EXTREMELY SENSITIVE CONTENT – STRICTLY FOR AGES 18+
This article discusses an extremely sensitive historical event: the public execution of 11 Stutthof concentration camp staff (including 5 female SS guards) on July 4, 1946, in Gdańsk, Poland. The content is solely for educational and historical documentation purposes, to provide a deeper understanding of the crimes committed in Nazi German concentration camps, the process of post-World War II accountability in Poland, and the context of post-war justice. It is not intended to glorify violence, revenge, or to shock without purpose.
Why Was Elisabeth Becker Publicly Hanged in Front of 20,000 People?
The Public Punishment of the 5 Stutthof Female Guards on July 4, 1946
Stutthof Concentration Camp and the Role of the Female Guards
Stutthof (now Sztutowo, near Gdańsk, Poland) was the first concentration camp established by Nazi Germany outside its borders (September 1939). Initially a prison for Polish political prisoners, it was later expanded into an extermination camp with gas chambers, medical experiments, and mass executions. An estimated 85,000–110,000 people died there, primarily Poles, Jews, Soviets, and Roma.
From 1942–1945, Nazi Germany recruited hundreds of women as Aufseherinnen (female SS guards). They were trained at Ravensbrück and transferred to Stutthof. There, some female guards became notorious for their particular brutality, often surpassing that of their male counterparts.
Among them was Elisabeth Becker (born 1923, aged 22–23 while serving at Stutthof). She was accused of:
Participating in the selection of prisoners for the gas chambers.
Beating, torturing, and killing prisoners with or without weapons.
Supervising forced labor and executions.
Alongside her, four other female guards were sentenced to death in the first Stutthof trial (April 25 – May 31, 1946):
Jenny-Wanda Barkmann (“The Beautiful Phantom”)
Ewa Paradies
Wanda Klaff
Gerda Steinhoff
The Stutthof Trial (1946) – Post-War Justice in Poland
After the Soviet liberation of Stutthof (May 1945), Poland (under Soviet oversight) organized special trials to prosecute war crimes committed at camps on Polish territory. The first Stutthof trial indicted 30 camp staff (11 women, 19 men). Hundreds of surviving witnesses testified to the brutality of the female guards.
On May 31, 1946, the court sentenced:
11 people to death (5 women + 6 men).
Others to life imprisonment or fixed-term sentences.
The death sentences were made public and were regarded by the post-war Polish authorities as a symbol of justice for the tens of thousands of Polish victims at Stutthof.
Why a Public Execution Before 20,000 People?
On July 4, 1946, at 5:00 PM, the 11 condemned prisoners (including Elisabeth Becker and the four other female guards) were brought to Biskupia Górka (Biskup Hill) on the outskirts of Gdańsk. A large gallows system (4 double gallows + 1 triple gallows) had been erected. The execution took place publicly before a crowd estimated from several thousand up to 20,000 people (including local residents, survivors, military personnel, and officials).
The reasons the post-war Polish authorities organized this public and degrading execution were:
Visible Justice for the Polish People: Stutthof was on Polish soil, and tens of thousands of Poles were killed there. The new government (under Soviet influence) wanted the public to witness the punishment of the perpetrators firsthand to soothe collective pain and affirm that “justice had been served.”
Catharsis: After six years of brutal occupation, famine, concentration camps, and genocide, the Polish people needed to see public retribution to heal psychological 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 (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, etc.) organized public executions of war criminals to meet public demand and consolidate power.
The female guards were led out one by one, hands tied behind their backs, and hanged using the short-drop method (causing death by strangulation rather than a broken neck). The process took about 10–20 minutes per person. The entire event was filmed and photographed for widespread dissemination.
This was one of the largest and last public executions in post-war Europe.
Significance and Controversy
Public executions were later criticized as being vengeful and inhumane. However, in 1946, they reflected the profound horror and strong demand for justice within Polish society after the Holocaust and six years of occupation. Today, the five Stutthof female guards are seen as symbols of female brutality within the concentration camp system, and their execution stands as a testament to post-war justice in Poland – albeit a form of justice that was symbolically vengeful.
Stutthof is now a memorial museum, where the victims are honored regardless of ethnicity or religion.
Elisabeth Becker and the four other Stutthof female guards were publicly hanged on July 4, 1946, before approximately 20,000 people in Gdańsk. This was a form of public, degrading punishment intended to meet the Polish people’s demand for justice following the horrific crimes committed at the camp. The execution was not merely revenge but also a political declaration that fascist crimes would be punished. It stands as one of the final moments of “public” post-war justice in Europe – harsh, symbolic, and deeply controversial.
Primary Sources / References:
Wikipedia: Stutthof trials (cross-referenced with primary citations).
Wikipedia: Jenny-Wanda Barkmann, Elisabeth Becker, Ewa Paradies, Wanda Klaff, Gerda Steinhoff.
Executed Today: “1946: Eleven from the Stutthof concentration camp” (July 4, 1946).
Stutthof Museum / JUSP Stutthof: Official survivor accounts and trial records.
Capital Punishment UK: Female Nazi War Criminals (detailed section on Stutthof guards).
Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN): Records of the 1946 Stutthof trial.
Contemporary photographs and newsreels from 1946 (archived in Polish National Archives and international collections).