During World War II, some women were complicit in the brutal actions of the Nazi regime, holding roles in the SS, concentration camps, and other aspects of the machinery of oppression. While most of the infamous Nazi figures were men, several women were involved in war crimes, and some were eventually tried and executed for their roles. Among the most notorious were figures like Irma Grese, the "Beautiful Beast," and other female guards at concentration camps like Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.
One of the most infamous cases was that of Irma Grese, a former SS officer and concentration camp guard. Grese was involved in the brutal treatment of prisoners, including executions, torture, and other atrocities. After the war, she was captured by British forces and put on trial. In 1945, Grese was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Despite her youth—she was only 22 at the time of her execution—Grese was sentenced to death by hanging. Her execution, along with those of other female war criminals, was carried out in 1945 at the Hamelin Prison in Germany.
Women like Grese were executed for their involvement in the direct and indirect murder of thousands of innocent people, contributing to the horrors of the Holocaust and other atrocities committed by the Nazis. The execution process was similar to that of male war criminals. Hanging was the most common method of execution for those convicted of war crimes. In some cases, female war criminals were also sent to prison for life, but the death sentences served as a symbol of the accountability sought for Nazi crimes.
The executions of women like Grese serve as a reminder that the horrors of the Nazi regime were carried out by both men and women, and that justice was eventually pursued for those who had committed egregious war crimes, regardless of their gender.