The Hamburg Ravensbrück trials were a series of seven trials for war crimes against camp officials from the Ravensbrück concentration camp that the British authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Hamburg after the end of World War II.[1] These trials were heard before a military tribunal; the three to five judges at these trials were British officers, assisted by a lawyer. The defendants included concentration camp personnel of all levels: SS officers, camp doctors, male guards, female guards (Aufseherinnen), and a few former prisoner-functionaries who had tortured or mistreated other inmates. In total, 38 defendants were tried in these seven trials; 21 of the defendants were women.[2] One of the defendants died during the trial. Twenty of the defendants received death sentences. One defendant was reprieved while two others committed suicide before they could be executed. The remaining 17 death sentences relating to these trials were carried out on the gallows at Hamelin Prison by British hangman Albert Pierrepoint.
December 5, 1946 (1946-12-05) (Rotherbaum case) November 5, 1947 (1947-11-05) (Friedrich Opitz case) April 14, 1948 (1948-04-14) (Uckermark trial) and more
Decided
July 21, 1948 (1948-07-21) (Rotherbaum case)
The first Ravensbrück trial, 1947.[1] The sentencing, Hamburg, Rotherbaum
All seven trials took place at the Curiohaus in the Hamburg quarter of Rotherbaum.
The first Ravensbrück trial was held from December 5, 1946 until February 3, 1947, against sixteen Ravensbrück concentration camp staff and officials. All of them were found guilty. One died during trial. The death sentences (except for Salvequart) were carried out on May 2—3, 1947.[3]
Percival Treite, a half-British medical doctor at Ravensbrück, was defended by a dozen former female prisoners, including Special Operations Executive agent, Yvonne Baseden, who wrote letters to the court favorable to him. Ex-prisoner Mary Lindell testified in favor of Treite at the trial saying that Treite "was the only man who was human, the only man who looked after the sick people as a doctor should look after them." The outspoken Lindell also criticized the judge advocate, "who was partial and objectionable, had taken on the cross examination of witnesses himself and prevented other questions from being put which might have been [answered] in favour of the accused." Nevertheless, Triete was sentenced to death.[4]
Three more defendants, the camp leader, LagerkommandantFritz Suhren, along with "work leader" Hans Pflaum and Schneidermeister Friedrich Opitz (below, see the Second Ravensbrück trial), escaped from prison prior to the first trial. The first two of them were apprehended under assumed names in 1949. They were handed over to French authorities, who were conducting another Ravensbrück trial in Rastatt at that time; both men were sentenced to death in that trial and executed by firing squad on June 12, 1950. Opitz faced trial in November 1947.[5]
Female prisoners gathered when the Red Cross arrive to Ravensbrück in April 1945. The white paint marks shows they are prisoners.[6]
Second Ravensbrück trial
In the second Ravensbrück trial, which lasted from November 5 to 27, 1947, the only defendant was Friedrich Opitz age 49,[5] a clothing factory leader in the camp employed there from June 1940 till April 1945.[5] He was recaptured after his earlier escape from prison along with Fritz Suhren and Hans Pflaum (see above). During trial, he was convicted of beating women with truncheons, belts and fists, starving them for missing the quota, keeping them outside in very long roll-calls, and sending them to the gas chamber for (what he called) "being useless", as well as of kicking at least one Czech female inmate, causing death. He also encouraged his guards to do the same. Opitz received a death sentence, which was carried out on January 26, 1948.[7]
Third Ravensbrück trial
In the third Ravensbrück trial, the so-called "Uckermark trial" which took place from April 14 to 26, 1948, five female camp officials of the satellite Uckermark concentration camp, were indicted for the mistreatment of women and the participation in the selection of women for the gas chamber.[8]
The Uckermark subcamp was located about one mile from the Ravensbrück concentration camp. It was opened in May 1942 as a prison or parallel concentration camp for teenage girls aged 16 to 21 dubbed criminal or "difficult" by the SS. Girls who reached the upper age limit were transferred back to the Ravensbrück women's camp. Camp administration was provided by the Ravensbrück main camp. In January 1945, the prison for juveniles was closed although the gassing infrastructure was subsequently used for the extermination of "sick, no longer efficient, and over 52 years old women" from Ravensbrück.[9]
Braach and Toberentz were acquitted because they had worked at Uckermark only while it was still a juveniles camp, and there were no Allied women there at that time; the camp was exclusively for German girls, whose fate or treatment was outside the remit of the tribunal.
Fourth Ravensbrück trial
The fourth trial was held from May to June 8, 1948. The accused were all members of the medical staff of the camp at Ravensbrück, including one inmate who had worked as a nurse. The charges again centered on mistreatment, torture, and sending to gas chambers of women of Allied nationality.
10 years imprisonment; released on January 1, 1951 due to medical reasons
Liesbeth Krzok
Nurse
4 years imprisonment; released on February 3, 1951
Gerda Ganzer
Inmate; Nurse
Death; commuted to life imprisonment, then 21 years, then 12 years, released in 1955[10]
Fifth Ravensbrück trial
In the fifth trial, three SS members were accused of having killed Allied inmates. The trial lasted from June 16 to 29, 1948. The judgments were handed down on July 15, 1948.
2 years imprisonment; released on October 28, 1949
Walter Schenk
SS warden
20 years imprisonment; released on August 3, 1954
Sixth Ravensbrück trial
This trial lasted from July 1 to 26, 1948. Both defendants were accused of having mistreated Allied inmates.
Defendant
Function, Title
Sentence
Kurt Lauer
SS warden
15 years imprisonment; released May 7, 1955
Kurt Rauxloh
SS warden
10 years imprisonment; released September 26, 1954 due to medical reasons
Seventh Ravensbrück trial
Finally, six Aufseherinnen (female camp wardens) were tried from July 2 to 21, 1948. The charges were mistreatment of inmates of Allied nationality and participation in the selection of inmates for the gas chamber.
^ abJewish Virtual Library (2014). "Ravensbrück Trial (1946–1947)". Cyber encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
^Kretzer, Anette (2009). NS-Täterschaft und Geschlecht. Der erste britische Ravensbrück-Prozess 1946/47 in Hamburg [Nazi perpetrators and gender. The first British Ravensbrück process 1946/47 in Hamburg]. H-Soz-Kult-Zentralredaktion – Humboldt-Universität. Reviewed by Ljiljana Heise, Friedrich Meinecke Institute of the Free University of Berlin. Berlin: Metropol Verlag. ISBN978-3-940938-17-6. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
^Ulf Schmidt, Patricia Heberer (ed.) (2008). The Scars of Ravensbrück. Atrocities on Trial: Historical Perspectives. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 139–145. ISBN978-0803210844. Retrieved 6 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^ abcSilke Schäfer (6 February 2002). [On the self-image of female prisoners in the concentration camp environment. The camp Ravensbrück] (PDF). Doktorin der Philosophie Dissertation. Fakultät I Geisteswissenschaften der Technischen Universität Berlin. pp. 35, 65, 253. Archived from the original (Internet Archive) on November 13, 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
^Margarete Buber-Neumann, Under Two Dictators. Prisoner of Stalin and Hitler, ISBN9781845951023: "SS had no fabric for the production of new prison clothing. Instead they drove truckloads of coats, dresses, underwear and shoes that had once belonged to those gassed in the east, to Ravensbrück. [...] The clothes of the murdered people were sorted, and at first crosses were cut out, and fabric of another color sewn underneath. The prisoners walked around like sheep marked for slaughter. The crosses would impede escape. Later they spared themselves this cumbersome procedure and painted with oil paint broad, white crosses on the coats." (translated from the Swedish edition: Margarete Buber-Neumann Fånge hos Hitler och Stalin, Stockholm, Natur & Kultur, 1948. Page 176)
^Michael J. Bazyler, Frank M. Tuerkheimer (2014). The Hamburg Ravensbrück Trials. Forgotten Trials of the Holocaust. NYU Press. p. 148. ISBN9781479886067. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
^Bazyler, Michael J.; Tuerkheimer, Frank M. (2014). Forgotten Trials of the Holocaust. NYU Press. pp. 147–149. ISBN978-1-4798-8606-7. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
^Gerda GANZER. Includes 6 photographs depicting: German war criminal: Gerda Ganzer, life... 1948–1955.
Richard Clark, Ravensbrück concentration camp. Female Nazi war criminals. Capital Punishment U.K.
Ebbinghaus, Angelika (1987); Opfer und Täterinnen. Frauenbiographien des Nationalsozialismus.Nördlingen 1987. Reprinted 1996: ISBN3-596-13094-8. In German.
Schäfer, S.; . PhD thesis 2002, TU Berlin. (PDF file, 741 kB). In German. [dead link] [no archive]
Literature
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ravensbrück trials.
Taake, C.: Angeklagt: SS-Frauen vor Gericht; Bibliotheks- und Informationssystem der Univ. Oldenburg, 1998. In German.
G. Álvarez, Mónica. "Guardianas Nazis. El lado femenino del mal" (Spanish). Madrid: Grupo Edaf, 2012. ISBN978-84-414-3240-6
January 07, 2023
hamburg, ravensbrück, trials, were, series, seven, trials, crimes, against, camp, officials, from, ravensbrück, concentration, camp, that, british, authorities, held, their, occupation, zone, germany, hamburg, after, world, these, trials, were, heard, before, . The Hamburg Ravensbruck trials were a series of seven trials for war crimes against camp officials from the Ravensbruck concentration camp that the British authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Hamburg after the end of World War II 1 These trials were heard before a military tribunal the three to five judges at these trials were British officers assisted by a lawyer The defendants included concentration camp personnel of all levels SS officers camp doctors male guards female guards Aufseherinnen and a few former prisoner functionaries who had tortured or mistreated other inmates In total 38 defendants were tried in these seven trials 21 of the defendants were women 2 One of the defendants died during the trial Twenty of the defendants received death sentences One defendant was reprieved while two others committed suicide before they could be executed The remaining 17 death sentences relating to these trials were carried out on the gallows at Hamelin Prison by British hangman Albert Pierrepoint Hamburg Ravensbruck trialsIn civilian clothing Ravensbruck Aufseherinnen surrounded by uniformed Allied guards at trial Hamburg 1947CourtCuriohaus Hamburg GermanyStartedDecember 5 1946 1946 12 05 Rotherbaum case November 5 1947 1947 11 05 Friedrich Opitz case April 14 1948 1948 04 14 Uckermark trial and moreDecidedJuly 21 1948 1948 07 21 Rotherbaum case The first Ravensbruck trial 1947 1 The sentencing Hamburg Rotherbaum All seven trials took place at the Curiohaus in the Hamburg quarter of Rotherbaum Contents 1 First trial 2 Second Ravensbruck trial 3 Third Ravensbruck trial 4 Fourth Ravensbruck trial 5 Fifth Ravensbruck trial 6 Sixth Ravensbruck trial 7 Seventh Ravensbruck trial 8 See also 9 References 10 LiteratureFirst trial EditThe first Ravensbruck trial was held from December 5 1946 until February 3 1947 against sixteen Ravensbruck concentration camp staff and officials All of them were found guilty One died during trial The death sentences except for Salvequart were carried out on May 2 3 1947 3 Defendant Function Title Sentence1 Johann Schwarzhuber Deputy camp leader Death executed on May 3 19472 Gustav Binder SS Mitglied de Warden Death executed on May 3 19473 Heinrich Peters SS Mitglied de Warden 15 years imprisonment released on May 22 19544 Ludwig Ramdohr de Gestapo inspector Death executed on May 3 19475 Martin Hellinger Medical doctor 15 years imprisonment released on May 20 19546 Rolf Rosenthal de Medical doctor Death executed on May 3 19477 Gerhard Schiedlausky Medical doctor Death executed on May 3 19478 Percival Treite de Medical doctor Death committed suicide on April 8 1947 before the sentence could be carried out9 Adolf Winkelmann Medical doctor Died during the trial on February 1 194710 Dorothea Binz Assistant Chief warden Oberaufseherin Death executed on May 2 194711 Greta Bosel Labor Department Head Aufseherin Death executed on May 3 194712 Margarete Mewes Jail warden 10 years imprisonment released on February 26 195213 Elisabeth Marschall Nurse Death executed on May 3 194714 Carmen Mory Inmate Kapo Death committed suicide on April 9 1947 before the sentence could be carried out15 Vera Salvequart Inmate Kapo Death executed on June 2 194716 Eugenia von Skene Inmate Kapo 10 years imprisonment released December 21 1951 The trial judges of the KL Ravensbruck crew Percival Treite a half British medical doctor at Ravensbruck was defended by a dozen former female prisoners including Special Operations Executive agent Yvonne Baseden who wrote letters to the court favorable to him Ex prisoner Mary Lindell testified in favor of Treite at the trial saying that Treite was the only man who was human the only man who looked after the sick people as a doctor should look after them The outspoken Lindell also criticized the judge advocate who was partial and objectionable had taken on the cross examination of witnesses himself and prevented other questions from being put which might have been answered in favour of the accused Nevertheless Triete was sentenced to death 4 Three more defendants the camp leader Lagerkommandant Fritz Suhren along with work leader Hans Pflaum and Schneidermeister Friedrich Opitz below see the Second Ravensbruck trial escaped from prison prior to the first trial The first two of them were apprehended under assumed names in 1949 They were handed over to French authorities who were conducting another Ravensbruck trial in Rastatt at that time both men were sentenced to death in that trial and executed by firing squad on June 12 1950 Opitz faced trial in November 1947 5 Female prisoners at Ravensbruck in 1939 Female prisoners gathered when the Red Cross arrive to Ravensbruck in April 1945 The white paint marks shows they are prisoners 6 Second Ravensbruck trial EditIn the second Ravensbruck trial which lasted from November 5 to 27 1947 the only defendant was Friedrich Opitz age 49 5 a clothing factory leader in the camp employed there from June 1940 till April 1945 5 He was recaptured after his earlier escape from prison along with Fritz Suhren and Hans Pflaum see above During trial he was convicted of beating women with truncheons belts and fists starving them for missing the quota keeping them outside in very long roll calls and sending them to the gas chamber for what he called being useless as well as of kicking at least one Czech female inmate causing death He also encouraged his guards to do the same Opitz received a death sentence which was carried out on January 26 1948 7 Third Ravensbruck trial EditIn the third Ravensbruck trial the so called Uckermark trial which took place from April 14 to 26 1948 five female camp officials of the satellite Uckermark concentration camp were indicted for the mistreatment of women and the participation in the selection of women for the gas chamber 8 The Uckermark subcamp was located about one mile from the Ravensbruck concentration camp It was opened in May 1942 as a prison or parallel concentration camp for teenage girls aged 16 to 21 dubbed criminal or difficult by the SS Girls who reached the upper age limit were transferred back to the Ravensbruck women s camp Camp administration was provided by the Ravensbruck main camp In January 1945 the prison for juveniles was closed although the gassing infrastructure was subsequently used for the extermination of sick no longer efficient and over 52 years old women from Ravensbruck 9 Defendant Function Title SentenceJohanna Braach Criminal inspector warden in the juvenile s camp AcquittedLotte Toberentz Camp leader of the juvenile s camp AcquittedElfriede Mohneke Assistant Chief warden of the extermination camp 10 years imprisonment released on June 14 1952Margarete Rabe Warden of the extermination camp Life imprisonment commuted to 21 years in 1950 released on February 26 1954Ruth Neudeck Chief warden of the extermination camp Death executed on July 29 1948Braach and Toberentz were acquitted because they had worked at Uckermark only while it was still a juveniles camp and there were no Allied women there at that time the camp was exclusively for German girls whose fate or treatment was outside the remit of the tribunal Fourth Ravensbruck trial EditThe fourth trial was held from May to June 8 1948 The accused were all members of the medical staff of the camp at Ravensbruck including one inmate who had worked as a nurse The charges again centered on mistreatment torture and sending to gas chambers of women of Allied nationality Defendant Function Title SentenceBenno Orendi Medical doctor Death executed September on 17 1948Walter Sonntag Medical doctor Death executed September on 17 1948Martha Haake Nurse 10 years imprisonment released on January 1 1951 due to medical reasonsLiesbeth Krzok Nurse 4 years imprisonment released on February 3 1951Gerda Ganzer Inmate Nurse Death commuted to life imprisonment then 21 years then 12 years released in 1955 10 Fifth Ravensbruck trial EditIn the fifth trial three SS members were accused of having killed Allied inmates The trial lasted from June 16 to 29 1948 The judgments were handed down on July 15 1948 Defendant Function Title SentenceArthur Conrad SS warden Death executed on September 17 1948Heinrich Schafer SS warden 2 years imprisonment released on October 28 1949Walter Schenk SS warden 20 years imprisonment released on August 3 1954Sixth Ravensbruck trial EditThis trial lasted from July 1 to 26 1948 Both defendants were accused of having mistreated Allied inmates Defendant Function Title SentenceKurt Lauer SS warden 15 years imprisonment released May 7 1955Kurt Rauxloh SS warden 10 years imprisonment released September 26 1954 due to medical reasonsSeventh Ravensbruck trial EditFinally six Aufseherinnen female camp wardens were tried from July 2 to 21 1948 The charges were mistreatment of inmates of Allied nationality and participation in the selection of inmates for the gas chamber Defendant Function Title SentenceLuise Brunner Chief warden Oberaufseherin 3 years imprisonmentAnna Friederike Mathilde Klein Chief warden Acquitted due to lack of evidenceEmma Zimmer Assistant chief warden Death executed on September 20 1948Christine Holthower Chief Warden of Siemens Acquitted due to lack of evidenceIda Schreiter Labor Department Warden Death executed on September 20 1948Ilse Vettermann Warden 12 years imprisonmentSee also EditAuschwitz trial held in Krakow Poland in 1947 against 40 SS staff of the Auschwitz concentration camp death factory Belsen trial Belzec trial before the 1st Munich District Court in the mid 1960s of the eight SS men of the Belzec extermination camp command Chelmno trials of the Chelmno extermination camp personnel held in Poland and in Germany The cases were decided almost twenty years apart Dachau trials held within the walls of the former Dachau concentration camp 1945 1948 Frankfurt Auschwitz trials running from December 20 1963 to August 19 1965 Majdanek trials the longest Nazi war crimes trial in history spanning over 30 years Mauthausen Gusen camp trials Nuremberg trials of the 23 most important leaders of the Third Reich 1945 1946 Sobibor trial held in Hagen Germany in 1965 concerning the Sobibor extermination camp officials Stutthof trials Treblinka trials in Dusseldorf GermanyReferences Edit a b Jewish Virtual Library 2014 Ravensbruck Trial 1946 1947 Cyber encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture Retrieved 6 January 2015 Kretzer Anette 2009 NS Taterschaft und Geschlecht Der erste britische Ravensbruck Prozess 1946 47 in Hamburg Nazi perpetrators and gender The first British Ravensbruck process 1946 47 in Hamburg H Soz Kult Zentralredaktion Humboldt Universitat Reviewed by Ljiljana Heise Friedrich Meinecke Institute of the Free University of Berlin Berlin Metropol Verlag ISBN 978 3 940938 17 6 Retrieved 6 January 2015 Ulf Schmidt Patricia Heberer ed 2008 The Scars of Ravensbruck Atrocities on Trial Historical Perspectives U of Nebraska Press pp 139 145 ISBN 978 0803210844 Retrieved 6 January 2015 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author has generic name help Hore pp 233 236 a b c Silke Schafer 6 February 2002 Zum Selbstverstandnis von Frauen im Konzentrationslager Das Lager Ravensbruck On the self image of female prisoners in the concentration camp environment The camp Ravensbruck PDF Doktorin der Philosophie Dissertation Fakultat I Geisteswissenschaften der Technischen Universitat Berlin pp 35 65 253 Archived from the original Internet Archive on November 13 2014 Retrieved 7 January 2015 Margarete Buber Neumann Under Two Dictators Prisoner of Stalin and Hitler ISBN 9781845951023 SS had no fabric for the production of new prison clothing Instead they drove truckloads of coats dresses underwear and shoes that had once belonged to those gassed in the east to Ravensbruck The clothes of the murdered people were sorted and at first crosses were cut out and fabric of another color sewn underneath The prisoners walked around like sheep marked for slaughter The crosses would impede escape Later they spared themselves this cumbersome procedure and painted with oil paint broad white crosses on the coats translated from the Swedish edition Margarete Buber Neumann Fange hos Hitler och Stalin Stockholm Natur amp Kultur 1948 Page 176 Michael J Bazyler Frank M Tuerkheimer 2014 The Hamburg Ravensbruck Trials Forgotten Trials of the Holocaust NYU Press p 148 ISBN 9781479886067 Retrieved 6 January 2015 Bazyler Michael J Tuerkheimer Frank M 2014 Forgotten Trials of the Holocaust NYU Press pp 147 149 ISBN 978 1 4798 8606 7 Retrieved 2019 01 11 Ebbinghaus 1987 p 287 Gerda GANZER Includes 6 photographs depicting German war criminal Gerda Ganzer life 1948 1955 Richard Clark Ravensbruck concentration camp Female Nazi war criminals Capital Punishment U K Ebbinghaus Angelika 1987 Opfer und Taterinnen Frauenbiographien des Nationalsozialismus Nordlingen 1987 Reprinted 1996 ISBN 3 596 13094 8 In German Schafer S Zum Selbstverstandnis von Frauen im Konzentrationslager das Lager Ravensbruck PhD thesis 2002 TU Berlin PDF file 741 kB In German dead link no archive Literature Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ravensbruck trials Taake C Angeklagt SS Frauen vor Gericht Bibliotheks und Informationssystem der Univ Oldenburg 1998 In German G Alvarez Monica Guardianas Nazis El lado femenino del mal Spanish Madrid Grupo Edaf 2012 ISBN 978 84 414 3240 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hamburg Ravensbruck trials amp oldid 1120539102 Third Ravensbruck trial, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
