They called her the Bitch of Buchenwald, she was Lady Commandant, the wife of the Nazi Commandant Karl Koch. Her and her husband’s crimes were so brutal, that even the Nazis felt that they went over the top in their sadistic cruelty. Ilse in particular was found terrifyingly fascinating, as she allegedly ordered lampshades, book covers and other items to be made out of human skin.
Thanks to Mike Meyers for the theme music, you can follow him on X @themikeshow42.
Background Music: Light Lab, Rest You Sleeping Giant, Free Music Archive, CCBY
Sources:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/January-15/the-witch-of-Buchenwald (boo-hen-wald)-is-sentenced-to-prison
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137496959_8
https://www.britannica.com/event/Kristallnacht
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karl-Otto-Koch (Kohh)
https://schoolhistory.co.uk/modern/Ilse (ill-zee)-Koch (Kohh)/
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/file/feeds/PDF/9780674249189_sample.pdf
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dark-tetrad
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/sadism
https://untypicable.co.uk/articles/2025/02/25/the-sociology-and-psychology-of-tattoos-identity-rebellion-and-the-myth-of-regret/
https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/josias-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/
https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=1058
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/syphilis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351756
https://vdarchive.newmedialab.cuny.edu/exhibits/show/exhibits/introduction
https://datasciencemilan.org/what-real-contributions-did-mengele-make-to.html
https://spartacus-educational.com/GERKoch (Kohh)I.htm
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/history_ptsd.asp
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3181586