Hertha Bothe is the warder of women's concentration camps

For many, the concentration camps of the Third Reich remained the most terrible memory in their lives. The horrors that were going on outside their walls can not be conveyed in simple words, let alone explain, relying on morality. At the same time, the Third Reich shamelessly tortured not only men, but also women and children. A heartless guard only exacerbated the situation of prisoners.

Remembering the past, it is safe to say that Hertha Bothe was one of the most horrific warders of the time. On her account, not one dozen ruined, crippled and broken lives.

Hertha Bothe: biography of the early years

Hertha was born in the small town of Teterovo on January 8, 1921. At that time it was the territory of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (one of the republics of Germany). Her parents were local entrepreneurs who owned a wood processing factory.

From an early age Hertha helped her father in production. Perhaps, it was because of her hard physical work that she grew up to be a big and strong girl. Rumor has it that it was higher than many local men, which allocated it against the background of other townspeople.

Upon reaching adulthood, in 1939, Hertha joined the Union of German Girls. Due to its strength and endurance, it becomes one of the best representatives of this movement. In particular, she repeatedly took first place in competitions in athletics, for which she was awarded with diplomas.

The beginning of the Second World War

Like most Germans, Herta Bothe gladly accepted the news of the beginning of hostilities. For her, this was a turning point in the history of Germany - the time of her great triumph. Naturally, the young girl wanted to help her state in this war, and therefore got a job in one of the military hospitals.

According to official data, she worked as a nurse from 1940 to 1942. It would seem that everything led to the fact that Herta Bote will become a person who saves lives of other people. However, in 1942 she was offered a new, more promising job, and she agreed without hesitation.

German concentration camps

With the advent of the war, the concentration camps of the Third Reich began to quickly fill with new prisoners. This increase in prisoners led to the fact that the government had to quickly start building new prisons. Consequently, it was necessary to find those who will follow the order in their territory.

It should also be remembered that in Germany a rigid line between female and male concentration camps was established. Thus, only women of the same sex could guard the girls, regardless of whether they were war criminals or civilians taken prisoner. Therefore, beginning in 1940, Germany began to actively recruit women-overseers, including Hertha Bote.

"Stuttgof Sadist"

In one of the quiet evenings of 1942, an officer of the Third Reich came to visit Herte. The purpose of his visit was a tempting offer, promising good monetary and ideological benefits. In his eloquent speech, he noted that war criminals had become a real catastrophe for Germany, and the country desperately needs those who will help solve this problem.

Bothe almost immediately accepted the offer of the officer. And in a few days she was sent to an internship in the concentration camp Ravensbrück. Here, a young German woman was explained the basis of prison laws, stressing that prisoners can not be counted as full-fledged people. Eventually, literally in one month, Herta Bote of the nursing savior turned into a warden-executioner.

However, Hertha arranged a real bacchanal on arrival at the Stutthof concentration camp in 1942. Surviving prisoners described her as an unbalanced, aggressive and malicious person with obvious sadistic inclinations. So, the warder could beat the captive women half to death just because they looked sideways at her.

In addition, Herta Botha independently selected prisoners for gas chambers. At the same time, the tortures of conscience did not touch her at all. And if you believe the witnesses, she at all experienced a certain pleasure from what could decide the fate of people. Such behavior led to the fact that the story was remembered by Herta as a "Stutthof sadistic", which killed not one hundred people.

Marsh of death

In the winter of 1944, an active offensive of Soviet troops began, which is why the Germans had to turn their concentration camps at a rapid pace. Naturally, in such a turmoil about the fate of the captives, few cared - they just drove into one line and forced to go forward. Many prisoners died on the way from the cold, hunger and bullets of the Germans. That is why such a transition from place to place was called a march of death.

In the early summer of 1944, Herta Botha was transferred to the Bromberg-Ost concentration camp. Because of his remoteness from the front, he remained in a state of relative calm for a long time. Only at the end of January 1945 the news of the approach of the Soviet troops forced the warders to drive the prisoners to their death march. Thus, on February 26, 1945, Herta Bote arrived in Bergen-Belsen, one of the last concentration camps in Germany.

Unfortunately, the liberation forces arrived in the camp only on April 15, 1945. But even so they were able to capture the majority of German officers and guardians who guarded the temporary prison. Among them was Herta Botha, who humbly awaited her fate.

The further fate of the Stutthof Sadist

Like many fascists, Bertha was tried in the Belsen trial. Alas, at that time against it was not so much evidence, because of what the verdict was mitigated. Therefore, Bote was sentenced to only 10 years in prison. In addition, the German came out much earlier, and to be more precise, on December 22, 1951.

Hiding away from prying eyes, she spent quite a calm and measured life. Only in old age did reporters find it to get a truthful interview. But even after many years, Herta Botha never repented of her sins. She only said that it was people who blamed the concentration camps for everything. And as for supervisors, they simply executed the received orders. She died on March 16, 2000, when she turned 79 years old.