Ravensbrück Concentration Camp

Key Points 

Establishment
Ravensbrück was established in 1939 and became operational in May 1939. It was the first major concentration camp for women and served as a place of detention for female political prisoners, Jews, Roma and Sinti, and other groups considered undesirable by the Nazis. In April 1941, the SS authorities established a small men's camp adjacent to the main camp.

Inmate Population
Over its years of operation, an estimated 130,000-132,000 women and children were imprisoned at Ravensbrück from over 30 countries; the greatest number were from Poland. Approximately 20% were Jewish. 

Camp Administration
Aside from the male SS administrators, the camp staff included only female guards assigned to oversee and discipline the prisoners. These female guards were not members of the SS, but were members of the so-called "female civilian employees of the SS." Beginning in 1942, Ravensbrück also served as one of the main training camps for female SS guards.

Conditions
The conditions at Ravensbrück were brutal, characterized by overcrowding, inadequate food, forced labor, and poor sanitation. Many women suffered from malnutrition, disease, and harsh treatment by the guards. Physical and psychological abuse was rampant.

Medical Experiments
Ravensbrück was the site of inhumane medical experiments conducted on female prisoners, including tests on sterilization, infectious diseases, and other unethical procedures. These experiments often resulted in severe pain, permanent physical damage, mutilation, and death.

Forced Labor
The SS required prisoners to perform forced labor, primarily in agricultural projects and local industry, such as textile factories, where goods such as prisoner uniforms, SS uniforms, other clothing garments and straw items (baskets, mats, handbags) were produced in extremely difficult conditions. By 1944, Germany increasingly relied on forced labor to produce armaments for the German war effort. They faced long hours, inadequate breaks, and harsh treatment from supervisors. Ravensbrück became the administrative center of a system of over 40 subcamps with over 70,000 predominantly female prisoners. The male prisoners were forced to carry out hard labor, such as building extensions to the main camp and new sub-camps, and managing the camps' gas chambers.