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Elisabeth Becker (20 July 1923 – 4 July 1946) was a Nazi
After working in the camp for four months, Becker fled on 15 January 1945 and returned home to Neuteich. Three months later, on 13 April, Polish police arrested her and placed her in prison to await trial.
The first Stutthof trial began in Danzig on 31 May 1946, with five former SS women and several kapos as defendants. Becker, along with ten other defendants, was found guilty and sentenced to death. She had confessed to selecting at least 30 female prisoners to be gassed, but later retracted her confession.
Becker sent several letters to Polish president
concentration camp
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
overseer in World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. She was convicted at the Stutthof trials of crimes against humanity and executed.
Life
Becker was born in Neuteich, Danzig (todayNowy Staw
Nowy Staw (; ) is a small town in northern Poland on the Święta river in the Żuławy region, with 3,766 inhabitants (2022), situated in Malbork County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. The name of the town means ''New Pond''.
History
The oldest ...
, Poland), to a German family. In 1936, aged 13, she joined the League of German Girls
The League of German Girls or the Band of German Maidens (, abbreviated as BDM) was the girls' wing of the Nazi Party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only legal female youth organization in Nazi Germany.
At first, the League consis ...
. In 1938, she became a tramway conductor in Danzig. In 1940, she began working for the Dokendorf firm in Neuteich, where she was employed until 1941, when she became an agriculture assistant in Danzig.
Camps
In 1944, the SS needed more guards at the nearbyStutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) in the territory of the German-an ...
, and Becker was called up for service. She arrived at Stutthof on 5 September 1944 to begin training as an ''SS-Aufseherin'', or overseer. She later worked in the Stutthof SK-III women's camp, personally selecting (Selektion
"Selection" (German language, German: ') is the name given to the process of designating inmates either for murder or Forced labour under German rule during World War II, forced labor at a Nazi concentration camps, Nazi concentration camp.
The ...
) women and children for the gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.
History
Donatie ...
.
Post-war
After working in the camp for four months, Becker fled on 15 January 1945 and returned home to Neuteich. Three months later, on 13 April, Polish police arrested her and placed her in prison to await trial.
The first Stutthof trial began in Danzig on 31 May 1946, with five former SS women and several kapos as defendants. Becker, along with ten other defendants, was found guilty and sentenced to death. She had confessed to selecting at least 30 female prisoners to be gassed, but later retracted her confession.
Becker sent several letters to Polish president Bolesław Bierut
Bolesław Bierut (; 18 April 1892 – 12 March 1956) was a Polish communist activist and politician, leader of History of Poland (1945–1989), communist-ruled Poland from 1947 until 1956. He was President of the State National Council from 1944 ...
requesting that her sentence be commuted. The court had recommended that Becker's sentence be commuted to 15 years on the grounds that her actions had not been as severe as those of co-defendants
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one jurisdi ...
Gerda Steinhoff or Jenny-Wanda Barkmann. Becker had been at the camp for the shortest amount of time. No pardon was issued, and she was publicly hanged on 4 July 1946 at Biskupia Górka along with the ten other condemned SS supervisors and kapos.
In popular culture
* In the play ''Maidens'', written and directed by Kenley Smith, Becker is portrayed by Megan Dianne DeWald.See also
*Female guards in Nazi concentration camps
(pl. ; ; ) was the position title for a female guard in Nazi concentration camps. Female camp personnel were members of the auxiliary organization, which served the (SS-TV) in a limited capacity as women were not formally recognized as membe ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Elisabeth 1923 births 1946 deaths Executed German mass murderers Executed German women Executed people from Pomeranian Voivodeship German people convicted of crimes against humanity Female guards in Nazi concentration camps Female mass murderers Holocaust perpetrators in Poland People executed for crimes against humanity People from Nowy Staw People from the Free City of Danzig Naturalized citizens of Germany Stutthof trials executions