Grese continued on her rampage of torture and death. Dora Szafran testified at the Belsen trail that, “Grese had beaten a girl very severely.” She and the other camp supervisors maintained their daily selections, beatings, and humiliation. She attempted to maintain control in a situation that quickly spiraled out of her control and lead to the complete destruction of the Nazi regime. She extended her reign of terror on to Bergen-Belsen. One victim named Helene Klein stated, “Grese beat them with a riding-whip she always had with her.”
In addition to these, the inmates of Belsen endured starvation as bad or worse than at Auschwitz. Ilona Stein testified, “In Belsen…she made the prisoners stand for hours without food, even if it was cold, …show more content…
Irma Grese especially studied the court with an air of insolence and contempt. The only time she displayed any emotion at all is when her sister Helene Grese took the stand in her defense. She remained Nazi through and through even up to her execution on December 13, 1945. Irma Grese never gave an explanation or justification for her actions. She simply looked around the court with a cold eye and silently dared anyone to accuse her of wrong-doing. Historians and Psychologist alike are left to put together the pieces of her life. From the evidence left they must draw their own conclusions as to why this young girl left such destruction and pain in the wake of her short …show more content…
Irma Grese fully believed that she had done no wrong in killing and torturing the prisoners under her control. Professor Staub explains, “In the end, there may be a reversal of morality. Killing the victims becomes the right, moral thing to do.” After her training at Ravensbrück under Dorothea Binz, she would have become more and more immune to the plight of her victims. Staub also states, “they come to see their victims as less than human and to exclude them from the moral realm.” Irma Grese called prisoners the names of animals disassociating them with human beings. This is interesting because as she disassociates the prisoners with humans, she is the one who actually becomes more inhumane. Many of the perpetrators on trail for crimes against humanity after the Holocaust claimed they were simply following orders. Stanley Milgram performed a study, done at Yale University, that concluded, “Ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure, even to the extent of killing an innocent human being.” While this may be true for some of the SS members, Irma Grese never claimed to be following
In addition to these, the inmates of Belsen endured starvation as bad or worse than at Auschwitz. Ilona Stein testified, “In Belsen…she made the prisoners stand for hours without food, even if it was cold, …show more content…
Irma Grese especially studied the court with an air of insolence and contempt. The only time she displayed any emotion at all is when her sister Helene Grese took the stand in her defense. She remained Nazi through and through even up to her execution on December 13, 1945. Irma Grese never gave an explanation or justification for her actions. She simply looked around the court with a cold eye and silently dared anyone to accuse her of wrong-doing. Historians and Psychologist alike are left to put together the pieces of her life. From the evidence left they must draw their own conclusions as to why this young girl left such destruction and pain in the wake of her short …show more content…
Irma Grese fully believed that she had done no wrong in killing and torturing the prisoners under her control. Professor Staub explains, “In the end, there may be a reversal of morality. Killing the victims becomes the right, moral thing to do.” After her training at Ravensbrück under Dorothea Binz, she would have become more and more immune to the plight of her victims. Staub also states, “they come to see their victims as less than human and to exclude them from the moral realm.” Irma Grese called prisoners the names of animals disassociating them with human beings. This is interesting because as she disassociates the prisoners with humans, she is the one who actually becomes more inhumane. Many of the perpetrators on trail for crimes against humanity after the Holocaust claimed they were simply following orders. Stanley Milgram performed a study, done at Yale University, that concluded, “Ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure, even to the extent of killing an innocent human being.” While this may be true for some of the SS members, Irma Grese never claimed to be following