When the war ended, the world demanded justice. And for Elisabeth Becker and Gerda Steinhoff, two of the most brutal female Nazi guards, that justice came swiftly—and without mercy.
Both women served at the Stutthof concentration camp, where they oversaw the mass murder of thousands of prisoners, including women and children. Becker, a secretary-turned-SS guard, actively participated in the killings, while Steinhoff, known for her cold, merciless demeanor, personally selected victims for the gas chambers. These weren’t just women following orders—they were enthusiastic enforcers of Nazi terror.
Their reign of cruelty ended in 1945 when Soviet and Polish forces captured Stutthof. After a swift trial, both were sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. Unlike the Nuremberg executions, their punishment was far from clinical—it was raw, public, and brutal.
On July 4, 1946, Becker, Steinhoff, and other convicted Nazi guards were led to the gallows in full public view in Gdańsk, Poland. The execution method? Short-drop hanging, a method that ensured slow strangulation instead of instant death. Witnesses reported that Steinhoff, just 23 years old, was visibly terrified, her bravado shattered in the face of death. Becker, only 22, reportedly collapsed and had to be carried to the gallows, a stark contrast to the cold authority she once wielded over her victims.
When the trapdoors opened, their bodies convulsed violently as they struggled for air. The very women who had condemned others to horrific deaths now faced a fate just as merciless.