Red Army Nurses: The Unsung Heroes of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp

Researching my novel Lilac Girls, in which some scenes take place in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp for women, I got to know one of the largest and most organized groups at the camp, the the Russian nurses and doctors captured by the Germans on the battlefield during WWII. In the memoirs of Ravensbruck survivors, these women (many in their teens) were often described as incredibly capable and able to bring about much positive change when they arrived at the camp.

Ravensbruck was terribly overcrowded when the Red Army prisoners arrived and they banded together to take charge of the Revier (the camp medical clinic) and other parts of the camp that needed help. (Can’t say much more, since a scene in my novel hinges on a surprise these women bring about.) Since the Nazi camp staff relied on the prisoners themselves for the day to day operation of the camp, this injection of Russian help was lifesaving for many.

Unlike some of the prisoners of other nationalities, many of whom had come from privileged backgrounds, arrested in cities like Paris and Prague, the Red Army nurses were used to battlefront conditions and used their solidarity to survive and help others. Allowed to keep their Russian-issued leather boots, they were often seen walking in formation, with a leader at their front even during what little free time they had on Sundays.
No doubt this solidarity helped many of them to survive Ravensbruck, not an easy feat, since toward the end of the war, before Ravensbruck was liberated by the Red Army, the camp staff was killing increasing numbers of prisoners in a makeshift gas chamber.

Sadly, many Ravensbruck prisoners were suspected by Stalin of being Nazified or of being spies once the war was over, simply because they were on German soil and were imprisoned after liberation. Such a tragic fate for such valient women.