Talk:German camp brothels in World War II

The prostitutes working there came from the Ravensbrück concentration camp

"The prostitutes working there came from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, to which women were brought for being prostitutes." does not have a reference. I am also concerned that this statement implies that all women used as prostitutes were already prositiutes, do you have any reasonable sources for this? Also there are plenty of sources to show there was not always willingness and would it really make any difference if the women had been prostitutes before. Many of the references I have seen suggest the women were "asocial" which does not always mean prostitute, the assumption that they were all prostitutes anyway is not a good one. Polargeo (talk) 17:50, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

You're right. To Ravensbrück women were brought, who were accused of being asocial or leading a dissolute life, especially prostitutes. Indeed most of them were prostitutes, but of course not every woman. -- Linksnational (talk) 18:26, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

POV

Camp brothels were obviously intended to improve work performance - just like the camp orchestras, and so on. This required that the brothels be available to all inmates - if they performed, as it were. It would make no sense for them not to be allowed to use the brothels. Similarly the sentence "real inmates, penniless and emaciated, were usually too debilitated and wary of exposure to SS schemes" is very POV, subjective and unreferenced. The brothel was not a "scheme", and kapo and "favoured" inmates (whatever that means) were "real" inmates too!203.184.41.226 (talk) 03:25, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

Everything's well referenced. If you're not sure how to make use of Wikipedia's external source format, here are some pages that you might find helpful:

• Wikipedia:Tutorial
• Wikipedia:Five pillars

Thanks. Poeticbent talk 04:47, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

The words "regular inmates, penniless and emaciated, were usually too debilitated and wary of exposure to SS schemes" is POV and emotive, and unreferenced. I support the view above that brothels would be designed to "improve work performance", and not just with Kapos.Royalcourtier (talk) 08:20, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

Propaganda

As with much written about concentration camps, there is a lot of fantasy and exaggeration here (hardly necessary, I might add). For instance the reference to "Aryan VIPs only" must be wrong. Camp brothels were intended for at least some of the inmates, not for "Aryan's" only. Furthermore the customary term is German, not Aryan. What evidence is there that "The prostitutes were matched with their clients by an SS-man"? That seems an improbable arrangement, particularly if the customers were German. If the brothel was for Aryan's only, why were tickets "routinely cornered by the common criminals who wore the green triangles" - as they would not be allowed in. I doubt that there is any evidence of tattoos saying "Feld-Hure". In conclusion, there must be more balanced and careful attention to proven facts, and less lurid fantasy and rumour.Royalcourtier (talk) 08:28, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

Heinrich Himmler inspecting the camp brothel in Mauthausen/Gusen

This is not a photo of him inspecting a brothel, it is a photo of the camp's office building. The brothel was built exactly like the other wooden huts and had no steps.92.20.70.69 (talk) 21:37, 2 October 2016 (UTC)

Prostitution or sex work

Can we really talk about this as "sex work"? These women were deported then coerced into sexual slavery, this isn't comparable to any sort of "work" and certainly not as what is now understood as "sex work", or perhaps we should assume that the people who were sent to forced labour in concentration camps were simply "workers" as well. This is almost like buying the "Arbeit Macht Frei" nazi rhetoric which is absolutely disgusting. "Sex work" is not a neutral term but a loaded one, it cannot be used to describe situations of forced sexual slavery as this one. Slavery is not work.Josef000 09:33, 23 november 2016 (UTC)

I don't think they were "prostitutes" either. I've made some edits: diff. Feedback welcome. K.e.coffman (talk) 09:43, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

Changes looks good to me for that matter. I have nothing to say against them. Josef000 12:51, 23 november 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.67.127.247 (talk)

This article is riddled with errors

This article is full of imprecisions and commentary that is not sufficiently supported.

Not only have several comments (see above) been made on the veracity of certain parts, e.g. “Feld-hure” tattoos, which were not addressed. but the overall number of alledged women that had been forced to sexual labor in the camps is overestimated - read the German version for reference. From tens of thousands to a few hundreds. One additional point is the inclusion of literature without any credibility, e.g., a book on a Jewish girl that had been forced to prostitution - which, per the sources on the German page, were not implemented by the Nazi SS.

It is a relevant and potentially controversial topic, and the sparse sources and lack of review display a very troubling approach to the article.

Hence, I recommend serious review and an adaptation to the article to follow more closely the German version - at least as a guideline. 87.103.57.132 (talk) 22:41, 17 November 2023 (UTC)