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This article discusses the 1946 public executions of several female guards (Aufseherinnen) at Stutthof concentration camp, including their brutal atrocities and the reasons why post-war Polish authorities organized executions before a crowd. The content is for educational and historical documentation purposes only, to help better understand the crimes at Nazi concentration camps, the post-World War II accountability process in Poland, and the post-war justice context. It is not intended to glorify violence, revenge, or advocate any form of execution.
Why Was One of the Most Brutal Female Guards of Stutthof Publicly Executed?
Background: Stutthof Concentration Camp And The Female Guards
Stutthof was the first concentration camp established by the Nazis outside German territory (September 1939, near Gdańsk, Poland). Initially a camp for political prisoners, it later became an extermination camp with gas chambers, mass executions, and forced labor. Approximately 85,000–110,000 people died there, mainly Poles, Jews, Soviet POWs, and Roma.
From 1942, the Nazis recruited hundreds of women as Aufseherinnen (SS female guards). Many of them were transferred from Ravensbrück to Stutthof. Some female guards were known for their exceptional brutality, even surpassing many male guards.
In the first Stutthof trial (April 25 – May 31, 1946), 30 camp personnel (including 11 women) were tried. Five female guards were sentenced to death for specific crimes:
Jenny-Wanda Barkmann (“The Beautiful Ghost”): Beat prisoners with a whip, selected prisoners for the gas chambers, killed with bare hands and weapons.
Ewa Paradies: Participated in executions and torture.
Elisabeth Becker: Participated in selection and killing of prisoners.
Wanda Klaff: Beat and mistreated prisoners.
Gerda Steinhoff: Supervised labor and participated in brutal acts.
These female guards were accused of causing suffering and death to thousands of prisoners through beatings, torture, selection for gas chambers, and supervision of executions.
Why Public Execution Before A Large Crowd?
On July 4, 1946, 11 condemned individuals (5 female guards + 6 others) were publicly executed at Biskupia Górka (Bishop’s Hill) near Gdańsk, before approximately 20,000 people (including local residents, surviving victims, and officials).
The reasons why post-war Polish authorities (under Soviet oversight) organized public and degrading executions:
Visible justice for the Polish people: Stutthof was on Polish soil, and tens of thousands of Poles were killed there. The new authorities wanted people to witness the punishment of the perpetrators firsthand to ease collective pain and affirm that “justice had been done.”
Catharsis (psychological release): After 6 years of brutal occupation, famine, concentration camps, and genocide, the Polish people needed to see public retribution to heal emotional wounds.
Political propaganda: The new communist authorities wanted to demonstrate that they were purging fascist remnants and protecting the people.
Eastern European post-war tradition: Immediately after the war, many Eastern European countries organized public executions of war criminals to meet public demands and consolidate power.
The execution was carried out by short-drop hanging (death by suffocation rather than a broken neck). The entire process was filmed and photographed for wide distribution.
In 1946, one brutal female guard of Stutthof (and four others) was publicly executed before approximately 20,000 people in Gdańsk because they had participated in torturing, selecting, and killing thousands of innocent prisoners. The public execution was how post-war Polish authorities demonstrated justice, eased national pain, and affirmed that the crimes at concentration camps would not be tolerated – whether the perpetrators were male or female.
This was one of the largest and most notable public executions in post-war Europe, reflecting the horror and strong demand for justice of Polish society after the Holocaust and 6 years of occupation.
Main sources:
Stutthof trials – Wikipedia and official documents from the Stutthof Museum.
Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught and documents regarding SS female guards.
“The Stutthof Trials” – Polish court records from 1946.
Executed Today and historical sources on the July 4, 1946 execution at Biskupia Górka.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) – records on Stutthof and female guards.
Contemporary Polish newspapers and archival photographs from 1946.