The Truth About The 'Hyena Of Auschwitz'

As stated on All That's Interesting, Irma Grese was born in fall 1923 in a rural German village. Irma was one of five children. Her mother committed suicide when Irma's father had an affair; Irma was a teenager at the time. Irma was mercilessly bullied in school and so dropped out to work on a

As stated on All That's Interesting, Irma Grese was born in fall 1923 in a rural German village. Irma was one of five children. Her mother committed suicide when Irma's father had an affair; Irma was a teenager at the time. Irma was mercilessly bullied in school and so dropped out to work on a farm. After being approached by the SS at age 19 with what was basically a job offer, Grese took her first position at the women-only Ravensbruck concentration camp, working as a nurse.

Survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who spoke with Grese more than once at Auschwitz, said that Grese was "given a uniform and black boots, a dog a, gun, better pay — fantastic." Anita went on to comment on the role that the Nazis had in shaping people's lives, saying, "'You know someone like Irma Grese, how did she get into this position? ... Look at the psychology of these people who worked in the concentration camps." In fact, before becoming employed by the SS, Grese had never even met a Jewish person.

A year later, in 1943, Grese was transferred to Auschwitz. In March of that year, the gas chambers and crematoria opened. Auschwitz proved the perfect breeding ground for Grese's savagery, and in less than a year, she gained the rank of senior SS supervisor, the second highest position available to women in the SS. The cost of her rise to power was bodies and blood.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2BlGpsbm9fnr%2BurYygqZ6rlWLBqbGMramurJhirqO71K1kraCVYrW6sc2aZKieXZbCtK%2FHsKCtsl8%3D

 Share!