The Merciless Stutthof Guard Awarded the Iron Cross: Gerda Steinhoff
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After Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, the Stutthof concentration camp grew into a vast system of imprisonment, forced labour, and mass murder. Among the guards who served there was Gerda Steinhoff, a woman from Danzig who joined the camp system in 1944 and quickly gained a reputation for brutality.
Assigned to several Stutthof subcamps, Steinhoff was accused of abusing prisoners, including women and children, and taking part in selections that sent inmates to the gas chambers. Despite the worsening military situation facing Nazi Germany, she was awarded the Iron Cross in January 1945 for her service as a camp overseer.
This story examines the origins of Stutthof, the persecution of Jews and Poles under German occupation, Gerda Steinhoff's role within the camp system, and the fate that awaited her after the war. Captured in 1945, she was tried during the First Stutthof Trial, found guilty of war crimes, and ultimately faced justice in 1946.
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