Ravensbrück is a textbook example of the complexity in the relationship between gender and genocide. This article can be an opportunity for self-guided work around unpacking latent ideas on gender and violence. We've included some discussion prompts below https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55661782

Women are often the centre of genocidal attacks. Partly because the killing women in this manner is transgressive to societal norms, but also as an attack against the persecuted group's fertility. Why do you think that is important to their attackers?

Women in the genocidal group are often conscripted into violence in a way that both fortify them to the group while preserving their otherness from male leadership. Violence offers them liberation & oppression through the sacrifice of other women. What motivates them?

Elite women often opt out of responsibility in genocidal conflicts (either as liberators or persecutors) on the grounds of womanhood, maternity, or claims of the innate peacefulness of femininity. How do you think the intersection of class, wealth, and gender play a role here?

After a genocide, the legal and monetary recovery is almost exclusively the prevue of men while women are often tasked to heal community trauma and be reconciliators. What is gained and what is lost in this approach?

Note the focus on the physical appearance of the female Ravensbrück guards. Beyond sexual attraction what values does society place on Eurocentric beauty? Why do we have a hard time accepting that pretty people can do terrible things?

Calling the Ravensbrück female guards monsters is a way of othering them. Not to hurt them but to protect the viewer that sees too much of themselves in these women. What does it mean for ordinary people to do evil? How are you vulnerable? What are you doing to counter it?