Erna Wallisch
Encyclopedia
Erna Wallisch allegedly was a female guard
in two Nazi concentration camps
, and at one time was the seventh most wanted war criminal still at large by the Simon Wiesenthal Center
.
by her postal clerk father. At the age of 19, she joined the NSDAP and underwent training to become an Aufseherin, or female concentration camp guard.
for a year before she was transferred to the Majdanek
concentration camp in Lublin
Poland
. While in service at Majdanek, she met a Nazi guard named Georg Wallisch, and married him in 1944. It is alleged that she was a brutal guard, beating women and children on their way to the gas chambers and personally participated in the selections of inmates to be executed. Survivors described a then pregnant Wallisch beating a young boy to death saying, "The sweating, breathless face of that monster was something I will never forget."
tracked Wallisch down to a small flat in Vienna
, Austria
, as part of his research for an upcoming work titled Hunting Evil, about the pursuit of escaped Nazi war criminals. Though Wallisch would not talk to him and the Austrian government claimed that the statute of limitations
had expired on her war crimes, Poland has explored seeking an indictment against her. Though they had investigated Wallisch for her crimes in the 1970s, the renewed interest as well as evidence from Polish survivors, lead Austrian officials to commission a report on the crimes which had taken place six decades earlier. Before the report could be completed, the 86 year old Wallisch died in a hospital bed.
Female guards in Nazi concentration camps
Of the 55,000 guards who served in Nazi concentration camps, about 3,700 were women. In 1942, the first female guards arrived at Auschwitz and Majdanek from Ravensbrück...
in two Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
, and at one time was the seventh most wanted war criminal still at large by the Simon Wiesenthal Center
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center , with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter. According to its mission statement, it is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time...
.
Early life
Wallisch was born Erna Pfannenstiel, and raised in Eastern GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
by her postal clerk father. At the age of 19, she joined the NSDAP and underwent training to become an Aufseherin, or female concentration camp guard.
World War II
Wallisch first served as a guard at Ravensbrück concentration campRavensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
for a year before she was transferred to the Majdanek
Majdanek
Majdanek was a German Nazi concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland, established during the German Nazi occupation of Poland. The camp operated from October 1, 1941 until July 22, 1944, when it was captured nearly intact by the advancing Soviet Red Army...
concentration camp in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. While in service at Majdanek, she met a Nazi guard named Georg Wallisch, and married him in 1944. It is alleged that she was a brutal guard, beating women and children on their way to the gas chambers and personally participated in the selections of inmates to be executed. Survivors described a then pregnant Wallisch beating a young boy to death saying, "The sweating, breathless face of that monster was something I will never forget."
Post World War II
In 2007, author and journalist Guy WaltersGuy Walters
Guy Walters is a British author and journalist.-Life and career:Guy Walters was born in Kensington, London. A descendant of Richard Harris Barham and Edward Augustus Bond, he was educated at Cheam School, Eton College, Westfield College, University of London , and is studying for a PhD in history...
tracked Wallisch down to a small flat in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, as part of his research for an upcoming work titled Hunting Evil, about the pursuit of escaped Nazi war criminals. Though Wallisch would not talk to him and the Austrian government claimed that the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
had expired on her war crimes, Poland has explored seeking an indictment against her. Though they had investigated Wallisch for her crimes in the 1970s, the renewed interest as well as evidence from Polish survivors, lead Austrian officials to commission a report on the crimes which had taken place six decades earlier. Before the report could be completed, the 86 year old Wallisch died in a hospital bed.