Ruth Elfriede Hildner (1 November 1919 – 2 May 1947) was a guard at several

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Hildner was conscripted into camp service in July 1944, arriving at

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...

to be trained as a camp matron. Hildner, 24 years old, entered the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

in September 1944 as an '' Aufseherin''. Next she was sent to an Agfa Camera Werke-connected subcamp at

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

; she eventually served in several subcamps, including

Hennigsdorf Hennigsdorf () is a town in the district of Oberhavel, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated north-west of Berlin, just across the city border, which is formed mainly by the Havel river. History The municipality shared its borders with the form ...

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

and

Haselhorst Haselhorst () is a locality in the borough of Spandau in Berlin. It is located between Siemensstadt and the Old Town of Spandau and is separated from the Hakenfelde locality by the River Havel. Overview The manor of Haselhorst was incorporate ...

. In December 1944, she arrived at

Helmbrechts Helmbrechts () is a town in the district of Hof, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Southern edge of the Frankenwald, 20 km southwest of Hof. History The first documented mention of Helmbrechts dates back to 1232. Township was gran ...

, a tiny subcamp of Flossenbürg located near

Hof, Germany Hof () is a town on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconian region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions. The town has 47,296 inhabitants, th ...

. There, she was feared by the camp's inmates, both Jews and non-Jews. In April 1945, the guards at the small camp evacuated the women in the face of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. Hildner was one of several guards on the

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convent ...

who took part in mistreatment and murder of several young girls with her baton. She also accompanied the march into Zwodau, another subcamp of Flossenbürg, located in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Several days later, the march departed for western Czechoslovakia. In early May 1945, the SS men and female overseers fled the march site. Hildner melted into the hordes of refugees, escaping temporarily, but was recognized by Czechoslovakian police in March 1947, arrested, and put in prison.

Trial and execution

On 2 May 1947, aged 27, she was tried in the Extraordinary People's Court in

Písek Písek (; german: Pisek) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Písek is colloquially called "''South ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, found guilty of war crimes and hanged the same day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hildner, Ruth Elfriede 1919 births 1947 deaths Place of birth unknown Dachau concentration camp personnel Executed German women Executed Nazi concentration camp personnel Flossenbürg concentration camp personnel Nazis convicted of war crimes Executed German people Nazis executed by Czechoslovakia by hanging Ravensbrück concentration camp personnel Female guards in Nazi concentration camps

Trial and execution

See also

References