1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,639 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: show that unmasks history one day at a time. I'm 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: Gabe Lusier, and in this episode, we're looking at the 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: story of one of the most notorious female members of 6 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: the Nazi Party, a concentration camp supervisor whose sadistic tendencies 7 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: earned her a reputation as the Witch of Buchenwald. As 8 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: a warning, today's episode includes descriptions of appalling violence, sexual abuse, 9 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: and suicide and may not be appropriate for younger listeners. 10 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: The day was January fifteenth, nineteen fifty one. Ilsa Cooke 11 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity. 12 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: Although not an official SS Guard herself, Ilsa was the 13 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: wife of the former commander of the Buchenwald concentration camp 14 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: and had used the power of her position to instigate 15 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: the sexual abuse, torture, and murder of hundreds of German citizens. 16 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: In the wake of World War Two. The Federal Republic 17 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: of Germany sentenced nearly two hundred people to life imprisonment 18 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: in connection with Nazi war crimes. Ilsa Cooke was the 19 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 1: only woman among them. Marguerite Ilsa coke ne Kohler was 20 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:32,040 Speaker 1: born on September twenty second, nineteen o six in Dresden, Germany. 21 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: She enjoyed an ordinary middle class upbringing, raised by her mother, 22 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: a homemaker and her father, a laborer. She dropped out 23 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: of school at age fifteen and began working full time 24 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: as a librarian. A little over a decade later, in 25 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty two, Ilsa joined the National Socialist German Workers 26 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: Party aka the Nazi Party and began working there as 27 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: a secretary and typist. She was early to pledge her 28 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: support to the cause compared to her peers, but at 29 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: the time many young Germans were attracted to the party 30 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,640 Speaker 1: because they viewed fascism as a potential remedy for the 31 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: economic woes that had plagued the country following the First 32 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: World War. That said, Ilso was also attracted by the 33 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: party's anti Semitic rhetoric concerning the supposed superiority of the 34 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: Aryan race. Based on her lineage, she considered herself a 35 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: prime example of the so called master race, and her 36 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: future husband, s. S. Colonel carl Otto Koch apparently felt 37 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: the same way. The couple met in early nineteen thirty six, 38 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: while working together at the Zachsenhausen concentration camp just north 39 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: of Berlin. They married a few months later and lived 40 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: together near the camp. Then, in August of the following year, 41 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: Karl was transferred to the newly established Buchenwald camp, a 42 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:00,040 Speaker 1: few miles northwest of Weimar. It was one of the 43 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: first and largest concentration camps to be built within Germany's 44 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: newly expanded borders. Between July nineteen thirty seven and April 45 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, and estimated two hundred and fifty thousand 46 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: people were imprisoned in Buchenwald, with the population ranging from 47 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: ten thousand to one hundred and twelve thousand at different 48 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: points during the war. All told, the SS murdered at 49 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: least fifty six thousand male prisoners there, roughly eleven thousand 50 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,959 Speaker 1: of whom were Jewish. Ilsa Coke, her husband, and their 51 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: three children lived in a luxurious villa on the grounds 52 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: of the concentration camp. They even built a sports hall 53 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: so that Ilsa could indulge her love of horse riding, 54 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: though she was also said to go for frequent rides 55 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: around the camp, menacing and whipping random prisoners with her 56 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: riding crop. In the fall of nineteen forty one, ILSA's 57 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: husband was transferred again, this time to the Maidenoch Death 58 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: Camp in I occupied Poland, where an estimated seventy eight 59 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: thousand people, mostly Jews, were later killed by firing squads 60 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: and in gas chambers. Ilsa remained at Buchenwald, where she 61 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: reportedly carried on several affairs with other SS officials and 62 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:20,040 Speaker 1: their wives. When female prisoners were added to the Buchenwald system, 63 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: she took on the role of the main supervisor of 64 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: the women's camp. The job gave her even more free 65 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: reign than she already had, and she used it to 66 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: engage in increasingly depraved behavior. According to witness testimony, she 67 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: forced male prisoners to sexually assault female inmates as she watched, 68 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 1: and often made her rounds through the camp dressed in 69 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: provocative outfits, essentially daring the prisoners to make eye contact 70 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: and then punishing them severely when they did. In August 71 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: of nineteen forty three, Ilsa and Carl Koch were both 72 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: arrested by the SS on charges of corruption, triple murder, 73 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: and embezzlement. It was revealed that the couple had stolen 74 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: vast amounts of money and property from the prisoners and 75 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 1: their camps, and while that wasn't a crime in its 76 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 1: own right, Koch was supposed to hand over the stolen 77 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: loot to help fuel the German war machine, not keep 78 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: it for himself. It was a similar case with the 79 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: charge of triple murder. The Nazis clearly had no qualms 80 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: with killing in general, but Koke's murders had been unsanctioned, 81 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: which made him unpredictable in the eyes of his superiors. 82 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: Put simply, Karl Koch had gone too far, even by 83 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: Nazi standards, and as a result, he was found guilty 84 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: and executed by firing squad in April of nineteen forty five. Ilsa, however, 85 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: was acquitted by the s S due to a lack 86 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,720 Speaker 1: of evidence. However, her freedom would prove short lived, as 87 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: she was arrested again two months later by the U 88 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 1: S military. On April eleventh, nineteen forty seven, the Buchenwald 89 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: trials began in a court room at the Dachau in 90 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:05,359 Speaker 1: tournament camp for German POWs. The trials were conducted in 91 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: the US occupied zone by American military tribunals and Ilsa 92 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: Coke was the only woman to be tried there. The 93 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: tribunal heard from numerous former German inmates who had witnessed 94 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: Dilsa's atrocities first hand. According to these accounts, she would 95 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: routinely inspect prisoners upon arrival, assessing their naked bodies to 96 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: see if they had any interesting tattoos. If she saw 97 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,359 Speaker 1: one she liked, she would have the prisoner killed and 98 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: then use their treated skin to make household items, including 99 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: lamp shades, gloves, and book covers. One witness described the 100 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: chilling efficiency with which this gruesome process was conducted, saying, quote, 101 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: all prisoners with tattooing on them were to report to 102 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 1: the dispensary. After the prisoners had been examined, the ones 103 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,840 Speaker 1: with the best and most artistic specimens were killed by injections. 104 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: The corpses were then turned over to the pathological department, 105 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: where the desired pieces of tattooed skin were detached from 106 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: the bodies and treated further. Ilsa Cooke was found guilty 107 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: of quote, participating in a criminal plan for aiding, abetting, 108 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: and participating in the murderers at Buchenwald. She was sentenced 109 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: to life imprisonment for these crimes, but wound up having 110 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: her sentence commuted to just four years. The decision was 111 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 1: made by the American military governor of the occupied zone, 112 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: Lucius D. Clay, who controversially concluded that there was a 113 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: lack of incriminating evidence for the most heinous allegations made 114 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: against her. For example, while various objects made from human 115 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: skin were found in Buchenwald when it was liberated, no 116 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: direct connection to Ilsa herself could be proven. The reduction 117 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: of her sentence sparked outrage in the United States and 118 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: later prompted a senatorial investigation, but despite the backlash, her 119 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: commuted sentence was allowed to stand. She served just four 120 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: years in an American military prison, but once she was 121 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,480 Speaker 1: released in late nineteen forty nine, she was quickly arrested again, 122 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:15,559 Speaker 1: this time by German authorities. One year later, Ilsa Cooke 123 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: faced her accusers again in a West German court room. 124 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: The trial lasted seven weeks, during which time some two 125 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty witnesses testified to her crimes. She was 126 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: ultimately convicted on charges of incitement to murder, incitement to 127 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: attempted murder, an incitement to the crime of committing grievous 128 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: bodily harm. On January fifteenth, nineteen fifty one, she was 129 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: sentenced to life imprisonment again, and although she would later 130 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: appeal for a review of that sentence, this time it 131 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: was upheld. In the end, Ilsa Coke spent sixteen years 132 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: in the Bavarian Women's Prison in Aisia. Then in September 133 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: of nineteen sixty seven, she hanged herself with a bedsheet 134 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: and died at the age of sixty. May her victims 135 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: rest in peace. I'm Gabe Lucia and hopefully you now 136 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 137 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 138 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and 139 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: if you have any feedback you'd like to share, feel 140 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: free to send it along by writing to This Day 141 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing 142 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 143 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.