In order to defend oneself against the brutal injustices of the SS and survive imprisonment, self-empowerment, courage, stub-bornness and resistance were needed. At the same time, any resistance could endanger the prisoners. If they were discovered, they faced severe punishment or even death. Nevertheless, some women were not deterred by these risks: they sabotaged work in the armaments industry, refused to take orders from the SS and smuggled documents out of the camp in an attempt to preserve proof of the crimes committed by the SS.
The ways in which women were able to put up resistance depended on the time of imprisonment and the prisoner‘s rank in the camp hierarchy. Those stigmatised by the SS as criminals or antisocials were less likely to experience solidarity from their fellow prisoners. As opposed to this, an influential function in the camp could be applied to benefit fellow prisoners. However, social differences and national prejudices between the various groups often prevented solidarity.
This exhibition on the former concentration camp site presents the biographies of twenty women at the places where they put up resistance.
View of the camp grounds with barrack rows 1 and 2 of the Ravensbrück women's concen-tration camp and camp road 1 (“Lagerstraße 1”) in between. The photo was taken from the clock tower of the SS headquarters (“Komman-dantur”). The roof of the garage building can be seen in the foreground, with the chimneys of the prisoners' kitchen behind it.
The H-shaped interconnected barracks at the front left are the prisoners' infirmary built in 1939. It was called the “sickbay” (“Kranken-revier” or “Revier”) in reference to sickbays in military barracks. Between 1943 and 1945, more and more barracks were taken over for the infirmary. Eventually, one fifth of all accommodation barracks were assigned to the infirmary by the SS.
The photo was taken around 1940 and is part of the so-called SS album.
Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Ravensbrück/SBG; Photographer unknown