Among almost two hundred female SS guards working in Auschwitz concentration camp between 1942 and 1945 only few were sentenced. The first legal act in Poland aimed at setting out legal procedures to chase and punish Nazi war criminals was the Decree of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (henceforth: PKWN) from August 31, 1944 “On the punishment of Nazi criminals for murdering and harassing civilians and members of military forces and punishing traitors of the Polish Nation.”

In order to bring major criminals who committed severe crimes on the occupied territory of Poland to justice and punish them, the Highest National Tribunal was established by the Decree from January 22, 1946. One of the first trials of the Tribunal in post- war Poland were the proceedings conducted against the former staff members of Auschwitz concentration camp. The trial took place in Cracow between November 24 to December 16, 1947.

Among forty defendants were also five former SS female guards extradited to Poland from the US and British Allied Occupation Zones in Germany on the request of Polish authorities on the grounds of Article 4 of the law issued by the Allied Control Council on the “Punishment of persons guilty of war crimes, crimes against peace and humanity”. Such individuals who showed extreme cruelty in the camp included: Luise Elisabeth Helene Danz, Therese Brandl, Hildegard Marthe Luise Lächert, Alice Elisabeth Minna Orlowski and Maria Mandl. None of them pleaded guilty. On the contrary, they tried to diminish their participation in the crimes, explaining that their attitude towards prisoners was decent.

The Tribunal gave no credence to the testimonies of the former guards and sentenced all of them on December 22, 1947. Alice Orlowski and Hildegard Lächert were sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment, Luise Danz to life imprisonment, Therese Bradl and Maria Mandl to death by hanging. Both capital penalties were carried out on the morning of January 24, 1948 in the Montelupich prison in Cracow.

Special Penal Courts established by the Decree of PKWN from September 12, 1944 were assigned to try the war criminals. The Courts were established to put the proceedings against war criminals on the fast track. With the end of military activities, the Special Penal Courts were abolished with the Decree from October 17, 1946 and Regional Courts took over their competence. Among many female SS guards working in Auschwitz concentration camp only fifteen were sentenced by Regional Courts to imprisonment.