In order to defend oneself against the brutal injustices of the SS and survive imprisonment, self-empowerment, courage, stubbornness and resistance were needed. At the same time, any resistance could endanger the prisoners. If they were discovered, they faced severe punishment or even death. Nevertheless, some women were not deterred by these risks: they sabotaged work in the armaments industry, refused to take orders from the SS and smuggled documents out of the camp in an attempt to preserve proof of the crimes committed by the SS.
The ways in which women were able to put up resistance depended on the time of imprisonment and the prisoner‘s rank in the camp hierarchy. Those stigmatised by the SS as criminals or antisocials were less likely to experience solidarity from their fellow prisoners. As opposed to this, an influential function in the camp could be applied to benefit fellow prisoners. However, social differences and national prejudices between the various groups often prevented solidarity.
This exhibition on the former concentration camp site presents the biographies of 20 women at the places where they put up resistance.
