Inside of the concentration camps during the Second World War, there were many evil guards
and members of staff who made the lives of prisoners awful.
After the war had come to an end, there were a number of war crimes trials but only a small
amount of war criminals were ever brought to justice.
A number were executed for their crimes against humanity, but more were given prison sentences
and still today there are some trials taking place with former guards in their late 90s.
But there was one woman who was married to the commandant of Buchenwald, a camp where
thousands of people were subject to horrific punishment and conditions.
Ilse Koch is remembered as the Witch of Buchenwald for her horrific treatment of people at the
camp her husband oversaw, and she was regarded as ‘the concentration camp murderess.’
But what made her legacy so evil?
Join us today as we look at ‘The DISGUSTING Crimes Of Ilse Koch - The Witch of Buchenwald.’
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Ilse Koch joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and was considered a long standing member of the
political party.
She would attend different rallies with her friends, and she also made many different
companions who were engrained with the Nazi ideology.
In 1934, through her friends in the SA and SS she met her future husband Karl Otto Koch.
She like so many in the post world war 1 Germany were attracted to Hitler’s politics, and
her husband was well liked inside of the SS.
But Karl continued in his role inside of the SS, and within a few years Ilse and Karl were
engaged to marry.
But in 1936, Ilse began to work as a guard and a secretary inside of the Sachsenhausen
Concentration Camp near to Berlin.
Karl had been assigned as the commandant of the camp, the one responsible for all of the
camps rules, laws and discipline.
He had previously worked as an officer at Esterwegen camp, and also Lichtenburg camp
before he then became the commander of the Columbia concentration camp in Berlin.
This was a notorious Gestapo prison, but then Karl Koch was transferred to oversee Sachsenhausen.
He took with him Ilse his fiancee, and he gained further promotions.
Ilse inside of Sachsenhausen would be involved in record keeping, but she was also a guard
who was responsible for prisoner discipline and the conditions here were very tough.
When Karl Otto Koch worked as the commandant, he was one of the first leaders of it as it
opened in 1936.
The camp was supposed to perfect the most efficient and effective execution methods
inside the death camp, and also here prisoners would be huddled into a small room where they
were shot in the back of the neck.
Despite being only at Sachsenhausen a few months, Ilse would marry Karl during this
time, and she and her husband were complicit in the killings there and also the violent
regime instilled.
But Karl Koch must have been well respected by Heinrich Himmler and other members of the
SS, and he was transferred to Buchenwald to work there as the commandant there.
Buchenwald was established in July 1937, and it was one of the largest concentration camps
established inside of Germany, and during its time in operation 280,000 prisoners would
pass through the barbed wire fences, but over 55,000 prisoners were killed there.
Prisoners came into Buchenwald from all over Europe and as the Second World War spread
to different areas, such as the Soviet Union more prisoners arrived.
All of the prisoners were forced to work hard inside of the armaments factories and other
industries at Buchenwald.
Karl Otto Koch would spend a large amount of time as the Commandant, being in the position
from the camps opening on the 1st August 1937 until July 1941.
Ilse Koch would regularly also contribute to the brutality and horror of the camp, and
after marrying her husband, she was involved in a number of despicable actions.
One thing she ordered to be built inside of Buchenwald was to use the money that had been
stolen from prisoners to construct an indoor sports arena.
This cost around today $1 million, and was funded by stolen wealth from the prisoners.
Technically Ilse Koch was also stealing from the pockets of the Nazis and Hitler, and this
woudl catch up with her.
She would ride her horses in the arena and would taunt the prisoners until they looked
at her, then she would beat then with a horse whip.
She would also take part in the selections, when doctors and other staff would select
prisoners to go to their deaths inside of the gas chambers.
Ilse Koch did do this, and she also allegedly took great enjoyment out of sending children
to their deaths.
This meant that she was complicit in the mass murder of the camp.
She was playing the role of executioner, but one of the most sadistic crimes she was involved
in was creating horrifying trophies from the skin of the prisoners.
She would parade around Buchenwald on the back of her horse, and she tried to find prisoners
who had distinct and different tattoos.
Ilse once these were found would then order the prisoner to be taken and seized, and they
were then taken to the gas chambers to be killed.
After this, doctors would then take the tattooed skin off the victim and then these were taken
to be crafted into lampshades and other objects.
Ilse Koch also collected internal organs of prisoners, and she was a terrible war criminal.
She was also known for having a number of affairs at Buchenwald with other men, and
she was also accused of murdering prisoners.
But things would catch up with Ilse Koch, as she and her husband were arrested by the
SS and were accused of private enrichment, embezzlement and murder of the prisoners to
prevent them testifying against them.
Much of this revolved around the theft of money that the Koch’s had been taking from
prisoners.
Ilse Koch was arrested, and was imprisoned by the Nazis but was acquitted as evidence
of her embezzling money from the Nazis was not found, but her husband was sentenced to
death and was even executed inside of the camp he oversaw being shot by a firing squad.
But after the war, Ilse was arrested by the Americans, and was then brought to trial as
a war criminal.
She was charged with participating in a criminal plan, for aiding, abetting and participating
in the murders at Buchenwald.’
She was sentenced to life imprisonment as she was 8 months pregnant she said, but then
her sentence war reduced to just 4 years imprisonment.
This was based on the fact that, ‘there was no convincing evidence that she had selected
inmates for extermination in order to secure tattooed skins, or that she possessed any
articles of human skin,’ however the US Army did seize these items but the link to
Ilse Koch was not seen as concrete.
It was said, ‘Her crimes were primarily against the German people, they were not war
crimes against American or Allied prisoners,’ and with this her sentence was reduced.
However public pressure led to Ilse being arrested again and being tried yet again in
1950.
250 witnesses testified at the trial and at one point she even collapsed in the gallery.
Many witnesses testified that Koch had chosen tattooed prisoners to be killed, and further
witnesses spoke of her murder, violent behaviour and selections and with this she was sentenced
to life imprisonment.
Ilse Koch tried to appeal again but this was dismissed.
She remained behind bars until the 1st September 1967, when at the age of 60 she took her own
life inside of her prison cell.
In her final months she had experienced delusions and began to become convinced that concentration
camp prisoners would abuse her inside of her cell.
Ilse Koch is remembered today as one of the worst war criminals of the Second World War.
Her legacy is as the evil wife of one of the commandants of the concentration camps who
inflicted such pain and suffering.
But despite not being in control herself, she took power into her own hands, and helped
to instigate a violent regime.
She is remembered today as the witch of Buchenwald, who enjoyed causing much suffering.
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