Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel

Fürstenberg/Havel

Fürstenberg is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Fürstenberg was the site of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and a memorial now occupies the site.-Geography:...

).

Construction of the camp began in November 1938 by SS leader Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...

 and was unusual in that it was a camp primarily for women. The camp opened in May 1939. In the spring of 1941, the SS authorities established a small men's camp adjacent to the main camp.

Between 1939 and 1945, over 130,000 female prisoner

Prisoner

A prisoner is someone incarcerated in a prison, jail or similar facility.Prisoner or The Prisoner may also refer to:* Prisoner of war, a soldier in wartime, held as by an enemy* Political prisoner, someone held in prison for their ideology...

s passed through the Ravensbrück camp system, around 26,000 were Jewish.