Death

Death was omnipresent at Ravensbrück. Tens of thousands died of hunger, disease, exhaustion from hard labor, or the consequences of medical experiments.

From 1941, Ravensbrück also served as an execution site: countless women were executed with firearms. In early 1945, the SS set up a provisional gas chamber in a barrack next to the crematorium, where some 5,000 to 6,000 prisoners were gassed.

Upon the loss of loved ones, those still living were denied a personal process of mourning. The degradation and mistreatment extended beyond death, as the corpses were treated by the SS like annoying trash.