Irma Grese, one of the most infamous female guards in Nazi concentration camps, remains a chilling symbol of cruelty during the Holocaust. Survivors who encountered her at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen have provided harrowing testimonies describing her brutal behavior, which has since made her name synonymous with the worst atrocities committed by the Nazi regime.
Born in 1923 in Germany, Grese joined the SS and quickly rose through the ranks of concentration camp staff. By the time she was stationed at Auschwitz, she was only in her early twenties but had already earned a reputation for her violent conduct. Survivors described her as a striking figure, often wearing a pistol and a whip, and taking sadistic pleasure in the suffering of inmates, particularly young women.
Eyewitness accounts from Holocaust survivors paint a grim picture of Grese’s actions. She was often seen beating prisoners without provocation, using a riding crop, a dog whip, or her fists. Female inmates recalled how she selected women for the gas chambers and stood by during roll calls, smiling as prisoners collapsed from exhaustion or starvation. Survivors recounted that Grese took particular delight in exercising her power over others, humiliating and terrorizing those already broken by hunger and fear.
At Bergen-Belsen, where she was transferred near the end of the war, conditions were dire. The camp was overcrowded, rampant with disease, and lacking basic necessities. Amid this chaos, Irma Grese continued her reign of terror. Survivors testified that even as the camp fell into disarray with the approach of British liberators, Grese remained unrepentant and cold, showing no sign of empathy for the suffering around her.
When British forces liberated Bergen-Belsen in April 1945, they arrested Grese and other SS personnel. Her trial took place later that year as part of the Belsen Trials, a series of military tribunals held to prosecute Nazi war criminals. She was one of the youngest and few female defendants, but her age did not shield her from accountability.
During the trial, survivors testified to her cruelty in chilling detail. One described how Grese had beaten a pregnant woman unconscious, while another recalled seeing her release guard dogs on prisoners for sport. The court found her guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Despite her youth—she was only 22 at the time—Grese was sentenced to death.
On December 13, 1945, Irma Grese was hanged, becoming one of the youngest women to be executed under British law in the 20th century. Her execution served as a powerful statement that cruelty, regardless of the perpetrator’s age or gender, would be punished.
For survivors, the memory of Irma Grese endures not just as a symbol of the horrors they endured, but as a reminder of how ordinary individuals can become agents of extreme evil. Their testimonies ensure that her crimes, and those of others like her, will not be forgotten.