Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
Episode: "Inside Concentration Camp Brothels"
Host: Dr. Kate Lister
Guest: Dr. Robert Sommer (author of The Concentration Camp Brothel: Forced Sexual Labor Under Nazi Rule)
Date: October 21, 2025
Main Theme / Purpose
This profoundly difficult episode explores a grim and often overlooked chapter of Holocaust history: the existence and function of forced brothels within Nazi concentration camps. Host Kate Lister interviews historian Dr. Robert Sommer, whose meticulous research has revealed the stories of women forced into sexual labor and the complex dynamics of power, shame, and survival within the camps.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Introduction & Content Warning
- [00:59] – Kate Lister opens with a serious warning about the sensitive and disturbing nature of the episode, which includes discussions of rape, violence, genocide, and sexual abuse.
- These brothels are a rare and taboo subject, rarely discussed even among Holocaust historians.
2. How Dr. Robert Sommer Came to His Research
- [05:25] – Sommer’s research began after a formative visit to Auschwitz, where a survivor casually pointed out the brothel’s location, upending the common understanding that such facilities served only guards or that they didn’t exist.
- “I was shocked. …It was the beginning of a lot of research. I went to 70 archives, I interviewed 30 survivors.” (C, 05:25)
- The history of camp brothels has been overshadowed by disbelief, shame, and the incomprehensibility of sexual exploitation amid systematic extermination.
- Sommer’s work identified over 85% of the women forced into these brothels by name.
3. The Paradox of Nazi Sexual Policy
- [08:53] – While the Nazi regime outwardly persecuted prostitutes and promoted puritanical values, in reality, they tightly controlled and expanded the sex industry, especially as a means to supervise and exploit sexuality for the state’s purposes.
- “It’s more taking over, control over entire sexuality....on one side, you have the value of the family...and on the other side, they also have the duty to satisfy men’s sexuality.” (C, 09:23)
- Brothels were established not for the pleasure of guards, but as incentives to increase productivity among specific “privileged” prisoners, mostly through forced prostitution of non-Jewish inmates.
4. Function and Structure of Brothels
- [13:28] – Only "elite" prisoners—‘functionary’ inmates with privileged status—were permitted access to brothels as a supposed motivational reward for hard labor (less than 1% of the camp’s male population).
- “Jews were at any time excluded from the privilege to go to the brothel. I mean, they were there to die.” (C, 13:28)
- [16:32] – The elite, or ‘prisoner functionaries’, controlled access to brothels; regular prisoners were typically unaware they existed.
5. Selection and Experience of Women Forced into the Brothels
- [22:18] – Most women were selected from Ravensbrück (the principal female camp). The promise of early release was used as coercion, but rarely honored.
- “Of course, there was nothing voluntary about it because the SS also gave them the false promise that they would be released after half a year in the brothel.” (C, 22:18)
- Women were predominantly non-Jewish (German, Polish, and some Eastern Europeans); no evidence supports Jewish women being forced into these camp brothels, despite persistent myths (“Joy Division”).
- Up to 214 women are believed to have been selected; in Auschwitz, two brothels existed, with comprehensive records supporting the non-Jewish selection.
6. Life and Conditions Inside the Brothels
- [26:29] – While appalling, conditions inside brothels were technically “better” compared to typical forced labor:
- Women had beds, showers, civilian clothing, and extra food, but at the price of sexual enslavement.
- "Everybody who survives the camp is a resistance fighter because surviving the camp is resistant to the Nazis.” (C, 27:07)
- Most women survived their time in the brothels—few died while in them, though many faced tragedy after the war.
7. Day-to-Day Operations and Procedures
- [29:24] – The process was bureaucratic and dehumanizing:
- Only approved prisoners with “bonus vouchers” could apply.
- Multiple layers of medical checks and permissions, culminating in a strictly policed 10–15 minute “session,” watched through peepholes by SS guards.
- “No shoes on the bed, no talking...and after 15 minutes, they opened the door.” (C, 32:21)
- The experience was universally described as clinical, humiliating, and “un-erotic.”
8. Complicated Emotions: Shame, Survival, and Memory
- [34:42] – After the war, most female survivors kept silent, fearing stigma, shame, and exclusion.
- “Rarely any woman ever talked about this. After the war, they tried to keep it quiet.” (C, 34:42)
- Women categorized as “antisocials” by the Nazis (many of whom were forced into the brothels) were not recognized as victims for decades—compounding the injustice.
9. Men’s Perspectives and Morality of Survival
- [39:37] – Reactions from male survivors ranged from shame to bravado, while some fell in love with the women—a complex array of responses from people enduring unimaginable stress.
- “Each man is different. …The one was, he went one time, he said, I only talked to the women. I couldn’t do anything. I wasn’t physically able. And he left.” (C, 39:37)
10. No Equivalent for Women Prisoners
- [42:13] – Brothels were for male prisoners only—no sexual incentives or reciprocal arrangements for women existed.
11. Remembering and Integrating This History
- [44:03] – Dr. Sommer emphasizes the need to integrate these stories into Holocaust discourse, not just for historical accuracy, but to ensure these women are finally acknowledged as victims.
- “You have to give them a voice. …We are facing a society which becomes less and more and more conservative and less and less aware of talking about the atrocities of Nazi Germany.” (C, 44:03)
- Only recently have the “antisocial” victims begun to be memorialized in Germany.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
“The fact that there were brothels there seems so shocking. …It just blows people’s minds when they learn that fact.”
— Kate Lister [07:36] -
“I was able to document most of the women, more than 85% of women by name who were in brothels. And I was able to talk to men also who admitted having been to the brothel in the camps and talked about it.”
— Dr. Robert Sommer [05:25] -
“We like to have them included in the discourse of the Holocaust. The discussion, the talking about the Holocaust gets less and less. Doesn't mean that we're not talking about the subject of forced labor, sex labor in the camps. The problem is we don't talk about the Holocaust anymore.”
— Dr. Robert Sommer [45:19] -
“Everybody who survives the camp is a resistance fighter because surviving the camp is resistance to the Nazis.”
— Dr. Robert Sommer [27:07] -
“There's nothing erotic about it.”
— Dr. Robert Sommer [32:23]
Important Timestamps
- [05:25] — Dr. Sommer recounts his introduction to brothel research.
- [09:23] — Nazi rationale behind forced prostitution in camps.
- [13:28] — Which prisoners were targeted as “clients”; exclusion of Jewish prisoners.
- [22:18] — Selection process and experiences of women forced into brothels.
- [26:29] — Comparative “privileges” and survival strategies.
- [29:24] — Detailed procedures for brothel visits.
- [32:21] — Clinical, dehumanizing routines.
- [34:42] — Women’s silence, stigma, and lack of recognition post-war.
- [39:37] — Male survivors’ varying responses.
- [44:03] — The need for memory and recognition.
Conclusion
This episode is a remarkable and respectful deep dive into a hidden history within the Holocaust—the story of camp brothels. Dr. Sommer’s work both personalizes and contextualizes the women’s ordeal, challenges persistent myths, and demands these stories be reclaimed as essential to understanding the full scope of Nazi atrocities.
For further reading, Dr. Sommer’s book is out now:
The Concentration Camp Brothel: Forced Sexual Labor Under Nazi Rule.
Dr. Sommer is also available on Facebook for further contact and updates on his research.