Hendon, David W. (David Warren)Wheeler, Lauren Elizabeth.2013-09-242013-09-242013-082013-09-24http://hdl.handle.net/2104/8861The profiles, training, and roles of Aufseherinnen portray women acting out a femininity which both contradicted and fulfilled Nazi ideals of womanhood. Additionally, they account for the two layers of reality—both ought and is—so common to the Nazi system. The individual narratives of former victims develop the picture of an Aufseherin more fully by depicting the overall "object-identity" of the female camp staff—that is, their identity as experienced by the inmates—and the overall role of femaleness in the Lager. Interestingly, narratives usually portray their guards as humans (is) instead of monsters (ought). This human status was, however, contradicted by the understanding of the female defendants throughout the war crimes trials. Trial transcripts and media coverage of the Belsen Trial reveal a lack of understanding of the role of women in the camp system, as well as a general influence of gender stereotyping on the incongruent verdicts and sentencing of female defendants. The identities of the Aufseherinnen were therefore experienced as strikingly different from those of male perpetrators.en-USBaylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.Holocaust.Nazi women.Female concentration camp guards.Aufseherin.Belsen trial.Auschwitz-Birkenau.Ravensbrück.Bergen-Belsen.Memory.Power structures.Jewish.Jewish women.Lager.Fénelon, Fania.Kramer, Josef.Grese, Irma.ThesisWorldwide access