Hermine Braunsteiner

Hermine Braunsteiner
Braunsteiner during her time in the SS
Born(1919-07-16)July 16, 1919
Vienna, Republic of German-Austria
DiedApril 19, 1999(1999-04-19) (aged 79)
Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Other namesMare of Majdanek
(Stute von Majdanek)
Criminal statusDeceased
SpouseRussel Ryan
MotiveNazism
Conviction(s)Austria
Crimes against humanity
West Germany
Murder (1080 counts)
Accessory to murder (102 counts)
TrialMajdanek trials
Criminal penaltyAustria
3 years imprisonment
West Germany
Life imprisonment
SS career
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service / branch Schutzstaffel
Years of service1939–1945
RankSS Helferin
AwardsKriegsverdienstkreuz 2. Klasse, 1943
Other workHotel and restaurant worker
Housewife

Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan (July 16, 1919 – April 19, 1999) was a Nazi Austrian SS Helferin and female camp guard at Ravensbrück and Majdanek concentration camps, and the first Nazi war criminal to be extradited from the United States to face trial in West Germany.[1][2] Braunsteiner was known to prisoners of Majdanek concentration camp as the "Stomping Mare" and was said to have beaten prisoners to death, thrown children by their hair onto trucks that took them to be murdered in gas chambers, hanged young prisoners and stomped an old prisoner to death with her jackboots.[3][4][5]

Braunsteiner was convicted for her complicity and collaborating in murders of over 1,000 people during the Holocaust. She was sentenced to life imprisonment by the District Court of Düsseldorf on April 30, 1981. She was released on health grounds in 1996, and died three years later.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference DHM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference MusTolerance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NaziWhoWho was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Martin, Douglas (December 2, 2005). "A Nazi Past, a Queens Home Life, an Overlooked Death". New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTmag2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Procesy zbrodniarzy (Trials of the war criminals) 1946–1948". Wykaz sądzonych członków załogi KL Lublin/Majdanek (The listing of defendants). KL Lublin. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2013.