The lurking hypothetical planet
Opera singer Elisabeth Schwarzkopf claimed not to be involved with the Nazi party, other than doing so as part of her job. Though it has been speculated that she was an active party member. The soprano died in 2006, aged 90.
Hanna Reitsch was in fact one of the last people to meet Hitler alive, in April 1945. After the war, Reitsch got into gliding and broke multiple world records. She died in 1979 at the age of 67.
The screenwriter is best known for the sci-fi classic 'Metropolis' (1927), directed by her husband, Fritz Lang. Thea von Harbou was also a member of the Nazi party. She died in 1954, aged 65.
The photographer and director is best known for producing Nazi propaganda, including the 1935 film Triumph des Willens ('Triumph of the Will').
Despite being a supporter of the Nazi regime, Riefenstahl claimed not to be aware of war crimes, including the Holocaust. "I was one of millions who thought Hitler had all the answers. We saw only the good things; we didn't know bad things were to come," she said in an interview. Leni Riefenstahl died in 2003, aged 101.
Hanna Reitsch was an accomplished German aviator. Reitsch was responsible for testing many of the aircraft used during World War II, as well as other military projects, including the V1 flying bomb (a cruise missile).
Margarete Himmler (left) was the wife of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. She was not accountable for her husband's crimes, but was still classified as a beneficiary of the Nazi regime. Margarete Himmler died in 1967, aged 73.
Lina Heydrich is best known as the wife of the head of the Reich Security Main Office, and high-rank Nazi party official, Reinhard Heydrich.
Lina Heydrich defended the actions of her late husband, who was one of the architects of the Holocaust, until her death in 1985, at the age of 74.
Carin Göring was Hermann Göring's first wife. She married one of the most prominent members of the Nazi party in 1923. She died of a heart attack in 1931, aged 42.
The couple had six children together. On May 1, 1945, in order to avoid surrendering to the Soviets, the couple injected their five daughters and their son with morphine, and then took their own lives with cyanide. Magda Goebbels was 43.
Luftwaffe (Air Force) Commander-in-Chief Hermann Göring married again, this time with actress Emma Johanna Henny "Emmy" Göring. She was Hitler's hostess at several state functions. She served one year in prison after the war ended and died in 1973, aged 80.
Magda Goebbels was the wife of the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. She was a prominent member of the party and a supporter of Nazi ideology. Magda Goebbels was informally known as the "First Lady of the Third Reich."
Eva Braun is one of the most famous women of Nazi German because of her relationship with Adolf Hitler. It's believed the two tied the knot officially just a few hours before they died. Braun was the Führer's partner until his death.
Gertrud Scholtz-Klink was the leader of the National Socialist Women's League (NS-Frauenschaft). She once said that "the mission of woman is to minister in the home and in her profession to the needs of life from the first to last moment of man's existence."
Koch was known to keep body parts of dead prisoners as souvenirs. She would skin them or remove organs and make pieces for her private collection. Ilse Koch hanged herself at Aichach women's prison in September 1967, aged 60.
Grese was convicted of war crimes, and in 1945 became the youngest woman to be executed under British law in the 20th century. She was 22.
Ilse Koch, aka "The Witch of Buchenwald," was a sadistic war criminal who took advantage of her husband's job overseeing Nazi concentration camps (Buchenwald and Majdanek).
Irma Grese worked at both the Ravensbrück and Auschwitz concentration camps. The "Hyena of Auschwitz," as she was known, infamously worked alongside former SS-Hauptsturmführer Josef Kramer, aka the "Beast of Belsen."
Dorothea Binz raised through the ranks and became a Stellvertretende Oberaufseherin (Deputy Chief Wardress) at Ravensbrück concentration camp. Binz is said to have been ruthless. She was sentenced to death in the Hamburg Ravensbrück trials. She died aged 27.
Elisabeth Volkenrath worked at several Nazi concentration camps, including Ravensbrück, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Bergen-Belsen. Volkenrath was convicted of war crimes in the Belsen trial and was executed. She was 26.
Jenny-Wanda Barkmann was an Aufseherin ("overseer") at the Stutthof concentration camp. Barkmann's mercilessness earned her the nickname "Beautiful Specter." She was executed by hanging for her crimes, at the age of 24.
Elsa Ehrich was a Schutzstaffel (SS) guard in several concentration camps, including Kraków-Płaszów and Majdanek. Ehrich was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. She was sentenced to death and died aged 34.
Gerda Steinhoff was a Schutzstaffel (SS) overseer in the Stutthof SK-III women's camp. Steinhoff was publicly hanged, alongside other war criminals following the Stutthof trial. She was 24.
Herta Ehlert began her career at Ravensbrück concentration camp and then moved to the Majdanek camp, and later Kraków. Ehlert served a 12-year sentence and died in 1997, aged 92.
Braunsteiner was the first Nazi war criminal to be extradited from the US to West Germany to be trialed. She was sentenced to life imprisonment but released in 1996 due to poor health. Braunsteiner died in 1999, aged 79.
Hermine Braunsteiner was a SS Helferin who served as a camp guard at the Ravensbrück and Majdanek concentration camps. The "Stomping Mare," as she was known by prisoners, was infamous for being ruthless. In 1981, she received a life sentence, but her failing health led to her release in 1996. She died in 1999, aged 79.
Mandl was believed to be involved in the murders of over 500,000 prisoners. Maria Mandl was sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted of crimes against humanity. She was 36.
The Austrian SS-Helferin was one of the high-ranking officials at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.
Herta Bothe was a SS-Aufseherin camp guard at both the Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. Bothe was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, but was released earlier. She died in 2000, aged 79.
Irmgard Huber was the the head nurse at one of the killing facilities where the involuntary euthanasia program Action T4 took place. It's estimated that around 15,000 Germans, most of whom suffered from some sort of mental or physical disability, were killed under the program. After the war she served 12 years for her crimes, dying much later in her early eighties.
Gertrud Scholtz-Klink was eventually arrested after the war and released from prison in 1953. On several occasions she continued to demonstrate her support for Nazi ideology. Scholtz-Klink died in 1999, aged 97.
The daughter of Heinrich Himmler and Margarete Himmler testified at the Nuremberg trials, but never renounced Nazi ideology. She died in 2018 at the age of 88.
While men dominated the Nazi party higher ranks, many women also left their mark in Nazi Germany—some of them a very dark one indeed. Under the Nazi regime, women had to abide by a number of rules and comply with the ideology, but many went a lot further and committed numerous atrocities. Some lived to tell the story, while others, not quite.
From concentration camp guards to the wives of infamous party members, in this gallery you'll get to know the notorious women of Nazi Germany. Click on for more.
On April 30, 1945, Braun and Hitler took their own lives to avoid being captured by the Red Army. Eva Braun and Adolf Hitler were together for over a decade.
Sources: (History Today) (Grunge) (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
The complex roles of women in Nazi Germany during WWII
Some were famed for their cruelty
LIFESTYLE History
While men dominated the Nazi party higher ranks, many women also left their mark in Nazi Germany—some of them a very dark one indeed. Under the Nazi regime, women had to abide by a number of rules and comply with the ideology, but many went a lot further and committed numerous atrocities. Some lived to tell the story, while others, not quite.
From concentration camp guards to the wives of infamous party members, in this gallery you'll get to know the notorious women of Nazi Germany. Click on for more.