Jenny Wanda Barkmann was a **female guard** at the **Stutthof concentration camp** during World War II, known for her brutal and sadistic behavior toward prisoners. Born in 1922 in Germany, Barkmann joined the **Schutzstaffel (SS)** and worked in Stutthof, one of the first concentration camps established outside of Germany, located in occupied Poland. There, she became notorious for her cruelty and active participation in the abuse, torture, and execution of prisoners, many of whom were Jews, political prisoners, and others targeted by the Nazi regime.
.jpg)
Barkmann was one of the infamous female guards known as the "**Stutthof SS women**," who were responsible for overseeing and terrorizing prisoners in the camp. She was reportedly known to take pleasure in inflicting suffering and participated in executions, including shootings and beatings. Her actions were part of a larger system of violence and inhumanity in the camp, which saw thousands of prisoners perish from mistreatment, forced labor, starvation, and gas chambers.
After the war ended, the Allied forces, in their efforts to hold Nazi war criminals accountable, arrested Jenny Wanda Barkmann. She was put on trial for her role in the atrocities committed at Stutthof. At the trial, testimonies from survivors described her as a particularly cruel figure, highlighting her participation in horrific acts of violence. In 1946, she was found guilty of war crimes, specifically for her active involvement in the murder and mistreatment of prisoners, and was executed by **hanging**.
Her execution marked one of the many efforts by post-war authorities to bring justice to those responsible for the crimes of the Holocaust. Barkmann’s brutal legacy as a sadistic guard serves as a reminder of the unimaginable cruelty that took place within the concentration camps and the relentless pursuit of justice for war criminals after the war.