Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Thursday, January 26
    Trending
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on January 26th
    • History Short: Who is the Octomom?
    • This Day in History on January 25th
    • History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh
    • Headline: The Doomsday Clock Has Moved Closer to Midnight Than Ever Before!
    • Headlines: 2023 Oscar Nominations Released!
    • This Day in History on January 24th
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Society»Crime»December 13, 1945: The Hyena of Auschwitz (aka The Beautiful Beast) is Executed
    Crime

    December 13, 1945: The Hyena of Auschwitz (aka The Beautiful Beast) is Executed

    Major DanBy Major DanDecember 13, 2016Updated:June 26, 202023 Comments5 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    Auschwitz

    A Brief History

    On December 13, 1945, Irma Ida Ilse Grese, age 22, was executed in accordance with her sentence of death for the crime of committing War Crimes  (Crimes Against Humanity) for her service as a concentration camp guard at Ravensbruck and Auschwitz Nazi death camps during World War II.

    Digging Deeper

    The apparently attractive young lady thus became the youngest female executed by British authorities during the 20th Century.

    Irma Grese and Josef Kramer in prison in Celle in August 1945

    Irma was born in 1923 to a dairy working family in Germany, but her mother committed suicide by drinking acid in 1936, after finding out her husband was having an affair.  Irma’s father remarried and probably joined the Nazi Party.  A somewhat troubled girl, Irma quit school at age 14 and was deeply involved (obsessed) with a Nazi program for girls called the League of German Girls.  She attempted to become an apprentice nurse, but could only find work at an SS sanatorium.   Irma also found work as a dairy helper, but took the opportunity of getting a job as a concentration camp guard at Ravensbruck in 1942.  Apparently enthusiastic about her job, she quickly rose to the second highest rank a female guard could hold and transferred to Auschwitz  in 1943 where she was involved in selecting which inmates would go to the gas chambers.

    Camp inmates learned to hate and fear Irma, who dressed as stylishly as possible and took great pains to prepare her makeup and feminine appearance.  Irma was known to deviate from picking the sickest inmates for death, and instead choosing any female that retained a semblance of her beauty.  Irma was accused at trial of taking sadistic pleasure in the beatings and general savaging of prisoners, including torture and attacking prisoners with guard dogs.  Witnesses testified that Irma often wore heavy boots and carried a whip and pistol, randomly shooting prisoners as she saw fit.

    Young survivors at the Auschwitz concentration camp, liberated by the Red Army in January 1945

    Irma was subjected to a 53 day trial conducted under British jurisdiction, and was one of only 3 female concentration camp guards executed, despite many others being accused of similar crimes.  At her trial Irma claimed she was sent to camp duty against her will.  Along with the 3 females sentenced to death, 8 male guards from Auschwitz were also sentenced to death and executed.  Of all these, only Irma remained defiant of her captors.  Her last word before being hanged was “schnell!” meaning “hurry up.”

    Another sordid side story to Irma Grese is that she apparently was quite popular with the SS officers and guards (males), and had relations with some of them, reputedly even Dr. Josef Mengele, the notorious sadistic camp doctor.  Irma reportedly forced an inmate doctor to abort Irma’s baby by one of these Nazis, and Irma planned on a career as a movie actress after the war.  In a bizarre twist on her wish to be in movies, Irma was the inspiration for the title character Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS, a 1975 Canadian film.

    Fortunately, Grese and many of her fellow murderous concentration camp guards and staff members faced justice and were either executed or jailed, but not so fortunately many of these sickos also escaped, including Josef Mengele who fled to South America to live out his life.

    Despite incredibly convincing mountains of evidence, some people still deny the Holocaust.  Question for students (and subscribers): Do you know of any reasons why people deny that the Holocaust occurred?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Jenkins, Robert.  Irma Grese & Other Infamous SS Female Guards: The Secret Stories of Their Holocaust & Auschwitz Atrocities Revealed.  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.

    Jennings, Raymond.  Irma Grese & Auschwitz: Holocaust and the Secrets of the The Blonde Beast.  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.

    Livingston, Mike.  Irma Grese: The Untold Stories of Hitler’s most Brutal Female SS Guard.  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.

    The featured image in this article, a mugshot of Bergen-Belsen guard Irma Grese (1923-1945) at Celle awaiting trial, August 1945, was created by the United Kingdom Government and is in the public domain, because it is one of the following:

    1. It is a photograph taken prior to 1 June 1957; or
    2. It was published prior to 1968; or
    3. It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created prior to 1968.

    HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide (ref: HMSO Email Reply)
    More information.

    See also Copyright and Crown copyright artistic works.

    A similar photo can be found in the Imperial War Museum collection as BU 9700.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleDecember 12, 844: Kings Die Young in Stupid Ways (and Have Goofy Names)
    Next Article December 14, 835: Chinese Plot (Sweet Dew) to Massacre Eunuchs Fails
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: Who was the First National Leader Assassinated by Firearm?

    January 23, 2023

    History Short: Athletes and PEDs

    January 17, 2023

    History Short: What is the Most Popular Rifle in America?

    January 13, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)

    January 26, 2023

    This Day in History on January 26th

    January 26, 2023

    History Short: Who is the Octomom?

    January 26, 2023

    This Day in History on January 25th

    January 25, 2023

    History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh

    January 25, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.