from the deranged Dr. Josef Mengele to the cruel propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, the names of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi henchmen — and henchwomen — have become synonymous with evil.
And of all the savage figures to emerge from Nazi Germany, one of the most beastly is that of Irma Grese. Labeled “the most notorious of the female Nazi war criminals” by the Jewish Virtual Library, Irma Grese committed crimes that were especially brutal even among her Nazi compatriots.
Born in the fall of 1923, Irma Grese was one of the five children. According to trial transcripts, 13 years after Grese’s birth, her mother committed suicide upon discovering that her husband was cheating on her with a local pub owner’s daughter.
Throughout her childhood, there were more problems for Grese, including some in school.
One of Grese’s sisters, Helene, testified that Grese was bullied badly and lacked the courage to stand up for herself. Unable to tolerate the torment of school, Grese dropped out when she was just a young teen.
To earn money, Grese worked on a farm, then in a shop.
Like many Germans, she was bewitched by Hitler and at 19, the dropout found herself employment as a guard at the Ravensbruck concentration camp for female prisoners.
One year later, in 1943, Grese was transferred to Auschwitz, the biggest and most infamous of the Nazi death camps. A loyal, dedicated, and obedient Nazi member, Grese then rapidly ascended to the rank of senior SS supervisor — the second highest rank that could be bestowed upon females in the SS.
And of all the savage figures to emerge from Nazi Germany, one of the most beastly is that of Irma Grese. Labeled “the most notorious of the female Nazi war criminals” by the Jewish Virtual Library, Irma Grese committed crimes that were especially brutal even among her Nazi compatriots.
Born in the fall of 1923, Irma Grese was one of the five children. According to trial transcripts, 13 years after Grese’s birth, her mother committed suicide upon discovering that her husband was cheating on her with a local pub owner’s daughter.
Throughout her childhood, there were more problems for Grese, including some in school.
One of Grese’s sisters, Helene, testified that Grese was bullied badly and lacked the courage to stand up for herself. Unable to tolerate the torment of school, Grese dropped out when she was just a young teen.
To earn money, Grese worked on a farm, then in a shop.
Like many Germans, she was bewitched by Hitler and at 19, the dropout found herself employment as a guard at the Ravensbruck concentration camp for female prisoners.
One year later, in 1943, Grese was transferred to Auschwitz, the biggest and most infamous of the Nazi death camps. A loyal, dedicated, and obedient Nazi member, Grese then rapidly ascended to the rank of senior SS supervisor — the second highest rank that could be bestowed upon females in the SS.
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Short film