Anushka Mansharamani
A German court fined the University of Warwick’s historian €4,000 for breaching an injunction in a legal battle that claimed that there was a lesbian affair of a camp prisoner with a SS guard.
This order was passed after the ruling that took place by the Frankfurt region in April that Dr. Anna Hájková, the historian, had violated a woman’s dignity by claiming that Gerda had a sexual relationship with a Nazi guard during imprisonment.
Dr. Anna Hájková was forbidden from using the Holocaust survivor’s full name or photograph with regards to claiming a sexual or a lesbian relationship with the guard without the permission of her daughter.
The woman died 10 years ago.
A lawyer representing the woman’s daughter stated that the fine was imposed because a breach in the injunction took place.
Another Holocaust survivor – Liese confirmed that during her stay with Gerda, she did not observe, any physical or sexual relationship with the guard.
She further stated that the duo met, but there was no undressing that took place and that the guard left even before the lights were out. Liese also described encounters they had.
Hájková contended that the testimonies by the survivors and the legal documents suggested that the two women might have had a queer relationship, either consensual or coercive.
Liese stated that women having a relationship was a subject of “titillating gossip” and that she thought that the guard was in love with Gerda as the guard followed her when she was transferred to another camp.
Liese further stated that Dr. Anna Hájková never asked her to testify, but she came forward.
Under the German constitution, a person’s reputation is protected even after their death.
Gerda’s daughter examined the testimony and concluded that there might not have been a physical or sexual relationship between the guard and her mother.
The daughter stated that “The fact that Dr. Hájková failed to interview one of the few living Holocaust survivors who witnessed the events she was researching was inexplicable. I was very disappointed and angry that she didn’t conduct her research professionally and caused me so much pain and distress.”
