Historical Figure
Ilse Koch
1906–1967
German war criminal (1906–1967)
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Biography
Margarete Ilse Koch was a German war criminal who committed atrocities while her husband Karl-Otto Koch was the commandant at Buchenwald. Though Ilse Koch had no official position in Nazi Germany, she became one of the most infamous Nazi figures at the war's end and was referred to as the "Kommandeuse of Buchenwald".
Timeline
The story of Ilse Koch, told in moments.
Arrived at Buchenwald concentration camp as the commandant's wife. Prisoners called her "the Beast of Buchenwald." She rode through the camp on horseback, pointing out prisoners for punishment.
Arrested by the SS itself for embezzlement and personal enrichment. The Nazis charged her with stealing from the concentration camp. The charges were dropped. She walked free while her husband was executed.
Convicted by a US military tribunal and sentenced to life. The sentence was reduced to four years. The leniency caused public outrage. A Senate investigation found the reduction unjustifiable.
Died by suicide in Aichach prison, Bavaria. She'd been convicted again by a German court in 1951 and sentenced to life. She was 60.
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