Historian tracks down evil Erna the Nazi killer - a 'harmless'
granny in Vienna
By ALLAN HALL
Last updated at 21:27 22 October 2007
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She seems harmless enough now, the elderly figure in a dressing
gown peering round the door to her flat.
Erna Wallisch, an 85-year-old grandmother, rarely ventures out,
spending her days drinking coffee and being cared for by her
family.
But the image she presents belies a dark past which has put her
seventh on the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's list of most-wanted Nazi
war criminals still at large.
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Hidden past: Frau Erna Wallisch, 85, at her home in Vienna
As a young woman during the Second World War, Mrs Wallisch inspired
terror in those she helped to guard in Nazi concentration
camps.
Some former prisoners say she beat inmates to death.
One, who told how she attacked a young boy when she was pregnant,
said: "The sweating, breathless face of that monster is something I
will never forget."
Mrs Wallisch, who was born in eastern Germany, lives in a small
apartment on the banks of the Danube in Vienna where she was
tracked down by the British historian and author Guy Walters.
Despite her 'most-wanted' status, her name is printed on the
bell-push.
When found by Mr Walters, Mrs Wallisch refused to comment on his
investigation into her past as a brutal concentration camp
guard.
Neighbours said they knew nothing about her history. Most told Mr
Walters she should be left alone, rather than brought to justice.
"It's all in the past and should be forgotten," said one. "People
should learn to forgive."
The Austrian government is refusing to prosecute Mrs Wallisch,
saying it is too late.
"I do not find this attitude surprising," said Mr Walters, who is
writing a book called Hunting Evil about the escape and pursuit of
Nazi war criminals.
"For too long, the Austrians have been unacceptably lenient with
these evil men and women in their midst. I suspect their reluctance
to confront these criminals is because it would only highlight the
extent of Austrian complicity with Nazism."
It is not known if Mrs Wallisch's family who bring her groceries
and sit chatting to her are, like her neighbours, unaware of her
past.
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What's in a name? Erna's name-plate on the door of her Vienna
home
Mrs Wallisch, the daughter of a postal clerk, was born Erna
Pfannenstiel in 1922. She joined the Nazi party as a teenager and
became a guard at the Ravensbruck women's concentration camp near
Berlin where British SOE agent Violette Szabo was among the tens of
thousands murdered.
Mrs Wallisch was later transferred to the Majdanek death camp near
Lublin in Poland where she was based between October 1942 and
January 1944. The testimony of at least four former inmates has
been gathered in an attempt to bring justice for her victims.
They allege that Mrs Wallisch used 'violence and illegal threats
for reasons of race and nationality, against women and children
weakened physically and psychologically, from peoples within
regions under civil occupation . . . she treated them in an
inhumane way.'
In Lublin, she met Georg Wallisch, a Nazi guard, whom she married
in March 1944.
Jadwiga Landowska, a former prisoner, recalled how the thenpregnant
Mrs Wallisch beat people to death. "The pregnant Nazi monster woman
who went crazy and attacked us did not appear among those tried
after the war," she said.
"The pregnant one hit a young boy lying on the floor with something
harder than a whip. Blood was pouring from his head and he gave no
sign of life or reaction. The sweating, breathless face of that
monster is something I will never forget."
It is not clear why Mrs Wallisch left Majdanek. Her file includes
reports in which her superiors described her as an unruly and
'mouthy' person. It is known that there were plans to move her to
Auschwitz.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, named after a Holocaust survivor who
dedicated the rest of his life to hunting Nazi war criminals, is
based in Los Angeles.
Its director, Dr Efraim Zuroff, has demanded action over Mrs
Wallisch from Austria's Justice Ministry. He argued that she had
admitted participation in the mass murder of inmates at Majdanek
and that a Polish survivor had testified that she was a sadist and
had personally participated in selections for the gas
chamber.
Officials say her crimes come under the statute of limitations and
Austria cannot prosecute her.
The Justice Ministry said it is planning to commission a report on
those still alive who worked at Majdanek. Mr Walters is
unimpressed.
"Mrs Wallisch is an old woman and these reports always take time,"
he said. "It is highly likely that she will live out her days
untroubled by the authorities. The problem is that too many in
Austria believe these events belong in history books.
"This is nonsense. Mrs Wallisch is not history - she is still alive
and it is our generation's responsibility to prosecute those whom
she helped consign to history prematurely."
