Irma Grese
Around the age of ten, Irma Grese and her younger sister Helene joined the Bund Deutscher Mädel or League of German Girls. Irma was keen to join the party, even though her father detested the Nazis.
She studied in 1939 at Hohenlychen, an SS hospital, where she worked with Dr. Gebhardt, who conducted the majority of his tests on patients since she wanted to become a nurse. She tried her hand at nursing but failed, so she became a machinist. She started training at Ravensbrück at the age of 18.
Irma’s “angelic” appearance was more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing because, according to the Holocaust survivors, she was one of the worst supervisors. She always wore heavy boots, a pistol, and a whip while walking around the camp with two dogs that were trained to kill.
Together with Drechsler and Mengele, Grese made life-or-death decisions during the dreaded selections. She also enjoys using her whip to strike female inmates in the face, making them kneel for hours or carry heavy rocks in their hands.
Her trial ended pretty quickly because she never tried to convince others of her innocence. In 1945, she was sentenced to death by hanging, making her the youngest female Nazi to be executed.
Of course, I couldn’t include all the women of the Third Reich in my article, that’s why I recommend reading further about this topic in the book called Women of the Third Reich: From Camp Guards to Combatants. Available on Amazon for $12.59 for the Kindle version, this book is a fascinating, delightful, terrible, disturbing, and relentless journey into the dark depths of human consciousness. Curious? Order your copy now.
I managed to pitch your curiosity and you want to know more about Nazis? I got you covered for sure! Check out Heinrich Himmler: 7 Least-Known Facts About the Architect of Terror.
