Punishments for Resistance
Women were tortured in many other ways besides through slave labor and starvation. As a punishment for any signs of resistance or sabotage, women were brutally and violently attacked. Often times they would be attacked by the SS dogs, and at the least women would be sent to dingy, contricting, cells of the bunker. One bunker was made especially for punishing campers. Heinrich Himmier, head of the German Police, ordered whippings beginning April 1942. Criminal prisoners were told to perform these punishments, and they were given extra rations in return (The Bunker).
A testimony from Don Krausz on Resistance in Ravensbrück :
…Many people have accused the Jews of going to their deaths like sheep.
The expression is “like lambs to the slaughter”. There was resistance in those
camps. We didn’t have guns, but you were not there to cooperate with the
Germans. Alright, we were children, Otto and I. We made up our minds that if
we found any gold or diamonds, the Germans would never get it. We would
hide it, we would bury it, if necessary, we would flush it down the toilet, but no
way were we going to go and help the German war effort (Yad Vashem).
…Many people have accused the Jews of going to their deaths like sheep.
The expression is “like lambs to the slaughter”. There was resistance in those
camps. We didn’t have guns, but you were not there to cooperate with the
Germans. Alright, we were children, Otto and I. We made up our minds that if
we found any gold or diamonds, the Germans would never get it. We would
hide it, we would bury it, if necessary, we would flush it down the toilet, but no
way were we going to go and help the German war effort (Yad Vashem).