Erna Petermann was a high ranking female overseer at two Nazi concentration camps during the closing of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Little is known about Erna Petermann, other than that she trained at the men's camp at Mittelbau-Dora

Mittelbau-Dora

Mittelbau-Dora was a Nazi Germany labour camp that provided workers for the Mittelwerk V-2 rocket factory in the Kohnstein, situated near Nordhausen, Germany....

 sometime in 1944. The SS

Schutzstaffel

The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...

 promoted Peterman to the rank of Lagerführerin (Female Camp Commandant) under a male commandant. Later, Peterman was transferred as Female Camp Commandant to the Gross Werther subcamp in the Harz Mountains. When Gross Werther was liberated by the Allies, Petermann fled the camp and went into hiding. Her whereabouts were not located and therefore it was not possible to question her regarding possible involvement with war crime

War crime

War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...

s. Her subsequent history and post-war activities remain unknown as of 2010.