Therese Brandl
Therese "Rose" Brandl was born on February 1, 1902 in Staudach, Austria. In March 1940 she entered Ravensbruck to officially begin her training under SS-Oberaufseherin Maria Mandel. She quickly rose through the ranks there and became a Rapportaufseherin (Report Leader). Her main task was to count women at roll call and hand out punishments.
In March 1942, Therese was one of several SS-women to be assigned to Auschwitz I camp in occupied Poland. Her jobs there included watching over women in the sorting sheds and as a Rapportaufseherin. In October 1942, Therese was moved to the newly opened Auschwitz II camp at Birkenau. That same month a new Oberaufseherin named Maria Mandel arrived from Ravensbruck and former SS-Oberaufseherin Langefeld was sent back to Ravensbruck.
At Auschwitz Therese soon rose through the ranks and became a Erstaufseherin (First Guard) alongside Margot Dreschel and Irma Grese. In the summer of 1943, Therese received a medal from the Reich for her good "conduct" in the camps. In November 1944, with the approach of the Red Army, Therese was sent to the Muhldorf subcamp of Dachau along with Mandel. There she was demoted to Aufseherin.
Brandl ultimately fled from Muhldorf on April 27, 1945, weeks before the arrival of the US army. On August 29, 1945, the US army arrested the former SS woman in the Bavarian Mountains of Germany and sent her to a holding camp to await questioning. In November 1947 she was tried along with Alice Orlowski, Luise Danz, Maria Mandel and Hildegard Lachert in a Krakow courtroom. She was found guilty of selections and hanged on December 22, 1947.
Referenced By
Hildegard Lachert
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