Which Ravensbruck Commandant was more despicable, Koegel or Suhren?

First Ravensbruck Commandant Max Koegel

Second Ravensbruck Commandant Fritz Suhren

Writing my novel Lilac Girls, which includes scenes at Ravensbruck Concentraion Camp, I had to get to know these two men. But even still it’s a tough choice to say which was worse.

A former souvenir salesman, Koegel started his Nazi career as adjutant to the Dachau concentration camp commander in 1937. He then became Commandant of the labour camp for women in Lichtenburg which became Ravensbrück Concentration Camp. In 1942 he became Commandant of Majdanek Concentration Camp and was involved in the installation of gas chambers there. From 1943 to 1945 he was commander of Flossenbürg Concentration Camp. After the war Koegel evaded arrest until June 1946. Once in custody he committed suicide by hanging in his prison cell.

Fritz Suhren replaced Koegel as Commandant of Ravensbrück in 1942. His instituted the policy of exterminating the prisoners through working them hard and feeding them little. As Ravensbrück Commandant, Suhren provided inmates to Dr. Karl Gebhardt for experimentation. Suhren initially objected to this, mainly because he needed the inmates for work, and he complained to Berlin about the practice. But Suhren was overruled  and was forced to apologise to Gebhardt and supply him with the prisoners anyway. Also, the Ravensbruck gas chamber was built and operated on Suhren’s watch.

Suhren evaded capture after the war and posed as a beer factory worker in Munich for a while, but later came to trial for his time as Commandant of Ravensbruck and was hanged in 1950.

Hard to say which one was worse, really. They both facilitated unspeakable horrors. At least both ended up paying for their crimes.