Franceska Mann and the myth of The Dancer of Auschwitz

On October 23 1943, 26 year old ballerina, Franceska Mann, transformed. Overnight she became the stuff of legend. Not through her deft pointe work or an ovation worthy performance, but because of her death.

That dark October day, Franceska, along with 1,700 over Polish Jewish people was dragged off a transit train and pushed through the gates of Auschwitz. You don’t need me to tell you what a death sentence that was. Franceska knew the odds, knew her time was up and she refused to go quietly into the night.

Franceska Mann

Franceska Mann was exceptional. A dancer at a night club in Warsaw, she was known for her talent and beauty. It was this that caught the attention of two of Auschwitz’s SS guards, Josef Schillinger and Wilhelm Emmerich.

Along with a large group of women, Franceska was led to the undressing room next to the gas chamber and told to strip. As the women undressed, the SS Guards, including Schillinger and Emmerich watched, their gaze soon honing in on Franceska. She noticed them watching and looked them directly in the eye.

She lent down to take off her shoe and the men started to approach. Then quick as a flash, Franceska attacked, using her high heel to beat a guard down. Seizing his gun, she shot. Killing Josef Schillinger and wounding Wilhelm Emmerich.

As the other SS guards bore down on the vulnerable women, they followed Franceska’s lead and fought back with everything they had. One woman reportedly bit off a guard’s nose, as machine gun fire tore through the room.

It lasted minutes. If that.

Most of the women lay dead, those that weren’t were taken outside and shot.

But their story lived on.

Artists interpretation of the shooting – not exactly accurate but you get the gist

Becoming a legend

The tale of Franceska Mann and the women that resisted spread like fire through the camp. It bought hope; the guards now knew there was the threat, however small, that the next time they struck, the prisoners might hit back. It was a grain of resistance and in this veritable hellscape, that was so needed!

Which is why Franceska’s story become mythologised. Feverishly passed around the prisoners, its details becoming blurrier and blurrier.

Soon enough, the story was that Franceska had performed a strip tease. Luring Schillinger and Emmerich towards her with a flash of thigh and seductively pulling her blouse away. Only when the two men were lulled into a sense of lusty security did she strike. Turning the tables on her abusers.

It’s this version of events that has prevailed. Through accounts of Auschwitz survivors and even those that were at camps miles away, yet had still heard the tale.

Though popular, many historians have agreed that this version is incredibly unlikely. Yes, there was an attack of Schillinger and Emmerich, but it’s highly unlikely it was precursor’d with some light stripping. It’s an embellishment and one we continue to glean onto.

But it’s not just the strip tease that’s been added on. There are arguments that it may not have been Franceska Mann, but another woman. In different tellings Francesca morphs into everything from a Greek dancer, to an actress and even a whole mob of women taking the guards down as a unit.

Though it’s now agreed it was most likely Franceska Mann who shot down Schillinger and Emmerich, it’s undoubtable that this incident took on a life of it’s own, becoming more fiction than fact.

BUT WHY?!? What’s with all this twisting and mythologising?

Well, the answer is simple and very bleak (this is the Holocaust after all).

Women in Auschwitz II, 1944

Surviving sexual abuse

To understand the root of this ever twisting tale we need to talk about the sexual treatment of women during the Holocaust.

The Nazi’s kept virtually no records of the rape and sexual abuse that went on inside concentration camps, however we now know that it happened. And it did so with horrifying frequency.

To be in a concentration camp meant you were immediately stripped of your human rights, made more vulnerable than you could ever have believed. For women, this also meant they were vulnerable to sexual attack and abuse.

One of the most notorious abusers was Josef Schillinger. 

Schillenger was by all accounts sadistic beyond even SS standards. Teaming up with his mate Wilhelm Emmerich, to wreak all kinds of horror on the prisoners under his watch.

And if you were in any doubt whether or not both men were the literal worst, here’s a quote from Wieslaw Kielar (a polish resistance fighter also imprisoned at Auswitchz) about what led the pair to Franceska Mann and the other women on that fateful October night:

‘Both of them slightly drunk, accompanied the transport to the crematorium. They even entered the changing room, guided either by thoughts of a little stealing or in anticipation of the sadistic enjoyment of watching the timid, defenceless, undressed women, who moments later were to die a painful death in the gas chamber.’

So it’s understandable then that the news of Schillinger’s death was met with celebration, especially when prisoners found out a woman had killed him.

The vulnerable had become ferocious. They’d bitten back and shown that there was a price to pay for the abuse dealt out to them. To women living not only with the constant threat of death, but of sexual assault too, this was hope beyond hope.

It’s no wonder, that in the subsequent game of Auschwitz whispers, the tale of Francesca Mann was not only embellished, but tailored into countless shapes that could be clung onto by each woman. She was hero when one was needed most.

Which is why it’s so important that this is all remembered when we tell the story of Francesca Mann and her resistance. Because what made her a legend wasn’t just her act of bravery, but the desperate hopes of thousands of others. And none of those women should ever be forgotten.

Further reading: Sexual Violence against Jewish Women during the Holocaust, by Sonja M. Hedgepeth and Rochelle G. Saidel. This book is incredible and really worth a read. Shedding light on this too often undiscussed chapter of history.

 

More like this: 

• The comfort women, the fight for the rights of WW2’s forgotten sex slaves 

• Hans Scholl: The Nazi poster boy turned resistance fighter 

• Meet the badass WW2 heroines you didn’t even know existed

 

 

 

4 Badass WW2 Heroines (you probably haven’t heard of)

The role of women in World War II was huge. From the Bletchley Park Codebreakers to the brave nurses that took to the battlefield to save lives by the thousand. Yet it’s only now that we’re discovering many of these stories.

That includes the lives of the 4 women we’ll be looking at today. Women who overcame thanks to their bravery, smarts and a unending determination. Seriously, these women’s stories, it’s inspirational badassery on steroids, that will have you shouting ‘why isn’t this a movie!?!’ 

So, Lets get started!!

*warning: This does get pretty intense and bleak in place…because.. well, it’s war.

1. Faye Schulman: The girl who would not be silenced

When Faye Schulman was 22 her entire family were murdered in a liquidation of a polish ghetto.

Faye alone was spared; thanks to her skills as a photographer, Which the Nazis made Faye use, by forcing her to develop pictures of their atrocities – including the murder of her family.

Determined to make sure people would know what happened to her family, Faye secretly kept a copy of the pictures.

Then she resolved to escape and do everything she could to fight the Nazi regime.

Faye Schulman

Faye miraculously managed to escape and she joined a band of partisan fighters, made up of escaped prisoners of war.

But, the group weren’t exactly convinced they wanted Faye around. Partly because she was the sole woman and partly because Faye had no military experience and was afraid of blood and guns.

Not exactly the ideal rebel fighter.

But Faye refused to give in. She worked her arse off, learning to shoot and training in combat.

Then when she realized that the nobody in the group had medical training, she overcame her fear of blood to self train as a nurse!

Faye with her fellow resistance fighters

Throughout her time with the partisans Faye saved countless civilian and military lives, thanks to her new medical skills. She also took part in dozens of missions and raids, to slow down the Nazi’s progress and rescue Jewish people.

However Fayes greatest accomplishment was her pictures.

Over 2 years, Faye took hundreds of pictures. She developed pictures under blankets, even burying her camera and film in the woods, to keep it out of enemy hands.

She was determined that people see the the atrocities being carried out and the resistance fighting back. As Faye put it:

‘I want people to know that there was resistance. Jews did not go like sheep to the slaughter. I was a photographer. I have pictures. I have proof.’ 

After the war Fayes pictures helped the world understand the atrocities of the Nazi regime and the unsung work of the resistance.

She continued working as a photographer and speaking out about her war experiences.

Faye with her camera that helped change the world

 

2. Noor Inyat Khan: The Spy Princess

In 1943, Noor Inyat Khan became the first female secret radio operator sent to Nazi occupied France. It was an incredible achievement, which was somewhat lessened by two things:

1. The average survival rate for the job was 6 weeks
2. Gentle, emotional and a children’s author, Noor was the last person you’d expect to take on such a deadly role…and survive. 

   

   Noor Inyat Khan

Noor had a lot of things going for her that made her the perfect spy! She was:

• ridiculously smart
• Bilingual
• Able to quickly work and adapt

BUT...she was also:

• Very sensitive and emotional
• Clumsy and scatterbrained
• Really visible for the enemy; a literal Indian princess…she kinda stuck out from the crowd

Not to mention that as a firm pacifist Noor refused to tell a lie or use any form of violence…both pretty vital skills for a spy!

So it’s not exactly surprising that British Intelligence weren’t desperate to get Noor in the field. But then the Nazis occupied France and everything changed for Noor.

Having spent her childhood in the France she was determined to do everything she could to protect its people.

So she did a complete 360; trained even harder, built up her skills and soon proved herself to be one of the most whip smart and focused people on the books of British Intelligence.

Yes Noor!!!

When Noor was dropped into Paris in 1943 she was ready; which was good…because within days of her arrival in Paris every other radio operator was captured by the Nazis.

Noor was now completely alone on enemy soil. But Noor stuck it out, knuckled down and to everyone’s surprise she fucking nailed it!

She ran an entire radio network solo, intercepted messages and passed along vital intel – all whilst constantly on the run from the Nazis.

When the British offered to evacuate Noor, she refused. Twice. Despite all the danger, she just wouldn’t leave her post unmanned.

The sweet gentle Princess that nobody thought would last a week, had proved herself to be a badass with bravery and smarts beyond comparison.

I’m just so damn proud

5 months after Noor started her work, her cover was blown after she was sold out. And so Noor found herself imprisoned by the Nazis.

But in typical Noor fashion, she refused to let that stop her doing her work.

Within hours of her capture, she snuck out her cell and was soon leaping across rooftops to freedom.

Sadly the escape bid didn’t work. She was caught and dragged back to her cell where she underwent intense interrogation. When she refused to say anything, the interrogation became merciless beating.

Still Noor said nothing.

So, she was kept shackled and barely fed in solitary confinement.  Her only contact, the soldiers who provided her with daily beatings.

This was Noors life for 10 months. Eventually Noor and three other agents were transferred to Dachau where they were to be executed.

Whilst the other agents were quickly dispatched, Noor was kept alive for one more day of torture, a last attempt at getting information.

Again she refused to give up any information. And so on the 13th September 1944, Noor was executed.

The last words of the woman that defied so many and saved even more:

‘Liberte’

 

3. Suzanne Spaak: mother of the resistance

Suzanne was one of those women who was just born to be a mum. A proud mother of 2, she lived for her children; filling their Paris home with laughter and love.

And then World War 2 hit…

Suddenly the world wasn’t so bright. Her home had been invaded and all around Suzanne, families were being torn apart by the new Nazi regime.

Suzanne found it harder and harder not to do anything. So in 1942 this housewife and mother joined the French Resistance.

Suzanne Spaak

The other members of the resistance weren’t overly thrilled at their new addition of a housewife and mother with no military experience. Sure she would be at best a failure and at worst another body for them to clean up.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

Suzanne was fearless. She refused to back down from any assignment and when operations went tits up it was Suzanne coming up with intelligence solutions to save thr day.

And Suzanne didn’t stop at proving the resistance wrong.

Determined to get as many Jewish people to safety as possible, she risked everything to get ration cards and fake IDs for Jewish families.

Then using skills she picked up as a Mum, she firmly reminded Paris’s religious elite and hospitals, that actually they were morally bound to protect and house those in need…so could they please get their shit together, do their damn job and start housing Jewish refugees! (basically ‘do your homework’ on a whole new level)

Suzanne still wasn’t done though.

She helped lead an operation to save more than 60 Jewish children who had been marked for deportation.

Hiding several in her own home, Suzanne risked her own families lives. Not only that, but she convinced others to do the same until all 60 children were saved.

I mean, just the definition of a badass mum

In 1943 Suzanne got wind that her arrest was imminent. She stayed calm (again, mum skills!) and passed along names for all the Jewish children and families she was yet to save, so that her work could continue.

Suzanne was arrested and in 1944 she was executed.

But her legacy lived on and thanks to her, countless Jewish children and families got out of Paris alive.

 

4. Nancy Wake: The fearless mouse

Nancy was a constant thorn in Hitler’s side. A glamorous gun toting spy with buckets of smarts and sass, she was soon no1 on the Gestapos most wanted list.

Nancy Wake, taking better pictures than you since 1942

Born in poverty in New Zealand, Nancy showed her steely determination from a young age.

She doggedly worked to make something of herself, training as a journalist and eventually marrying a French man and moving to Paris. There Nancy was forced to watch in horror as her new found home was taken by the Nazis.

Nancy immediately moved into action.

You see in her work as a journalist she’d witnessed Hitler’s rise first hand. Once on a trip to Vienna Nancy had seen Hitlers’ brown shirts mercilessly beat men and women in the street.

Nancy knew one thing – she sure as fuck wasn’t letting that shit happen – not in her home!

So Nancy risked it all and joined the French Resistance. Working as a courier and also rescuing RAF pilots, sheltering them and then at night getting them across the boarder and the fuck out of dodge. 

Soon Nancy had the nickname ‘the white mouse’, for her ability to run rings around the Gestapo. Sadly for Nancy they soon caught up with her.

The game of cat and mouse was over and the Gestapo were all set to capture Nancy… but then Nancy got word of the imminent arrest.

So she kissed her husband goodbye and went on the run.

Nancy never saw her husband again.

The Nazis raided their home, tortured her husband and after he refused to give her up, they executed him.

This only served to make Nancy pissed off and even more determined. She later said:

‘In my opinion, the only good German was a dead German, and the deader, the better. I killed a lot of Germans, and I am only sorry I didn’t kill more.’ 

Ok…maybe a little intense there Nancy

Nancy traveled to Britain where she became a Special Operations Executive. She was trained in guerrilla warfare and dropped back in France.

Here she lead thousands of Resistance fighters in successful battles to reclaim occupied towns. She raided supply lines, cut train lines and once cycled over 300 miles in 70 hours to replace lost wireless codes!

Basically Nancy did everything she could to piss of the Nazis and stop their progress; she even claimed to have killed an SS with her bare hands!By the end of the war Nancy was the most decorated allied woman. Dripping in medals from multiple countries!

But being Nancy she shrugged it off, sold the medals and lived comfortably off the cash for the rest of her live; saying:

‘There’s no point in keeping them… I’ll probably go to hell and they’d melt anyway’

 

This was really interesting! Where can I find out more? Well lets break it down for each of the ladies:

Faye Schulman: Faye has continued to talk about her experiences during WW2 and you can find an amazing video of Faye doing just that, HERE!

Noor Inyat Khan: There a few really great books on Noor, one of these is Spy Princess by Shrabani Basu, I think it does a really good job of showing Noor as a full person.

Suzanne Spaak: Urgh, there are no really good further reading sources for this one! However, in October 2017 a book on Suzanne is coming out, Suzanne’s Children: A Daring Rescue in Nazi Paris by Anne Nelson. So fingers crossed guys!

Nancy Wake: You are really spoilt for choice here! Russell Braddons, Nancy Wake, is an easy popcorn read on her (in fact several people in the Amazon comments initially thought it was a novel…) theres also a Docu-Drama on Nancy (the whole thing may currently be on YouTube…just saying)

How brothels built America

Fact: Sex workers helped build America. These women came to the Wild West/The Old West (whatever you want to go with) and smashed every expectation of womanhood.

They became business oligarchs, they built entire communities and forged their own independence.

It’s a one hell of a tale! But before we dive it it, let’s quickly knock out the basics:

How did the West come to be?

Around the mid 1800s there was a huge boom in the amount of land being built in the South West of America. Most of this land was built for mining. As new sources for coal and metal mining were discovered, towns sprung up overnight to house the influx of workers that appeared to mine it.

Suddenly you had entire towns with 1000’s of men and maybe a dozen or so women. Now you don’t have to be good at maths to see that the ratio here is a little off.

Having spotted the er…supply and demand issue, business minded women start arriving in these towns and setting up shop as sex workers.

Soon these women were earning in one day what they might otherwise earn in a week as a factory worker or clerk.

GOOD buisness

There were of course risks….a lot of risks. But in the Old West it was these women were effectively working at the same risk level as a working men had. Communities, rules and laws were still being worked out, which meant that murder, beating and work caused incidents/deaths we’re sadly not rare hazards for any gender or line of work!

Yes the risks were high, BUT the clients were many, the going was good and soon the cash was flowing!

So, women started opening their own brothels. This in turn led to women buying land, companies and eventually building business empires of their own.

The original boss bitches  

Soon entire towns revolved around one damn good brothel.

This wasn’t luck. The ladies running these brothels had business smarts for days. Seriously they could have smashed The Apprentice (and probably Donald Trump too…)

One of the best examples of this is Mattie Silks: 

Mattie Silks: admittedly looking v awkward here

A small town girl, Mattie opened her first brothel at just 19. This made her the youngest madam in America.

She invested her profits back into the business, as well as growing her income and holdings by buying real estate and land.

These buisness smarts meant that in just a few years Mattie was running one of Denvers most popular brothels. Patrons were greeted with luxury surroundings and a full orchestra – because this wasn’t just sex…it was Silk sex, and it was classy AF.

But Mattie didn’t stop at having a leading chain of high end brothels. She paid her staff a salary that made them some of the highest paid women in the country.

Yes Mattie pay it back!! 

OK, so, by now you might be thinking – sure these women created businesses that made them some of the richest women in the country and bought tons of new income to the growing West. But is that really building America? Don’t you need stuff like, schools, hospitals and churches, as well as places to have sexy time?

Why yes.

And they did that too.

These women had made themselves pillars in their communities. They weren’t just there for the money, they wanted to make a difference.

Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Diamond Jessie Hayman, opened her brothel doors to feed, clothe and shelter anyone that needed help. And Diamond Jessie was far from alone!

Here are just a few examples of how America’s sex workers made a difference:

Lou Graham, donated money to build up Seattle’s schools and also saved countless businesses and banks during a period of depression.

Anna Wilson’s will requested that her huge mansion be turned into Omaha’s first emergency hospital.

And former slave turned influential brothel owner, Mary Ellen “Mammy” Pleasant, campaigned tirelessly for the de-segregation of streetcars in San Francisco.

These women were doing way more for their communities than just providing cash and a good time. They were building them up, and turning them for shit holes to sustainable home steads!

Mary Ellen Pleasant

And you best believe these communities didn’t forget the women that helped make them!

In 1890, Wyoming refused to become a US state, if it’s women were not allowed to keep the vote (which they had been granted in 1869) saying:

‘We will remain out of the Union one hundred years rather than come in without the women’ 

Yes Wyoming!!! 

This was really interesting where can I find out more? I’d suggest checking out A Renegade History of the United States, by Thaddeus Russell (great name!), it has an amazing section on this.

Murder, megalomania and annoying little brothers: The life of Empress Lucilla

The life of Lucilla is one that can be read a myriad of ways and history has had a crack at all of them! She’s been a scheming bitch, a jealous scheming bitch and also an innocent (and occasionally scheming) maternal type. But as with anything, life isn’t that black and white. In fact the life of Lucilla is more shades of grey. Was she an innocent? No. Was she a stone cold bitch? No. Was she a schemer extrodinare? Hell yes!

The daughter of acclaimed Emperor Marcus Aerilius, Lucilla was just one in a line of Roman political powerhouses. As such she was quickly married off; with Daddy Emperor picking a suitably auspicious spouse…his co-ruler Lucius Verus (who FYI happened to be twice his young brides age…)

And so overnight, teenage Lucilla became Empress Lucilla.

Go get it Luci  via giphy

Going through puberty and finding your place at the helm of a global super power may not seem like a great pairing, but Lucilla blossomed in her new role.

Intelligent and charismatic she learned on the job. When her husband was away, she’d cover for him, picking up essential skills in diplomacy, negotiations and generally becoming a political badass in her own right. Soon Lucilla was one of the Roman Empires most powerful and influential women.

via giphy

But then Lucius Verus died and sans husband, Lucilla was stripped of her role as Empress.

Overnight all Lucilla’s power and influence turned to dust …the same could not be said for her younger brother, Commodus, who was set to become the first emperor in Roman history chosen because of birth right (being Marcus Aerilius son) rather than actual aptitude!

I know what your thinking, what a totally normal and sane looking future ruler!

This wasn’t a great plan – you see, Commodus had all the ingredients of a super dick; he was handsome (and veeery aware of it), easily influenced, with a  quick temper and a petty bloodlust to rival Joffrey…actually, thinking about it, in many ways he is proto real world Joffrey!

This fucking prick though   via giphy

Unsurprisingly megalomaniac dicks without the smarts to back up their ass hattery do not make great rulers.

In the words of Roman historian and Com’s contemporary, Dio Cassius, Commodus reign saw Rome turn:

‘From a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust’

Lucilla was not here for this.

Lucilla

By the time Commodus came into power, Lucilla was remarried to politician Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus (who had the worlds longest name and was once more, twice Lucilla’s age!).

The marriage to Quintianus allowed Lucilla nowhere near the political influence she had once had (though to be fair, the only way she’d have got that back is if she’d married her brother…ick)

Without power or influence, the only choice Lucilla had was to helplessly watch as her brother slowly but surely fucked up the Roman Empire.

OR she could have her brother murdered…Lucilla went for option 2.

Bold choice   via giphy

Working with the head of the Praetorian Guard (the Emperors Guard) and other politicians and family members (including Lucillas own daughter) who had all had it with Commodus, Lucilla hatched a plan to murder her little brother.

The nephew of Lucillas husband, Quintianus, was hired as assassin. During a series of games Commodus was holding, Junior Quintianus was to hide in the shadows of the Colloseum. Commodus would walk past unaccompanied and it would be then that Juinor Quintianus would dispatch him from behind.

Not exactly a groundbreaking assination plot, but one that would do the job.

The day of the games came. Junior Quintianus hid in the colloseum. A lone Commodus walked past and Junior Quintianus leapt out of his hiding place, dagger brandished, shouting:

‘This is what the senate has sent you!’ 

Commodus then tackled Junior Quintianus to the ground and the assination attempt was foiled.

Life lesson: DO NOT SHOUT YOUR ULTRA SECRET MURDER PLANS AT PEOPLE YOU’RE MEANT TO BE QUIETLY SNEAKING UP ON 

Also don’t ever hire some guys cousin             via giphy

Lucilla was quickly caught.

As it was his sister, Commodus chose not to execute Lucilla. But he couldn’t have her running around Rome anymore, so Lucilla and her daughter were exiled to Capri (a pretty nice exile vacay if you can get it!)

A year later and Lucilla was safely exiled…so naturally Commodus then ordered her execution. A soldier was sent to Capri, where both Lucilla and her daughter were quietly murdered.

Commodus was now free to be an ass-hat, which he did to the extent that he is now credited with the downfall of the Roman Empire!

*cue all the sarcastic clapping*    via giphy

This was really interesting! Where can I find out more? Well, there aren’t really any books on just Lucilla. But there whilst researching this I found a really interesting book series: A woman and her master, by Sydney Morgan. Written in the Victorian era, the books examine the roles of woman from classical civilisation and the bible.

A woman and her master, volume 2, has a cracking chapter which looks at Lucilla as well as the other woman in Commodus life. You should totally go check it out!!