When most people think of the Nazi regime, they envision men in SS uniforms—cold, ruthless architects of genocide. But behind the barbed wire and inside the concentration camps, thousands of women played a terrifying role in enforcing Nazi brutality. These women weren’t passive bystanders. Many became active participants in the machinery of death, turning into agents of torture and terror with a chilling zeal that shocked even hardened Nazi officials.
From Housemaids to SS Guards
Many of the women who became concentration camp guards came from poor, working-class backgrounds. They were former farm girls, factory workers, or nurses—some as young as 18—who volunteered or were recruited into the SS women’s auxiliary, known as the Aufseherinnen. They were trained at camps like Ravensbrück, learning to dominate prisoners, enforce rules with violence, and become emotionally detached from suffering.
These women were not just helpers—they became enforcers, using whips, rifles, attack dogs, and raw brutality to control inmates. Their training emphasized obedience to Nazi ideology and encouraged cruelty as a show of power.
Auschwitz, Ravensbrück, Bergen-Belsen: Stages of Sadism
In camps like Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Majdanek, female guards played central roles in selections for the gas chambers, punishments, and executions. Survivors told of women who beat prisoners to death with truncheons, tore children from their mothers, or laughed while watching inmates struggle in agony.
At Ravensbrück—a camp for women—female SS guards routinely conducted medical experiments, including sterilization procedures without anesthesia. Inmates were mutilated and disfigured under their watch. These guards carried out orders with such enthusiasm that some were nicknamed “The Witches of Ravensbrück.”
Infamous Female Monsters
Some women became infamous for their depravity:
Irma Grese, the “Hyena of Auschwitz,” was known for beating prisoners, setting dogs on them, and personally selecting inmates for execution. She reportedly wore perfume, boots, and carried a whip as she patrolled the camp.
Maria Mandl, head of the women’s camp at Auschwitz, was responsible for sending over half a million women and children to the gas chambers. Her power was absolute—and she wielded it with icy efficiency.
Ilse Koch, the “Witch of Buchenwald,” was married to the camp commandant and allegedly collected tattoos from murdered prisoners’ skin. Though some of the most grotesque stories about her remain debated, her sadistic rule left deep psychological scars on survivors.
Why Did They Do It?
Many of these women were not coerced. They embraced their roles, motivated by ideology, power, sadism—or simply the desire for status. The camps gave them control over life and death, a kind of power they had never known before. In a regime that viewed Jews, Roma, and other groups as subhuman, they felt justified in committing atrocities.
Some enjoyed the violence. Others were numb to it. But nearly all participated without hesitation.