Content Warning: This article discusses historical events involving extreme violence, war crimes, and Holocaust atrocities, which may be distressing. It aims to educate on accountability for human rights violations and the dangers of dehumanization, encouraging reflection on justice and remembrance.
Hermine Braunsteiner (1919–1999), an Austrian Nazi guard, earned the nickname “Stomping Mare of Majdanek” for her brutal treatment of prisoners at Ravensbrück and Majdanek concentration camps. Known for physically assaulting inmates, she was convicted at the Third Majdanek Trial (1975–1981) for murder and collaboration in genocide, sentenced to life imprisonment, but released early due to health issues. This analysis, based on verified sources like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and trial records, provides an objective overview of Braunsteiner’s life, crimes, and legal consequences, fostering discussion on Nazi accountability and the importance of confronting historical atrocities.
Early Life and Nazi Involvement
Hermine Braunsteiner was born on July 16, 1919, in Vienna, Austria, to a working-class family. In 1938, during the Anschluss—Hitler’s annexation of Austria—she was in England, employed as a housekeeper for an American engineer. Returning to Vienna in May 1938, she gained German citizenship as Austria was absorbed into the Reich.
Motivated by financial incentives, Braunsteiner applied to be a supervisor at Ravensbrück concentration camp in August 1939, attracted by the 60-mark weekly salary. Ravensbrück, opened in May 1939, was the Nazis’ primary women’s camp, detaining 132,000 women—Poles, Russians, Jews, Roma, and others—with over 92,000 deaths due to starvation, disease, and executions.
Role at Ravensbrück and Transfer to Majdanek
At Ravensbrück, Braunsteiner worked under senior supervisor Maria Mandel. A disagreement with Mandel prompted her transfer in October 1942 to Majdanek concentration camp in occupied Poland. Majdanek, under construction throughout its existence, held predominantly Jewish prisoners from April 1942 to November 1943. The SS used Zyklon B in makeshift gas chambers from winter 1941–1942 to kill those too weak to work, with tens of thousands of Jews murdered overall.
Braunsteiner’s brutality at Majdanek was notorious. Survivors testified she stomped prisoners to death, whipped them, and humiliated them relentlessly, earning her infamous nickname. Her actions contributed to the camp’s death toll, estimated at 80,000–110,000, mostly Jews.
Evacuation and Post-War Life
In spring 1944, as Soviet forces advanced, the SS evacuated most Majdanek prisoners westward. Braunsteiner was reassigned to Genthin, a Ravensbrück subcamp near Berlin, where she supervised 14 SS women and oversaw operations until May 1945. After Germany’s surrender, she worked briefly on a Bavarian farm, then returned to Vienna in October 1945 as a housekeeper until January 1946.
Arrested post-war, Braunsteiner was briefly imprisoned and released. She worked low-level jobs until the mid-1950s, when she met Russell Ryan, an American. They married, and she emigrated to Canada in 1958, becoming Hermine Ryan. Settling in Queens, New York, by 1959, she lived quietly until Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal tracked her down in 1964.
Extradition and the Third Majdanek Trial
In 1973, Braunsteiner was arrested in the U.S. and extradited to Germany. The Third Majdanek Trial (1975–1981) in Düsseldorf prosecuted her and 15 others. During the trial, she suffered two mental breakdowns and was seen solving a crossword puzzle, showing apparent indifference. She denied serious wrongdoing, admitting only to slapping prisoners at Ravensbrück, and shouted at witnesses, calling one a “liar” and insisting she never shot a boy.
Convicted on three of nine counts—murder of 80 people, abetting the murder of 102 children, and collaborating in 1,000 deaths—she was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 30, 1981. Her husband, Russell, defended her, claiming she “wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Release and Death
Due to diabetes complications, including a leg amputation, Braunsteiner was released in 1996. She lived with Russell in Bochum, Germany, confined to a wheelchair and suffering from arthritis. She died on April 19, 1999, at age 79, unmourned by victims’ families or survivors.
Legacy and Reflection
Braunsteiner’s crimes highlight the role of female perpetrators in the Holocaust, challenging stereotypes of Nazi guards. Her trial, one of the longest in German history, relied on survivor testimonies, reinforcing accountability for mid-level actors. Historians like Wendy Lower note her case as evidence of ordinary individuals’ capacity for cruelty under Nazi ideology.
Her denial and lack of remorse underscore the importance of confronting historical truths to prevent dehumanization.
Hermine Braunsteiner’s path from Vienna housekeeper to brutal Majdanek guard and her 1981 conviction reveal the depths of Nazi cruelty. Her actions, costing thousands of lives, and her trial emphasize justice’s role in addressing genocide. For history enthusiasts, her story urges remembrance of Holocaust victims, exploration of complicity, and advocacy for human rights to counter discrimination and ensure such atrocities are never repeated.