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SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

Article about: There are some very evil looking women in this footage, they really do make your blood run cold. It is a real shame that some of these women literally got away with murder.

  1. #41
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    Default Re: SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    Quote by rabbitface View Post
    hi guys,please but this is isnt a sarky question,,,,,,,but what where these women's jobs at these camps?,ive seen from the pics some where beautifull looking young girls,but some did look a bit evil.
    Did these women torture aswell?(which i suppose they did belonging to the ss)
    where they cleaners/cooks for the ss guards?if not who did there cleaning/cooking?
    i didnt even they had ss women in the war
    sorry for the thick questions guys,im only asking and learning.....
    many thanks adam
    Adam,

    It is far from a "thick question". Many people are surprised when they hear of the existence of female staff at the Konzentrationslagers. Yet indeed they did exist, several thousand in fact.

    You should regard post no.15, found on page 2 of this thread, as that is indeed the official line from the SS, used when recruiting the female staff. However, one should remember that this was their way of recruiting, and the actual practice was far from the advertised role of simple overseer.

    Did they beat prisoners? Yes, some more so than others. Whilst they were regarded as "overseers", their roles were far from that of simple observers. Some of the more infamous SS-Aufseherinnen, paid with their lives after the war, due to their crimes during their service.

    Regards,

    Carl

  2. #42
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    Default Re: SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    Quote by 4thskorpion View Post
    Good point Carl, do you know when the "frauen" Konzentrationslager was dropped in common use at Ravensbruck?
    A good question. The Männerlager (men's camp) was established during April 1941, two years after the camp opened, yet the stamp shown above, with the abbreviation f.KL, is present on a letter that was received at the camp the following year. Later period documentation with the f.KL marking present can also be found. However, as the men's and women's camps were separated, this could well be considered acceptable. Further, when the men's camp was established, it too came under the command of the women's camp Kommandant.

    Regards,

    Carl

  3. #43
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    Default Re: SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    Further to the comment above, I have attached an image of the post office control stamp mark from a circa October 1941 letter, written by a male prisoner at Ravensbrück. Note the abbreviation used, KL, not f.KL. Patently, due to his imprisonment in the Männerlager (men's camp). Had the letter been written by a prisoner in the Frauenlager (women's camp), during the same period, we can assume that the f.KL mark would be present. This does not shed much light on the label of the Aufseherin outfit in question, other than that it only proves that both forms of abbreviation were indeed present and used at Ravensbrück during the same period of time.

    Regards,

    Carl

    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945  

  4. #44
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    Default Re: SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    As Gertrud Rabestein resigned from duty around the time the above letter was written, i.e. late 1941, it is feasible that the label could have the abbreviation KL present in the garment, rather than f.KL. However, she arrived after serving at Lichtenburg, one of the early "wild camps". In May 1939, When KL-Lichtenburg was closed, the female guard staff, such as SS-Aufseherin Gertrud Rabestein, were transferred north to Ravensbrück along with the first inmates. At that time, Ravensbrück was a women's camp, and therefore would be abbreviated f.KL still, as the men's camp did not open until later. Hence, we can assume that the Aufseherin outfit's name label is either a later period insert, or a reproduction.

    Regards,

    Carl


  5. #45

    Default Re: SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    I have just found a letter dated 1942 with the f. konzentrationslager Ravensbruck overprint. Will post image later.
    I collect, therefore I am.

    Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter.

  6. #46
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    Default Re: SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    Below is an image of an item that is one of the very few recognised original SS-Aufseherin Ausweis examples around. The ID card belonged to Marianne Minges, who was employed at Ravensbrück from 1st May 1943. It is the latest documented example with the specific fr/f abbreviation present that I can find at this time.

    p.s. Look forward to seeing the circa 1942 image, 4thSkorpion.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945  

  7. #47

    Default Re: SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    1942 dated letter with f. K.L. Ravensbrück overprint

    SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945


    ...and a more famous letter of May 1942 :-)

    SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    Sent by Ravensbrück inmate Marketa Brady to her family and who had made the charms sent in the letter out of her bread rations.
    I collect, therefore I am.

    Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter.

  8. #48

    Default Re: SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945

    Quote by TIGER88 View Post
    It is the latest documented example with the specific fr/f abbreviation present that I can find at this time.
    I think the fact that this confirmed original Ausweis has fr. konzentrationslager and not K.L. IMO points to the label being incorrect and therefore likely not original. Which naturally leads to questioning the entire outfit.
    I collect, therefore I am.

    Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter.

  9. #49
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    Default

    f.KL-Ravensbrück

    At Ravensbrück, the only major camp primarily established to hold female prisoners, the SS-Aufseherinnen were at their most numerous. Pictured below are the former accommodation buildings of the female guards - the building front right now houses an exhibition dedicated to the female staff at Ravensbrück. Also shown is the present site of the former SS-Kantine that they used.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945   SS-Aufseherinnen: Female Camp Guards 1938-1945  


  10. #50

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    There is a doozy of a thread on the WAF regarding the auctioned female uniform. Most contention seems to agree that the sleeve eagle and name tag are later additions and further theorists point to the shape of the pockets and length of the sleeves casting doubt on the authenticity of the uniform itself.

    The current owner has commented that given the somewhat lower level price he paid, he is content to live with a degree of uncertainty over the originality of the ensemble.

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