Brothels at SS concentration camps: the most terrible details about the life of slaves. Brothel in Buchenwald

Just outside the infamous Auschwitz gate with the inscription “Work Makes You Free” lies one of the camp's lesser-known nightmare sites. To make prisoners work harder, Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, ordered the opening of brothels for them in the concentration camps of occupied Europe. The plan was adopted in October 1941. According to him, a prisoner who worked well could receive a ticket to a brothel as an incentive. The first brothel was established in 1942 in Mauthausen (Austria). It was followed by Ravensbrück, Buchenwald, Dachau and Flossenburg. In total, ten brothels operated in the concentration camps. The largest of them was located in Polish Auschwitz (Auschwitz), in block No. 24 next to the gate.
Auschwitz was the most powerful killing machine in history: about 1.1 million people died here. The plan to organize a camp brothel was embodied by SS man Siegfried Schwela, the chief camp doctor. He communicated the rules to the concentration camp doctors: both men and women in the brothel must be healthy, women must be sterilized, and only the missionary position can be used. In addition, the doors had to be equipped with peepholes, through which the guards had to ensure that the woman did not spend more than 15 minutes with the client. Of course, racial norms were also observed: Germans were supposed to go only to German women, Slavs - to Slav women. Russians and Jews were not allowed into the brothel.
Even before his plans were realized, Shvela was killed by Resistance fighters. However, in 1943, the plan was implemented by another SS doctor, Osvadb Kaduk.

The Auschwitz brothel was located in block No. 24 - in this house to the right of the gate.

Female prisoners (not Jewish, of course) were lured to the brothel with the promise of better living conditions and food. The girls, most of whom were barely over 20, served, on average, 6-9 men during the “visiting hour” - from 8 to 10 pm. Sunday was also a working day for them. In total, 21 women worked in the brothel.
Men who were allowed to enter the brothel were subjected to humiliating medical examinations. The SS doctor applied a special cream to their genitals. Even earlier, they were summoned throughout the camp to visit a brothel, where they were escorted by guards. Many of the “awardees” were so sick and exhausted that they were physically unable to take advantage of the opportunity provided.

“After the arrival of the new transport, the SS men came to the new female prisoners and said that they were looking for women for light work,” says historian Iga Bunalska. “Some later refused after learning what the “easy job” was, but others stayed. Then the doctors selected young and pretty women, who were sent to work in the establishment.”

Brothels operated not only in Auschwitz, but also in other camps. The picture shows an institution for prisoners in Buchenwald.

SS doctor Siegfried Schwela, who developed a detailed plan and instructions for creating a camp brothel.

“The brothels worked every day in the evenings, opening after verification. The brothel workers had warm housing, each had a separate room with decent furniture,” says Bunalska. “They received food from the SS kitchen and beautiful linen that came from warehouses where the belongings of murdered prisoners were stored. They received the necessary medical care. This made it much easier to survive in the camp. It must be said that the contrast between these women and the rest of the prisoners - hungry, ragged, exhausted, beaten - was striking.”

“The brothels were just another mockery of the SS,” says former prisoner Joseph Zhaina. “Anyone who thinks that this was a gift for prisoners simply does not imagine Auschwitz.” This was another example of the cynicism of the Germans, another example of humiliation.”
Another prisoner, Mieczysław Zajac, says: “Everyone was gathered on the parade ground. The boss proudly handed out the first coupons to the new brothel. He called out numbers and handed out coupons in front of the entire camp. One of the recipients was Professor Henryk Mianowski. He worked very well - he taught chemistry. He tried to explain that he would have preferred extra bread or soup, but was unsuccessful."
The coupons were distributed by the deputy head of the camp, the famous sadist Hans Aumeier. In 1948 he was hanged for war crimes.
Surviving prisoner Sofia Bator-Stepien recalled how the girl was lured into working in a brothel with the promise of an additional ration of bread. “When they announced that they were looking for volunteers for very light work, she volunteered,” recalls Bator-Stepien. — During the examination, the doctor asked her if she knew what kind of work she was talking about. She replied no. Then he said that it would be an easy job and she would have a lot of bread. He said: “You will have to communicate with men, and I will also perform a small operation on you so that you do not get pregnant.” They told her: “Think, you’re still young, maybe you’ll want to become a mother...” - but she answered that she doesn’t care about motherhood, she just wants bread.”

For many girls, working in a brothel was a chance for a life - or at least a better life. “We saw a girl in a beautiful blue dress with black braid, hairstyle, heels and makeup,” recalls Bator-Stepien. - We were dumbfounded. Makeup in Auschwitz?! Then she was fired - she was terribly upset and begged to be left in the brothel.”

Wilhelm Brass, who photographed women for documents, says: “They came to me, laughing, joyful. Everyone was very nice. They joked in front of the camera. Eight were Polish, seven were German. They were full of hope - the hope that this work gave them."
As historian Iga Bunalska says, German soldiers and even SS men also used brothels, although racial purity laws prohibited them from doing so.

“As far as we know, soldiers often used the brothel,” says Bunalska. “Of course, they did it illegally, perhaps by paying bribes to Oswald Caduc, who was in charge of the establishment.
Many women, after serving in the brothel, received bread positions in the camp, some of them survived the war. However, nothing is known about their fates, and it is unlikely that they told anyone about their experience. One thing is certain: working in a brothel gave them a chance to survive. Indeed, for many of them the choice was simple: either a brothel or a gas chamber in Birkenau.”
The brothels at Auschwitz were closed in January 1945, after the liberation of the camp.

76 years ago, Heinrich Himmler issued an order to organize brothels in concentration camps. The diabolical plan was designed to force prisoners to work harder for a “reward” in the form of sexual pleasures. Female prisoners were lured to the brothel with the promise of extra food and better living conditions. They served up to 20 men a day under the watchful eye of German guards.

Just outside the infamous Auschwitz gate with the inscription “Work Makes You Free” lies one of the camp's lesser-known nightmare sites. To make prisoners work harder, Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, ordered the opening of brothels for them in the concentration camps of occupied Europe. The plan was adopted in October 1941. According to him, a prisoner who worked well could receive a ticket to a brothel as an incentive. The first brothel was established in 1942 in Mauthausen (Austria). It was followed by Ravensbrück, Buchenwald, Dachau and Flossenburg. In total, ten brothels operated in the concentration camps. The largest of them was located in Polish Auschwitz (Auschwitz), in block No. 24 next to the gate.

Auschwitz was the most powerful killing machine in history: about 1.1 million people died here. The plan to organize a camp brothel was embodied by SS man Siegfried Schwela, the chief camp doctor. He communicated the rules to the concentration camp doctors: both men and women in the brothel must be healthy, women must be sterilized, and only the missionary position can be used. In addition, the doors had to be equipped with peepholes, through which the guards had to ensure that the woman did not spend more than 15 minutes with the client. Of course, racial norms were also observed: Germans were supposed to go only to German women, Slavs - to Slav women. Russians and Jews were not allowed into the brothel.

Even before his plans were realized, Shvela was killed by Resistance fighters. However, in 1943, the plan was implemented by another SS doctor, Osvadb Kaduk.

The Auschwitz brothel was located in block No. 24 - in this house to the right of the gate.

Female prisoners (not Jewish, of course) were lured to the brothel with the promise of better living conditions and food. The girls, most of whom were barely over 20, served, on average, 6-9 men during the “visiting hour” - from 8 to 10 pm. Sunday was also a working day for them. In total, 21 women worked in the brothel.

Men who were allowed to enter the brothel were subjected to humiliating medical examinations. The SS doctor applied a special cream to their genitals. Even earlier, they were summoned throughout the camp to visit a brothel, where they were escorted by guards. Many of the “awardees” were so sick and exhausted that they were physically unable to take advantage of the opportunity provided.

“After the arrival of the new transport, the SS men came to the new female prisoners and said that they were looking for women for light work,” says historian Iga Bunalska. “Some later refused after learning what the “easy job” was, but others stayed. Then the doctors selected young and pretty women, who were sent to work in the establishment.”

Brothels operated not only in Auschwitz, but also in other camps. The picture shows an institution for prisoners in Buchenwald.

SS doctor Siegfried Schwela, who developed a detailed plan and instructions for creating a camp brothel.

“The brothels worked every day in the evenings, opening after verification, the brothel workers had warm housing, each had a separate room with decent furniture,” says Bunalska. “They received food from the SS kitchen and beautiful linen that came from warehouses where the belongings of murdered prisoners were stored. They received the necessary medical care. This made it much easier to survive in the camp. It must be said that the contrast between these women and the rest of the prisoners - hungry, ragged, exhausted, beaten - was striking.”

“The brothels were just another mockery of the SS,” says former prisoner Joseph Zhaina. “Anyone who thinks that this was a gift for prisoners simply does not imagine Auschwitz.” This was another example of the cynicism of the Germans, another example of humiliation.”

Another prisoner, Mieczysław Zajac, says: “Everyone was gathered on the parade ground. The boss proudly handed out the first coupons to the new brothel. He called out numbers and handed out coupons in front of the entire camp. One of the recipients was Professor Henryk Mianowski. He worked very well - he taught chemistry. He tried to explain that he would have preferred extra bread or soup, but was unsuccessful."

The coupons were distributed by the deputy head of the camp, the famous sadist Hans Aumeier. In 1948 he was hanged for war crimes.

Surviving prisoner Sofia Bator-Stepien recalled how the girl was lured into working in a brothel with the promise of an additional ration of bread. “When they announced that they were looking for volunteers for very light work, she volunteered,” recalls Bator-Stepien. — During the examination, the doctor asked her if she knew what kind of work she was talking about. She replied no. Then he said that it would be an easy job and she would have a lot of bread. He said: “You will have to communicate with men, and I will also perform a small operation on you so that you do not get pregnant.” They told her: “Think, you’re still young, maybe you’ll want to become a mother...” - but she answered that she doesn’t care about motherhood, she just wants bread.”

For many girls, working in a brothel was a chance for a life - or at least a better life. “We saw a girl in a beautiful blue dress with black braid, hairstyle, heels and makeup,” recalls Bator-Stepien. - We were dumbfounded. Makeup in Auschwitz?! Then she was fired - she was terribly upset and begged to be left in the brothel.”

Wilhelm Brass, who photographed women for documents, says: “They came to me, laughing, joyful. Everyone was very nice. They joked in front of the camera. Eight were Polish, seven were German. They were full of hope - the hope that this work gave them."

As historian Iga Bunalska says, German soldiers and even SS men also used brothels, although racial purity laws prohibited them from doing so.

“As far as we know, soldiers often used the brothel,” says Bunalska. “Of course, they did it illegally, perhaps by paying bribes to Oswald Caduc, who was in charge of the establishment.
Many women, after serving in the brothel, received bread positions in the camp, some of them survived the war. However, nothing is known about their fates, and it is unlikely that they told anyone about their experience. One thing is certain: working in a brothel gave them a chance to survive. Indeed, for many of them the choice was simple: either a brothel or a gas chamber in Birkenau.”

The brothels at Auschwitz were closed in January 1945, after the liberation of the camp.

Buchenwald was a men's camp. The prisoners worked at a factory that was located a couple of kilometers from the camp and produced weapons. There were 52 main barracks in the camp, but there was still not enough space and many prisoners were placed in tents even in winter. Not a single person survived the cold.

In addition to the main camp, there was also a so-called “small camp”, which served as a quarantine zone. The living conditions in the quarantine camp were, even in comparison with the main camp, so inhumane that it is hardly possible to imagine.

On an area of several hundred square meters, about thirteen thousand people were housed, which accounted for approximately 35% of the total number of prisoners.

Towards the end of the war, as the German troops retreated, prisoners from Auschwitz, Compiegne and other concentration camps abandoned by the Nazis were transported to Buchenwald. By the end of January 1945, up to four thousand people arrived there every day.

Cannibalism flourished there

If we take into account the fact that the “small camp” consisted of 12 barracks, converted from stables with an area of 40 by 50 meters, it is not difficult to calculate that about 750 people lived in each barrack, and about 100 died daily. Their bodies were carried out every morning for roll call in order to receive their portions of food.

Those who were more or less on their feet were forced to work for the improvement of the “small camp”, although the portion for those kept in quarantine, as for those not working, was reduced to a piece of bread. Considering the inhumane conditions, it is not difficult to guess that relations between prisoners in the “small camp” were much more hostile than in the main one.

Cannibalism flourished there and many cases of murder for a piece of bread were observed. The death of a bunkmate was perceived as a holiday, since more space could be taken before the next transport arrived. The clothes of the deceased were immediately divided, and the now naked body was taken to the crematorium.

Treatment of the “quarantine” was limited to vaccinations carried out by medical staff, for example against typhus, but they further contributed to the spread of the disease, since the syringes were not changed. The most severe patients were killed with phenol.

Cruel experiments on prisoners

Many medical experiments were carried out on the prisoners, as a result of which most died a painful death. Prisoners were infected with typhus, tuberculosis and other dangerous diseases in order to test the effect of vaccines against the causative agents of these diseases. Diseases grew very quickly into epidemics due to overcrowding in the barracks, poor hygiene, poor nutrition, and also because these diseases were not treated.

In addition, in the camp from December 1943 to October 1944. experiments were carried out to study the effectiveness of various poisons. During these experiments, poison was secretly added to prisoners' food.

The experiments were documented in the patient observation log of SS doctor Erwin Ding-Schüler.

The camp paths were not reinforced and were slippery. Many prisoners wearing wooden shoes were injured. During the entire existence of Buchenwald, not a single person escaped from it, because the already small area of the camp was patrolled around the clock by four SS squads.

But the story of Buchenwald does not end with April 1945, when the camp was liberated. Soviet troops appeared behind the Americans, and the land of Thuringia, where the camp was located, retreated to the Soviet zone. On August 22, 1945, a new “Special Camp No. 2” was opened in Buchenwald.

The special camp existed here until 1950. It contained not only former members of the NSDLP, but also those who were accused of spying for former allies of the USSR or were seen as disloyal to the new Soviet regime.

Mass graves

Of the 28 thousand prisoners, 7 thousand people died from malnutrition and disease over the five-year life of the camp. In the GDR, the existence of “Special Camp No. 2” was kept silent, and only in 1990 the documents were made public. In 1995, steles with the numbers of dead prisoners were installed at the site of mass graves.

In 1951, a memorial plaque was erected on the territory of the former camp in memory of the participants in the camp Resistance, and in 1958 it was decided to open a national memorial complex in Buchenwald. People come there every day. German schools have a special program that includes compulsory history and a visit to Buchenwald.

Frightening data on sexual violence

For some of them, Buchenwald is the grave of relatives, for others it is the never-overcome nightmare of their youth. For others, it’s a story told at school and a school excursion. However, for all of them, Buchenwald is not a dead land, but an eternal and painful memory that forces the old to recount their experiences and emotionally awakens the young.

Relatively recently, even more frightening data was made public. In Germany, a hitherto little-known fact from the Nazi past has been made public. That is, historians and specialists, of course, knew about it, but it’s not very clever to talk about this even after 60 years.

Secret brothels in Buchenwald. Their existence in concentration camps was not written about either in Western or Eastern Germany, much less in the USSR. The very proximity of the words “brothel” and, say, “Buchenwald” looked blasphemous.

Former prisoner of Buchenwald, Dutchman Albert Van Dyck, dictates his memoirs about two years in a concentration camp: horrors experienced by many, and a separate chapter - untold by anyone.

Albert Van Dyck, former prisoner of the Buchenwald concentration camp:

“This is a camp with barracks, and there was a brothel there.”

The fact that there were brothels in the concentration camps, not for guards, but for prisoners, was reluctantly admitted by some. Van Dyck is the first to honestly say that he visited the Buchenwald brothel.

Albert Van Dyck:

“Most of the prisoners despised these women. But did they come there voluntarily? No".

A visit to the special barracks cost two Reichsmarks, or 10 daily earnings of a prisoner, despite the fact that only the best workers were paid. But Europeans in concentration camps were allowed to receive money from home.

Albert Van Dyck:

“The elders told me: aren’t you ashamed, your mother saved money for you, and you spend it on a woman? But I wasn’t ashamed: they wash you, shave you, give you clean clothes, you get a woman. That’s how I met Frida.”

For Van Dyck, this is the memory of the first naive love, and for historians and politicians, brothels seemed to spoil the picture of horror and heroism in the Nazi camps, places of mass murder and secret resistance.

The newsreels clearly show the numbers of prisoners of Nazi concentration camps, but they were shot on black and white film. There it is difficult to notice other insignia - multi-colored stripes.

In the memorial at the site of the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp, they seem to be in the very heart of the prisoners.

Political prisoners had red stripes.
Green - for criminals.
Blue - for migrant workers.
Pink - for homosexuals.
Yellow - for Jews.

Women for concentration camp brothels were recruited from the “black triangle” category - gypsies and antisocial elements.

It is believed that this was Himler’s idea: to separate hundreds of female concentration camp prisoners from others and set up brothels to increase labor efficiency. A photograph of the barracks was preserved in the Buchenwald photo album of the SS men. This is where the young Van Dyck visited.

Jews, Soviet prisoners, and criminals were not allowed there, but the physical condition of the rest was terrible - what kind of pleasure is there?! The privilege was enjoyed by a minority - barracks elders, clerks, cooks, orderlies.

Map of sexual violence in Europe during World War II: Wehrmacht brothels on all fronts are marked in green, in concentration camps in gray.

“Everyone was promised release after 6 months, but, of course, no one was released. Many returned to the women’s camp pregnant, many with syphilis,” says a former prisoner of the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Hundreds of prisoners in concentration camp brothels lived in shame after the war. The UN recognized military sexual violence as a crime against humanity only in the 21st century.

Insa Eschebach, director of the memorial of the former Ravensbrück concentration camp:

“Women, of course, did not talk about this after the war. It’s one thing to say: I worked as a carpenter or I built roads, and quite another thing to say that I was forced to work as a prostitute.”

More than 60 years after the war, it turned out that an entire chapter of its history was completely unknown. This is now an archive search. But maybe someone like Albert Van Dyck will still decide to talk about himself and break the last taboo of World War II.

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The plan was adopted in October 1941. According to him, a prisoner who worked well could receive a ticket to a brothel as an incentive. The first brothel was established in 1942 in Mauthausen (Austria). It was followed by Ravensbrück, Buchenwald, Dachau and Flossenburg. In total, ten brothels operated in the concentration camps. The largest of them was located in Polish Auschwitz (Auschwitz), in block No. 24 next to the gate.Auschwitz was the most powerful killing machine in history: about 1.1 million people died here.

The plan to organize a camp brothel was embodied by SS man Siegfried Schwela, the chief camp doctor. He communicated the rules to the concentration camp doctors: both men and women in the brothel must be healthy, women must be sterilized, and only the missionary position can be used. In addition, the doors had to be equipped with peepholes, through which the guards had to make sure that the woman did not spend more than 15 minutes with the client.

Of course, racial norms were also observed: Germans were supposed to go only to German women, Slavs - to Slav women. Russians and Jews were not allowed into the brothel.Even before his plans were realized, Shvela was killed by Resistance fighters. However, in 1943, the plan was implemented by another SS doctor, Osvadb Kaduk.

The Auschwitz brothel was located in block No. 24 - in this house to the right of the gate.

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Brothels operated not only in Auschwitz, but also in other camps. The picture shows an institution for prisoners in Buchenwald.

SS doctor Siegfried Schwela, who developed a detailed plan and instructions for creating a camp brothel.

“The brothels worked every day in the evenings, opening after verification. The brothel workers had warm housing, each had a separate room with decent furniture, says Bunalska. “They received food from the SS kitchen and beautiful linen that came from warehouses where the belongings of murdered prisoners were stored.

They received the necessary medical care. This made it much easier to survive in the camp. It must be said that the contrast between these women and the rest of the prisoners - hungry, ragged, exhausted, beaten - was striking.”

He worked very well - he taught chemistry. He tried to explain that he would have preferred extra bread or soup, but was unsuccessful."The coupons were distributed by the deputy head of the camp, the famous sadist Hans Aumeier.

In 1948 he was hanged for war crimes.Surviving prisoner Sofia Bator-Stepien recalled how the girl was lured into working in a brothel with the promise of an additional ration of bread. “When they announced that they were looking for volunteers for very light work, she volunteered,” recalls Bator-Stepien. — During the examination, the doctor asked her if she knew what kind of work she was talking about. She replied no. Then he said that it would be an easy job and she would have a lot of bread.

He said: “You will have to communicate with men, and I will also perform a small operation on you so that you do not get pregnant.” They told her: “Think, you’re still young, maybe you’ll want to become a mother...” - but she answered that she doesn’t care about motherhood, she just wants bread.”

The world community learned relatively recently that the Nazis created a network of brothels in concentration camps with the participation of female prisoners - in 2009, thanks to the book of the German cultural scientist Robert Sommer, “The Brothel in the Concentration Camp.” The researcher spent more than 9 years studying this issue, which remained unknown not only to the general public, but even to a narrow circle of historians of the Second World War.

Auschwitz-Birkenau - women's camp (May 1944)

The idea of creating such institutions belongs to Reichsführer SS G. Himmler, who was amazed by the system of incentives aimed at increasing production volumes in Soviet camps. True, brothels in Soviet camps were not used as an incentive. And Himmler believed that visiting camp brothels would increase the productivity of prisoners. According to his plan, the most productive prisoners were to receive incentive bonuses: cigarettes, cash or camp vouchers, easier conditions of detention, additional rations to the food ration and visits to the brothel.

In total, since 1942, 10 brothels were created in the concentration camps of Mauthausen, Gusen, Flossenburg, Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Monowitz, Dachau, Neuengamme, Sachsenhausen and Mittelbau-Dora. About 200 sex slaves worked there. The largest brothel operated in Auschwitz - 20 girls worked here.

Not every prisoner could end up in a concentration camp brothel. This right was possessed by the so-called “camp functionaries”: internees who were involved in internal security, and guards from among the prisoners. At first, brothels were open only to prisoners of German origin or representatives of nationalities that were part of the Reich, as well as to Spaniards and Czechs. However, later the service could be used by almost everyone except Jews, Soviet prisoners and ordinary internees.

Brothel in a concentration camp

The first brothel was opened in June 1942 in the Mauthausen concentration camp (Upper Austria). Its premises consisted of 10 small rooms in “barracks No. 1” with barred windows. Here, each woman had her own “workplace” - a separate room. It usually contained a table, chairs, a bed, a window and a curtain.

Room in a brothel at Buchenwald concentration camp

Brothel workers were selected from among female prisoners. This category included attractive women aged 17-35 years. About 60-70% of camp prostitutes were of German origin, usually from among the “antisocial elements.” Many of them had been involved in prostitution before entering the concentration camps, so they agreed to this work without any problems. At first, even in some brothels, they passed on their “professional skills” to girls who were inexperienced in this matter. Approximately 30-40% were recruited from among Poles, Ukrainians or Belarusians; Jewish women were not allowed to work in the camp brothels. Camp prostitutes had their own identification marks - black triangles were sewn on their sleeves.

The selection system was both voluntary and forced. A former employee of the Ravensbrück medical unit recalled that some women went to the brothel of their own free will because they were promised release after 6 months of work. In turn, the Spaniard Lola Casadel told how their headwoman in the Ravensbrück camp announced: “Who wants to work in a brothel, come to me. And keep in mind: if no volunteers show up, we will have to resort to force.”

Working in brothels for many women in concentration camps became the last hope for survival in this hell. “The most important thing is that we managed to escape from Bergen-Belsen and Ravensbrück,” said Liselotte B., a former prisoner of the Mittelbau-Dora camp. “The main thing is to survive.”

After selection, the “brothel workers” were brought to a men’s concentration camp, where special barracks were allocated for them. Usually, women who were exhausted after staying in their camps, so that they would not die from exhaustion, were placed in the infirmary, where they tried to bring them back to “human form” for 10 days. SS medical workers gave future prostitutes calcium injections, they took disinfectant baths, ate their food and sunbathed under quartz lamps.

Men who expressed a desire to visit a brothel had to obtain permission from the camp leadership, after which they bought an entrance ticket costing two Reichsmarks. For comparison, 20 cigarettes in the camp canteen cost 3 marks. Already directly at the brothel, clients waited in the waiting room while their details were checked. Then they underwent a medical examination, which included a superficial examination of the penis for signs of sexually transmitted diseases and preventive injections, then the person received the number of the room where he was supposed to go.

The fee was taken to compensate for the costs of arranging the establishments. And to a certain extent, this was successful, because in Buchenwald alone, in the first 6 months of operation of the brothel, they managed to earn somewhere between 14-19 thousand Reichsmarks. The money went to the account of the German Economic Policy Office. Of the two marks paid by the client, 50 pfennigs belonged to the prostitute. True, only German women could receive payment for their work. Himmler noted that “the money that these unfortunates manage to earn will be like a godsend in their old age.” During the day, a prostitute was supposed to receive 6-15 clients (the number varied depending on the camp).

Contracting a venereal disease in camp brothels usually meant death. True, the medical staff of these institutions tried to prevent illness with appropriate injections at the end of the working day and regular medical examinations. Visitors were given disinfectant ointments. In the camp brothels, clients were not given condoms - unlike in the military. Those who fell ill were isolated from the public and subjected to medical experiments, after which almost no one survived.

The Nazi leadership was very afraid of the spread of venereal diseases. Even on the eve of the war, Hitler noted that syphilis was one of the most dangerous diseases in Europe, which could lead to disaster. That is why experiments were carried out on prisoners in concentration camps to improve methods of treating these ailments. For example, in Auschwitz, all sick prostitutes from camp brothels were sent for experiments to block No. 10.

To a certain extent, these experiments of the Nazis were discussed at the Nuremberg trials, in particular, the Soviet side, during the presentation of evidence of Nazi atrocities in the section “Experiments on living people,” touched on this problem. The document states that in block No. 10 of Auschwitz, up to 400 prisoners were simultaneously held, who were experimented with in terms of sterilization (for men, castration) by X-ray irradiation. Women were placed between two plates with an ultraviolet field, one electrode was placed on the stomach, the other on the buttocks. The beams were focused on the ovaries, causing them to burn. In addition, women were artificially infected with cervical cancer, after which they tried to treat it (artificial pregnancy, forced childbirth, testing contrast agents for x-rays of the uterus).

Prostitutes of the Ravensbrück camp were involved in experiments with cooling the male body. The prisoner was immersed in cold water at a temperature of 39-48 degrees Fahrenheit, and then one or two women had to warm him up with their naked bodies.

Most experiments ended in the rapid and painful death of the subjects.

Although usually prostitutes rarely became pregnant (primarily due to great physical exhaustion and psychological stress), those who did become pregnant had to undergo an abortion procedure and could return to work after 5 weeks. Such women were also subjected to experiments with termination of pregnancy in various ways or at different stages. Individuals were allowed to give birth to determine how long the baby could live without feeding.

Experiments were also carried out on homosexuals in concentration camps with the aim of returning them to traditional sex life. The Reich elite feared the spread of homosexuality in German society no less than they feared sexually transmitted diseases, so they fought in every possible way against its manifestations. Homosexuality in Germany after 1935 was considered a criminal offense; men for such manifestations could receive from 3 to 10 years in prison. In 1935-1944, according to various estimates, from 50 to 63 thousand people (of which 4,000 were minors) were convicted of homosexuality.

The Nazi government tried to re-educate gays in prisons and concentration camps. The methods of this re-education varied - from beatings and starvation to forced sex with women. Thus, G. Himmler thought that gays could be “cured” by communicating with prostitutes. He suggested that the head of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where there were homosexual prisoners, place them in work groups with prostitutes, who were supposed to discreetly sexually excite them.

If someone reciprocated, then they were allowed to have sex with the woman. Another method of “treatment” required homosexuals to visit a camp brothel, where they were forced to have sex with women once a week. To prevent men from avoiding sexual intercourse, guards and the SS watched their actions through a peephole in the door of the room.

It was believed that in this way gays returned to a traditional sex life. Rudolf Hess, in turn, believed that hard work could “re-educate” gays. But this led to high mortality - in Buchenwald alone the mortality rate among homosexuals reached 50%. Another option for “treatment” was medical experimentation. In the same Buchenwald, such men were injected with the male hormone, because it was believed that the main reason for deviations in gay men was its deficiency in the body.

Captive women

By practicing forced prostitution in concentration camps, the Reich leadership humiliated women's dignity. After all, the one who had the strength to endure abuse in brothels had a greater chance of surviving thanks to better living conditions - unlike other women. Of course, those prostitutes who lived to see liberation were left with mental trauma for the rest of their lives. This is in fact, as Robert Sommer notes, “a new facet of Nazi terror.”