‘Were you raped?’

Wartime rape has always been used as a way for one side to violate what is perceived as the other’s property, its women. Not so in Germany. In Nazi Germany, rape was, in principle, banned, as interracial relations were forbidden by law. In practice, however, things were different.

Luckily, no one in our group was subjected to rape, and for a long time I was not aware that it had happened elsewhere in the camps. It was not until after the war that I found out. I met girls who had dreadful stories to tell.

In order to maintain morale among the SS soldiers, brothels were established — nicer ones for the officers, and more basic for the soldiers. Jewish girls were sent there, and if you wanted to stay alive you had to obey. After a day’s hard labour at the worksite, a beautiful girl could be picked up in the evening and taken to the brothel, only to be returned to work the following morning.

Others had to serve there around the clock. These girls did not last long. There were, however, fortunate girls who could use their womanliness to make a soldier fall in love with them. A girl in this position could have a fairly decent life alongside her protective soldier, especially if he was high in the pecking order.

A high-ranking SS officer could choose a girl to run his household, and she would be excused from the hard labour outside. But even in those cases there was no guarantee that the girl would survive in the uncertain, irrational world of Nazism.