favourite cities. I grew up only about 10 miles away and visited it many times. It is the most south-eastern city in the Netherlands and is well known for its proximity to Belgium and Germany. It is also the home of violin virtuoso Andre Rieu and his Strauss Orchestra. In…
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Johanna Langefeld (née May, 5 March 1900 – 26 January 1974) remains one of the most intriguing and morally complex figures among the female staff of Nazi concentration camps. Rising from a modest background as a domestic-economy instructor to become an Oberaufseherin (senior female overseer), she served at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück, and the women’s section of…
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The Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands, beginning in 1940, marked a dark chapter in British history, as these small territories—Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark—became the only British lands occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. Though the Channel Islands’ geographical proximity to mainland Europe made their defense difficult, the way local British authorities…
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I was struggling to give this blog a title. I was thinking of naming it—Brothels in the Concentration Camp. However, I think that would not do justice to the horror and impossible choices these women had to make. In general, women who worked in brothels had a bit of autonomy over their lives. Some women enjoyed…
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I am not going to say too much about Margareta Maria Gallinat. Suffice it to say she sought employment abroad to terrorize innocent citizens. She was born in Ragnitz on 16 October 1894 in Rotsche Bach, Hamar. In April 1940, Gallinat read a newspaper ad for Aufseherin and decided to apply. Two months later, she…
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Herta Bothe was a German concentration camp guard during World War II. She was imprisoned for war crimes after the defeat of Nazi Germany and was subsequently released from prison early on 22 December 1951 as an act of leniency by the British government. She was 6ft 3in, which must have been quite intimidating for…
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The Ravensbrück Rabbits was the name given to 74 Polish women, who were subjected to medical experiments in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Of the 74 women, 5 died as a result of the experiments and 6 other victims whose wounds did not heal were executed. The other survived with permanent damage. Rather then go through…
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Ravensbrück was a notorious Nazi concentration camp located in northern Germany, near the town of Fürstenberg. Established in 1939, it was unique in being primarily a camp for women, although a minor men’s camp was added later. Ravensbrück played a significant role in the Holocaust and the Nazi regime’s system of terror and repression. Ravensbrück…
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Below is an estimate of the number of people who died as a result of the war, the occupation, and the persecution during the years 1940–1945.The total number of Dutch people who died lies between 225,000 and 280,000. At that time, the population of the Netherlands was 9 million. 2,200 soldiers of the Dutch army…
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I don’t know why I decided to do a blog specifically about the women victims of the Holocaust, but I just felt compelled to do one. I am married to a beautiful wife, and we have a beautiful daughter. I have two older sisters, and of course, like everyone else I also have a mother,…
