Ilse Koch, known as the ‘Witch of Buchenwald,’ became a symbol of ruthless cruelty, depravity, and sadism in Nazi concentration camps. And this, despite being only a wife.
Ilse Koch’s Pre-War Life
Ilse Koch was born in 1906 in Dresden to a relatively ordinary, middle-class family. Her mother was a homemaker, and her father was a laborer. Surprisingly, she was known as a polite and cheerful child not only in elementary school but also later on. At fifteen, she entered an accounting school. She later worked as an accounting clerk.
Joining the Nazi Party
Koch joined the NSDAP, the Nazi Party, earlier than most of her peers, in 1932. Let’s recall that time: German Nazis were appealing to many young people as fascism seemed a viable solution to the deep economic recession, ongoing political and social crises that had plagued Germany since the end of World War I. The situation worsened in the late 1920s after the New York Stock Market crash, which triggered the greatest economic crisis of the 20th century, impoverishing many German families.
The idea of an Aryan master race based on antisemitism appealed to Koch, who saw herself as a genuine representative of such a race. However, her life still did not differ much from the lives of many other Germans. At least, until she met Karl Otto Koch, an SS officer who later became a concentration camp commander.
After marrying Karl, Ilse began moving in high Nazi circles, and shortly after his appointment as commander of the Buchenwald concentration camp, she joined the camp staff and became actively involved in its operations.
The couple married after Koch provided evidence of her Aryan ancestry. She was expected to bear pure-blood children and, with Karl, had three: two daughters and a son, whom she raised with the help of servants and camp prisoners.
Birth of the Witch of Buchenwald
Koch lived with her entire family in a three-story villa within the grounds of the Buchenwald concentration camp. It’s worth noting that over 56,000 people died there due to starvation, torture, disease, and executions.
The first commander of Buchenwald was her husband, SS-Obersturmbannführer Karl-Otto Koch, who ran the camp from August 1, 1937, until July 1941. In February 1940, Koch had a covered riding hall built by prisoners, who died in droves due to the harsh conditions. The hall was located within the camp, near the dining hall, so Ilse Koch was often seen riding a horse to the rhythm of the prison orchestra.
Koch was eventually imprisoned by Nazi authorities in Buchenwald for inciting murder. Prince Waldeck and Morgen brought charges against him, later adding accusations of corruption, embezzlement, black-market dealings, and exploitation of camp workers for personal gain. Other camp officials, including Ilse Koch, faced charges as well.
Ilse Koch gained notoriety primarily for her brutality and sadistic practices, which exceeded even the usual horrors of concentration camps. Witnesses described her extreme behavior, such as selecting prisoners with prominent tattoos whose skin would then be removed and used to make items like lamps and book covers. This horrific practice ultimately earned her the nickname “The Witch of Buchenwald.” Prisoners feared her and described her as a woman who took pleasure in humiliating and torturing others.
The charges against the Kochs included private enrichment, embezzlement, and murdering prisoners to prevent them from testifying.
Karl Koch was sentenced to death for dishonoring himself and the SS; he was executed by shooting on April 5, 1945, a week before American troops arrived.
After the trial, Ilse Koch was released after sixteen months of imprisonment by the Gestapo in Weimar and moved with her two children to a small apartment in Ludwigsburg.
End of War and Life Sentence
On June 30, 1945, she was arrested by American occupying forces in Ludwigsburg after a former Buchenwald prisoner recognized her on the street.
Due to the severity of her alleged actions, including selecting tattooed prisoners for killing to make lampshades and other items from their skin, her trial by the American military commission in Dachau in 1947 drew worldwide media attention, as did the testimony of survivors who attributed sadistic and perverse violence to Koch, earning her the image of a “concentration camp murderer.” She was sentenced to life in prison. Her conduct in court and the evidence of her brutality toward prisoners shocked and disgusted society.
The most severe accusations were found unproven in two separate court trials: one by the American military commission in Dachau in 1947 and the other by West German justice in Augsburg in 1950-1951. Both, however, resulted in the same outcome: life imprisonment.
End of Life
Ilse suffered from psychological issues. In prison, she experienced delusions and believed that people who survived the concentration camp were torturing her in her cell. On September 1, 1967, at the age of 60, she committed suicide in the women’s prison in Aichach. In a farewell letter to her son Uwe, she stated, “There is no other way. Death is my release.”
Conclusion
Ilse Koch, Witch of Buchenwald, became a symbol of absolute corruption, brutality, and ruthless abuse of power. Her story serves as both a reminder of the horrors caused by Nazism and a warning of where hatred and cruelty can lead when entrusted to people without restraint.
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