Johanna Bormann | |
|---|---|
 Mugshot of Bormann in August 1945, while she was awaiting trial | |
| Born | (1893-09-10)10 September 1893 |
| Died | 13 December 1945(1945-12-13) (aged 52) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction | War crimes |
| Trial | Belsen trial |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
Johanna Bormann (misspelled:Juana Bormann); 10 September 1893 – 13 December 1945)[1] was a Germanprison guard at severalNaziconcentration camps from 1938. She wasexecuted as awar criminal atHamelin after a court trial in 1945.[2]
Bormann was born on 10 September 1893 inBirkenfelde, East Prussia (nowGermany).[3] Not much in known about her early life, but she was raised in the Catholic faith.[3]
At her trial, Bormann said she had joined theAuxiliary SS, on 1 March 1938, as a civilian employee[4][page needed] "to earn more money". She first served at theLichtenburg concentration camp inSaxony under SSOberaufseherinJane Bernigau with 49 other SS women.[citation needed] She worked in the camp kitchens.[3]
In 1939, she was assigned to oversee a work crew at the newRavensbrück women's camp nearBerlin. In March 1942, Bormann was one of a handful of women selected for guard duty atAuschwitz inoccupied Poland. Short in stature, she was known for her cruelty. Victims called her "Wiesel" (weasel) and "the woman with the dogs".[3]
In October 1942, Bormann went toAuschwitz-Birkenau as anAufseherin. Her supervisors includedMaria Mandel,Margot Dreschel, andIrma Grese. Bormann was eventually moved to Budy, a nearby subcamp where she continued her abuse of prisoners.[citation needed]
In 1944, as German losses mounted, Bormann was transferred to the auxiliary camp at Hindenburg (present-dayZabrze, Poland) inSilesia. In January 1945, she returned to Ravensbrück.[3] In March, she arrived at her last post,Bergen-Belsen, nearCelle, where she served underJosef Kramer,Irma Grese andElisabeth Volkenrath (all of whom had served with her in Birkenau). On 15 April 1945, theBritish Army took Bergen-Belsen, finding over 10,000 corpses and 60,000 survivors. The liberators forced all SS personnel to carry the dead.[citation needed]
Bormann was later incarcerated and interrogated by the British, then prosecuted at theBelsen Trial, which lasted from 17 September 1945 to 17 November 1945. The court heard testimony relating to murders she had committed at Auschwitz and Belsen,[5] sometimes unleashing her "big bad wolfhound"German shepherd on helpless prisoners. She denied all of the charges, only admitting to slapping prisoners with her hands to discipline them.[3]
She was found guilty, andhanged (along with Grese and Volkenrath) on 13 December 1945. Her executioner,Albert Pierrepoint, later wrote:
"She limped down the corridor looking old and haggard. She was 42 [sic] years old standing only a little over five feet. She was trembling as she was put on the scale. In German she said: 'I have my feelings'."[6][page needed]
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