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at the end of World War 2 1200 citizens
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from the city of Vemma were rounded up
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and ordered into the liberated
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Buchenwald concentration camp the US
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Army wanted them to witness a horrifying
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collection of artifacts found among
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thousands of dying prison
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there are two heads which have been
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shrunk to one fit their normal size
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these and other exhibits of Nazi origin
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are shown to the townspeople on a table
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for all the gaze upon is a lampshade
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made of human skin made at the request
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of an SS officers way that officer's
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wife was in so cough
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her husband was the commander of pokemon
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together they presided over the camp in
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which a hundred thousand people
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she would personally select prisoners
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sentenced them to death and forced
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fellow inmates to decorate the skins for
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her music she was even worse in sort of
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their says she's - she was a saint this
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used to enjoy it she was known as the
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[ __ ] of Bougainville
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born in rural Saxony in 1906 in Sakura
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was the daughter of a label little is
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known of her modest upbringing but by
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the age of 15 she was working at a
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cigarette factory she was not terribly
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well educated by the standards the time
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she was lucky to receive the job at the
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tobacco company as a clerk typist and
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that's what she was doing in 1932 about
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the time that Hitler begins his rise to
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power the young Elsa was instantly
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attracted to the hardline politics of
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the far-right
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she joined the party in April 1932 and
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that's a fairly early date a lot of
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people joined the party in the late 30s
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ever ambitious Elsa became a Nazi
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secretary she was singled out by him
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ahead of the SS for marriage to a friend
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of hers Carl cough
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[ __ ] was widely known for his sadistic
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tendencies as commander of the saxon
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housing concentration
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he was notorious for his methods of
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torture Himmler liked coke and viewed
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him as a protege viewed him in many ways
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as a model concentration camp commander
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often held him up to other commanders as
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the one to emulate they were the perfect
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nazi couple
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one evening in 1936 a couple married in
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a grove of oak trees Elsa was 30 Carl 10
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years old his new bride didn't mind
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Carl's reputation as a cruel
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disciplinarian she believed in her
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husband and was proud to have risen from
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the working-classes
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to the Nazi elite
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in 1937 Carl was appointed commandant of
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a new concentration camp in SS training
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center that Buchan but she and her
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husband Karl Koch arrived when the camp
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opened in July 1937 as the brand new
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commander of a brand new Kia
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Buchan volt was one of the first and
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largest incarceration facilities in nazi
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germany it was a hostile isolated place
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on the outskirts of Vimal
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the camp held up to 10,000 male
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prisoners they were a mixture of Jews
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Russians Eastern Europeans and political
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opponents the weak were killed and the
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healthy worked to death the camp was for
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hard labor not extermination unlike a
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schvitz gas chambers weren't needed life
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expectancy was three months as the wife
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of the commandant Ilsa led a life of
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luxury and privilege with her two
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children all around her brutality and
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degradation thrived although she had no
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official rank in the camp she enjoyed
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the power that came with her position
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she took it on herself to mingle in the
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camp's running and Affairs and it was
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that process that gave her the name
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nickname among the prisoners of
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commandos the the woman commander the
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prisoners were ruled by fear life was
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worthless and murder a daily occurrence
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I think eel saqqaq was drawn into that I
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think along with her husband she began
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to believe that they could punish
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Germany's enemies in any form
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however humiliating however degrading it
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might be in fact the more humiliating
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the better imagine a system where the
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rule of law does not prevail where in
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concentration camps there are no laws
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other than the laws which are the whim
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of the people running the place terrify
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but perhaps for the people actually
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running the place exhilarating
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as the prisoners lived in fear of their
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lives the cost lived in luxury they
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built their dream home just outside the
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perimeter fence
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the officers lived on a street just
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outside a camp they called officers row
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rather comfortable existence with a row
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of what were called villas the biggest
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Villa was the cook Villa where Ilsa
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lived during this whole time so for her
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it was something very special and
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extraordinary to live in a big house
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with even servants that meant prisoners
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from the camp doing everything for her
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as the common dance wife Ilsa began to
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revel in the power she held over her
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prisoner slaves
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while some prisons for example would
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park in the garden or even in her
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kitchen and the reports say that it was
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always unclear what would happen the
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next moment whether she would feel fine
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and everything is done well from her
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perspective or whether she would say the
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person didn't fulfill his duties as his
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life to her household and then she could
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easily say he should be punished back in
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the camp she liked prisoners to dresser
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as Gennady gif RAL
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which means gracious lady a kind of term
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that would have been used to the
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nobility in the 18th or 19th century to
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go with this title also enjoyed
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aristocracy pursuits early in the camp's
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history a special writing Hall was built
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Buchenwald report says it probably cost
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two hundred and fifty thousand marks to
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build this structure 30 prisoners were
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injured or died in the construction of
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that writing hall and it was mainly for
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her own personal use and as a matter of
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fact she took daily lessons there or
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daily exercise rides at some points
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accompanied by music so a band was there
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to play for her creating an atmosphere a
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little bit like a circus
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this exorbitant lifestyle was paid for
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by money the couple stole from prisoners
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ill sir enjoyed dominating the inmates
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as one of few women at an all-male camp
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she would mock the dying prisoners with
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her sexuality
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she loved clothes she loved to wear
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provocative clothing there's a lot of
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accounts about her wearing short skirts
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and tight blouses and in fact exhibiting
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herself to the prisoners and the guards
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she had ongoing quarrel with several of
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the officers wives and i think became
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increasingly an isolated figure among
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them because she was so different from
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the rest and so shall we she would be
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lying in bed with the nightgown on are
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very very flimsy clothing and asked the
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male prisoners to come and serve her or
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bring her food and other things and
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obviously she want to show herself off
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she went her body to be seen by these
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prisoners so she liked to tease unlike
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other German women he also didn't have
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to do any housework in the Nazi ideal
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home a housewife would spend a great
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deal of her day on chores but if you
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live in a really privileged household
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and of course the SS was the aristocracy
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in Nazi Germany
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then you don't have these chores and so
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all you can really do is amuse yourself
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and different people amuse themselves in
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different ways some may read listen to
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music and others may go out and view
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concentration camp prisoners being put
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through their paces she was interested
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in watching the punishments and and did
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take part in that and often ordered
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prisoners to be punished one time when a
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work detail went by the cook villa she
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ordered them punished because some of
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the men had stared at her
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ironically enough she wanted them to
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stare at her and that was the whole
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point of the provocative clothing but
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any male prisoner who dared stare at the
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commandant wife often had lashes or
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punishment or perhaps even sent to the
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cell block which often meant death
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with time on her hands she looked to the
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camp for entertainment new prisoners had
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to spend their first night standing
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naked in the square one of the famous
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stories in the Buchenwald report is that
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she and some officers wives went to
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watch male prisoners were standing naked
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at roll call and apparently took great
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interest in what she saw temperatures
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Kudo could go down to 20 centigrade
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centigrades - lots of snow and even then
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prisons would have to stay on the road
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crawl plays sometimes for hours not only
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to be counted but also to punish and
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some really decided better to run into
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the electric fence and to commit suicide
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to survive under these conditions
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while starving prisoners were committing
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suicide the [ __ ] went short of nothing
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at one point several prisoners went into
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her cellar and they were supposed to
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shovel coal and they happened to see
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that there were rose bottles of wine and
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champagne
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there were hams there were other kinds
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of foodstuffs that were extremely scarce
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and I think the prisoners were shocked
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when they discovered that yes or
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sometimes used to look out through the
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fence and seen sometimes have any people
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pass and I thought to myself these
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people are free there if they eat they
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human beings and we were treated there
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subhumans
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as the Nazi war machine became bogged
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down on the Eastern Front Ilsa was
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treating her death camp like a
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playground this was only the beginning
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of Ilsa's terror
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there was a far more gruesome side to
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her that was about to be unleashed
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it's the [ __ ] the camp Commandant's wife
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was so feared by the prisoners that she
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was known as the [ __ ] of Buchan but new
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arrivals quickly learnt why she was
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called a [ __ ]
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when I book about half dead hardly
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walking this has allowed us to go in for
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a shower and then they disinfected us
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were disinfectant powdered and then we
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got some clothes on and I was putting
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into it back with some Russian cruisers
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of war oh well everybody was talking
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about that and and some of the places
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you know when they passed the square and
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a big square that they were terrified
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because she could lash out just at
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anybody
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this wasn't content the daily physical
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and mental abuse she dished out to
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prisoners her bullying took a much
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darker twist dr. Wagner was one of the
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camp doctors with whom Ilsa was friendly
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she apparently had several friends among
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the camp doctors and he needed to do a
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dissertation this topic for his
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dissertation was tattooing he was
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supposed to find out if tattooing was an
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indicator of criminal behavior and so
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began the project of collecting tattoos
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from the skin of prisoners it was the
275
00:13:41,470 --> 00:13:46,360
wife of the Commandant it was Ilsa cook
276
00:13:43,690 --> 00:13:50,560
who suggested the project and suggested
277
00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:53,050
collecting the tattooed skin Ilsa used
278
00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:55,119
this study to create one of the most
279
00:13:53,049 --> 00:13:55,679
enduring and revolting works of the
280
00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:59,409
Third Reich
281
00:13:55,679 --> 00:14:03,519
she began using prisoners skin to make
282
00:13:59,409 --> 00:14:06,789
lampshades and book covers she preferred
283
00:14:03,519 --> 00:14:09,669
to choose her victims personally the
284
00:14:06,789 --> 00:14:12,519
prisoners alleged that she would go to
285
00:14:09,669 --> 00:14:15,009
places like the quarry on horseback and
286
00:14:12,519 --> 00:14:17,379
watch the work often without shirts on
287
00:14:15,009 --> 00:14:19,600
and that she would identify a prisoner
288
00:14:17,379 --> 00:14:21,850
with an interesting tattoo write his
289
00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:24,460
number down a day or two later that
290
00:14:21,850 --> 00:14:28,360
prisoner would end up dead when we
291
00:14:24,460 --> 00:14:33,100
arrived in bhagavad from Auschwitz we're
292
00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:35,560
a bit worried and because we had that
293
00:14:33,100 --> 00:14:37,300
people who came with numbers from
294
00:14:35,559 --> 00:14:40,629
Auschwitz and they're armed
295
00:14:37,299 --> 00:14:43,089
if she liked the number she used to send
296
00:14:40,629 --> 00:14:46,960
them into the place I would cut out and
297
00:14:43,090 --> 00:14:48,820
put it on the lampshades Hill sir
298
00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:52,300
commandeered the camp workshops to
299
00:14:48,820 --> 00:14:54,280
produce these Ottomans prisoners were
300
00:14:52,299 --> 00:14:57,669
forced to decorate the skins of their
301
00:14:54,279 --> 00:14:59,620
dead comrades apparently many of the
302
00:14:57,669 --> 00:15:02,500
objects of human skin were given away as
303
00:14:59,620 --> 00:15:05,799
gifts and there was a special workshop
304
00:15:02,500 --> 00:15:09,129
an artist studio actually at Buchenwald
305
00:15:05,799 --> 00:15:11,589
they bound books in the creative works
306
00:15:09,129 --> 00:15:15,939
of art many of which are shipped to
307
00:15:11,590 --> 00:15:18,300
other camps the book involved octaves
308
00:15:15,940 --> 00:15:22,090
were indulging in other bizarre
309
00:15:18,299 --> 00:15:25,209
experimentation the pathology lab had
310
00:15:22,090 --> 00:15:27,519
several shrunken heads why they prepared
311
00:15:25,210 --> 00:15:30,220
them is hard to imagine there's there's
312
00:15:27,519 --> 00:15:31,929
something barbaric about that too but
313
00:15:30,220 --> 00:15:34,509
apparently one of the camp doctors had
314
00:15:31,929 --> 00:15:37,949
read about how South Sea Islanders did
315
00:15:34,509 --> 00:15:40,750
this he decided to try it on a prisoner
316
00:15:37,950 --> 00:15:43,629
these heads were said to have decorated
317
00:15:40,750 --> 00:15:47,519
Ilsa's dining room where she entertained
318
00:15:43,629 --> 00:15:47,519
guests and played with her children
319
00:15:47,769 --> 00:15:52,669
for those who didn't witness these
320
00:15:50,029 --> 00:15:55,939
McCobb objects their existence seems
321
00:15:52,669 --> 00:15:57,979
hard to believe frankly if I didn't know
322
00:15:55,940 --> 00:16:00,410
what else went on at the camp at the
323
00:15:57,980 --> 00:16:02,720
same time I too might doubt it but
324
00:16:00,409 --> 00:16:05,480
having seen examples of medical
325
00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:07,970
experiments where they took organs out
326
00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:10,460
of living prisoners where they had the
327
00:16:07,970 --> 00:16:12,800
typhus block and they experimented with
328
00:16:10,460 --> 00:16:14,629
typhus where they operated on
329
00:16:12,799 --> 00:16:17,719
homosexuals to change their sexual
330
00:16:14,629 --> 00:16:19,879
orientation where they burned prisoners
331
00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:22,279
with phosphorous to see how to treat
332
00:16:19,879 --> 00:16:25,100
phosphorus wounds where they shot
333
00:16:22,279 --> 00:16:26,480
prisoners with poison bullets when all
334
00:16:25,100 --> 00:16:28,730
of these things are going on at
335
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:31,639
Buchenwald camp as a matter of routine
336
00:16:28,730 --> 00:16:34,610
business then the existence of these
337
00:16:31,639 --> 00:16:37,879
skins in the pathology lab is not so
338
00:16:34,610 --> 00:16:40,730
unusual the prisoners who weren't
339
00:16:37,879 --> 00:16:43,059
victims of experiments faced a battle
340
00:16:40,730 --> 00:16:43,060
for survival
341
00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:51,999
on a Sunday we used to get two boiled
342
00:16:46,419 --> 00:16:54,789
potatoes and jackets and I couldn't eat
343
00:16:51,999 --> 00:16:59,290
the peas because used to bend me I was
344
00:16:54,789 --> 00:17:02,198
very thin it's like a skeleton and as I
345
00:16:59,289 --> 00:17:05,139
started peeling some Hungarian Jews came
346
00:17:02,198 --> 00:17:07,389
in and held the hand underneath as I was
347
00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:13,120
peeling and taking the peels in eating
348
00:17:07,390 --> 00:17:15,189
it and I felt somehow I have never felt
349
00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:18,599
so bad here I'm starving
350
00:17:15,189 --> 00:17:23,850
and here the people taking my peels to
351
00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:30,908
eat just to try to survive it was a very
352
00:17:23,849 --> 00:17:33,398
pathetic situation in total contrast to
353
00:17:30,909 --> 00:17:35,789
the emaciated prisoners the high living
354
00:17:33,398 --> 00:17:38,619
[ __ ] stepped up their racketeering
355
00:17:35,788 --> 00:17:40,929
they stole gold teeth and jewelry from
356
00:17:38,619 --> 00:17:46,298
the prisoners and deposited the plunder
357
00:17:40,929 --> 00:17:49,509
in secret Swiss bank accounts her
358
00:17:46,298 --> 00:17:51,609
husband and she were trying to grab as
359
00:17:49,509 --> 00:17:53,859
much as they could from their position
360
00:17:51,609 --> 00:17:57,548
that means they also came into conflict
361
00:17:53,859 --> 00:18:01,148
with rules of the SS itself I think one
362
00:17:57,548 --> 00:18:03,480
of the key factors in the fall of the
363
00:18:01,148 --> 00:18:06,428
koch's is that many of the camp guards
364
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:09,190
witnessed this corruption and resented
365
00:18:06,429 --> 00:18:12,460
it to some extent that the folks were
366
00:18:09,190 --> 00:18:15,130
using embezzled funds to enjoy a very
367
00:18:12,460 --> 00:18:17,470
lavish lifestyle he bought a big car he
368
00:18:15,130 --> 00:18:20,980
bought a boat bought a house on the lake
369
00:18:17,470 --> 00:18:23,200
all this on a salary that was a modest
370
00:18:20,980 --> 00:18:24,759
salary at least officially people began
371
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:30,069
to ask questions where is the money
372
00:18:24,759 --> 00:18:34,200
coming from in 1942 the couple were
373
00:18:30,069 --> 00:18:36,939
charged with corruption by an SS court
374
00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:38,769
Carl took the blame and was sent to run
375
00:18:36,940 --> 00:18:44,070
a polish extermination camp to be
376
00:18:38,769 --> 00:18:46,808
sentenced at a later date Ilse [ __ ] was
377
00:18:44,069 --> 00:18:49,210
acquitted of charges of misuse of funds
378
00:18:46,808 --> 00:18:50,859
although her involvement I think your
379
00:18:49,210 --> 00:18:52,600
involvement is clear by her being
380
00:18:50,859 --> 00:18:56,019
included in the trial in the first place
381
00:18:52,599 --> 00:18:58,058
that many SS officers believed that she
382
00:18:56,019 --> 00:19:00,849
did take part in running of the camp and
383
00:18:58,058 --> 00:19:05,378
certainly knew about many of the corrupt
384
00:19:00,849 --> 00:19:07,898
elements of the Koch administration Ilsa
385
00:19:05,378 --> 00:19:09,849
remained at the camp with her husband
386
00:19:07,898 --> 00:19:12,668
out of the picture she sought male
387
00:19:09,849 --> 00:19:15,908
allies she had affairs with several
388
00:19:12,669 --> 00:19:19,480
high-ranking SS officers some of the men
389
00:19:15,909 --> 00:19:22,419
worked outside the fence and the SS
390
00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:25,480
barracks as a woman and they brought
391
00:19:22,419 --> 00:19:28,809
back stole sources about her sexuality
392
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:34,079
and that she was going with all
393
00:19:28,808 --> 00:19:37,569
different assessment and officers in
394
00:19:34,079 --> 00:19:40,720
1944 Carl returned to bootcamp at to
395
00:19:37,569 --> 00:19:42,788
face trial for corruption torture and
396
00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,360
murder was nothing compared to ripping
397
00:19:42,788 --> 00:19:48,619
off the right
398
00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:51,859
on a cold morning in April 1945 Carl was
399
00:19:48,619 --> 00:19:56,000
taken outside and shot in the yard of
400
00:19:51,859 --> 00:19:57,789
his own camp as the Russians advanced
401
00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,500
and the Third Reich began to crumble
402
00:19:57,789 --> 00:20:03,379
Ilsa realized her days of indulgence
403
00:20:00,500 --> 00:20:05,900
were over she attempted to melt back
404
00:20:03,380 --> 00:20:08,090
into the German population and joined
405
00:20:05,900 --> 00:20:13,040
thousands heading west woods looking for
406
00:20:08,089 --> 00:20:16,308
safety from the Allies on the 10th of
407
00:20:13,039 --> 00:20:19,129
April 1945 the US Army entered bootcamp
408
00:20:16,308 --> 00:20:22,490
at the camp was built to house eight
409
00:20:19,130 --> 00:20:25,190
that the population had swelled to ten
410
00:20:22,490 --> 00:20:27,680
times that number
411
00:20:25,190 --> 00:20:31,460
a hundred thousand people had died at
412
00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:33,019
the camp in seven years while the
413
00:20:31,460 --> 00:20:35,329
American liberators when they first
414
00:20:33,019 --> 00:20:36,980
walked into the camp were shocked by
415
00:20:35,329 --> 00:20:39,529
what they saw they were absolutely
416
00:20:36,980 --> 00:20:41,900
stunned many of the prisoners were
417
00:20:39,529 --> 00:20:45,440
walking skeletons they had been so
418
00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:49,759
systematically starved that they had no
419
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:52,880
body fat left one of the French generals
420
00:20:49,759 --> 00:20:55,220
told the Americans that he normally
421
00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:59,660
weighed a hundred and seventy pounds and
422
00:20:55,220 --> 00:21:01,850
he weighed at that time 85 pounds they
423
00:20:59,660 --> 00:21:05,060
found corpses lying around beside the
424
00:21:01,849 --> 00:21:06,859
crematorium for example and lots of
425
00:21:05,059 --> 00:21:10,639
people stuck in these overcrowded
426
00:21:06,859 --> 00:21:12,949
barracks in the rebel camp these are so
427
00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:16,220
shocking for them that General Patton
428
00:21:12,950 --> 00:21:19,400
ordered that the people from bimah more
429
00:21:16,220 --> 00:21:21,680
than 1,000 mostly Nazi Party members
430
00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:25,340
should be sent up here to see what
431
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:27,049
happened up here 1200 civilians walked
432
00:21:25,339 --> 00:21:28,639
from the neighboring city of Weimar to
433
00:21:27,049 --> 00:21:30,319
begin a forced tour of the camp
434
00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:32,300
there are many smiling faces and
435
00:21:30,319 --> 00:21:33,829
according to observers at first the
436
00:21:32,299 --> 00:21:36,049
Germans act as though this was something
437
00:21:33,829 --> 00:21:37,639
being staged for their benefit on a
438
00:21:36,049 --> 00:21:40,579
table for all the gaze upon is a
439
00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:42,880
lampshade made of human skin made at the
440
00:21:40,579 --> 00:21:45,649
request of an SS officer's wife
441
00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:47,720
the camera records the changes in facial
442
00:21:45,650 --> 00:21:51,620
expressions as the vimar citizens leave
443
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:55,019
the parchment display but the liberated
444
00:21:51,619 --> 00:21:57,439
prisoners hadn't forgotten Ilsa cook
445
00:21:55,019 --> 00:22:01,950
she was finally caught and imprisoned in
446
00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:04,640
1947 she went for trial whilst pregnant
447
00:22:01,950 --> 00:22:04,640
by a fellow inmate
448
00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:10,609
Ilse was charged with personally
449
00:22:08,460 --> 00:22:13,409
selecting prisoners for murder
450
00:22:10,609 --> 00:22:16,129
the gruesome selection of skins and
451
00:22:13,409 --> 00:22:18,350
shrunken heads was shown to the court
452
00:22:16,130 --> 00:22:20,669
she denied everything
453
00:22:18,349 --> 00:22:21,990
claimed she had been framed by the
454
00:22:20,669 --> 00:22:23,910
Allies
455
00:22:21,990 --> 00:22:26,960
crowds gathered outside the courtroom
456
00:22:23,910 --> 00:22:31,149
calling for her execution
457
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:31,149
she was sentenced to life imprisonment
458
00:22:32,750 --> 00:22:40,019
by 1967 Ilsa had been in prison for 24
459
00:22:37,048 --> 00:22:43,980
years during this time she'd shown no
460
00:22:40,019 --> 00:22:46,289
remorse or sorrow crowd on the 1st of
461
00:22:43,980 --> 00:22:49,679
September she noted some bedsheets
462
00:22:46,289 --> 00:22:53,399
together and hanged herself she was 61
463
00:22:49,679 --> 00:22:56,840
years old in a final letter she'd
464
00:22:53,400 --> 00:23:03,590
written there is now no other way for me
465
00:22:56,839 --> 00:23:05,819
death is the only deliverance and
466
00:23:03,589 --> 00:23:07,740
history night continues after the break
467
00:23:05,819 --> 00:23:09,599
as we learn how the decadent behavior of
468
00:23:07,740 --> 00:23:16,349
Royals such as Henry the eighth's have
469
00:23:09,599 --> 00:23:19,939
turned them into a laughingstock human
470
00:23:16,349 --> 00:23:22,798
beings and we were treated as subhuman
471
00:23:19,940 --> 00:23:25,558
as the Nazi war machine became bogged
472
00:23:22,798 --> 00:23:27,359
down on the Eastern Front Ilsa was
473
00:23:25,558 --> 00:23:29,910
treating her death camp like a
474
00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:33,029
playground this was only the beginning
475
00:23:29,910 --> 00:23:35,340
of Ilsa's terror there was a far more
476
00:23:33,029 --> 00:23:37,609
gruesome side to her that was about to
477
00:23:35,339 --> 00:23:37,609
be unleashed
478
00:23:38,150 --> 00:23:43,850
is the [ __ ] the camp Commandant's wife
479
00:23:41,269 --> 00:23:48,470
was so feared by the prisoners that she
480
00:23:43,849 --> 00:23:50,719
was known as the [ __ ] of Buchan odd new
481
00:23:48,470 --> 00:23:56,049
arrivals quickly learnt why she was cool
482
00:23:50,720 --> 00:24:00,410
too [ __ ] when I walk about half dead
483
00:23:56,049 --> 00:24:02,839
hardly walking this has allowed us to go
484
00:24:00,410 --> 00:24:05,150
in for a shower and then they
485
00:24:02,839 --> 00:24:07,909
disinfected us with a disinfectant
486
00:24:05,150 --> 00:24:12,740
powdered and then we got some clothes on
487
00:24:07,910 --> 00:24:15,140
and I was putting into it bad act with
488
00:24:12,740 --> 00:24:18,640
some Russian cruisers at war well
489
00:24:15,140 --> 00:24:21,230
everybody was talking about it and and
490
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:25,340
some of the places you know when they
491
00:24:21,230 --> 00:24:28,190
passed the square and a big square that
492
00:24:25,339 --> 00:24:32,779
they were terrified because she could
493
00:24:28,190 --> 00:24:35,330
lash out just a terrible it this wasn't
494
00:24:32,779 --> 00:24:37,930
content the daily physical and mental
495
00:24:35,329 --> 00:24:41,899
abuse she dished out to prisoners a
496
00:24:37,930 --> 00:24:44,630
bullying took a much darker twist dr.
497
00:24:41,900 --> 00:24:47,060
Wagner was one of the camp doctors with
498
00:24:44,630 --> 00:24:48,680
whom Ilsa was friendly she apparently
499
00:24:47,059 --> 00:24:50,960
had several friends among the camp
500
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:53,390
doctors and he needed to do a
501
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,850
dissertation this topic for his
502
00:24:53,390 --> 00:24:57,890
dissertation was tattooing he was
503
00:24:55,849 --> 00:25:00,469
supposed to find out if tattooing was an
504
00:24:57,890 --> 00:25:03,500
indicator of criminal behavior and so
505
00:25:00,470 --> 00:25:06,440
began the project of collecting tattoos
506
00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:08,660
from the skin of prisoners it was the
507
00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:11,330
wife of the Commandant it was Ilsa Koch
508
00:25:08,660 --> 00:25:15,529
who suggested the project and suggested
509
00:25:11,329 --> 00:25:17,839
collecting the tattooed skin Ilsa used
510
00:25:15,529 --> 00:25:20,089
this study to create one of the most
511
00:25:17,839 --> 00:25:23,449
enduring and revolting works of the
512
00:25:20,089 --> 00:25:25,189
third row she began using prisoners skin
513
00:25:23,450 --> 00:25:28,940
to make lampshades
514
00:25:25,190 --> 00:25:31,309
and book cups she preferred to choose
515
00:25:28,940 --> 00:25:34,370
her victims personally
516
00:25:31,309 --> 00:25:36,950
the prisoners alleged that she would go
517
00:25:34,369 --> 00:25:39,709
to places like the quarry on horseback
518
00:25:36,950 --> 00:25:41,809
and watch the work often without shirts
519
00:25:39,710 --> 00:25:43,360
on and that she would identify a
520
00:25:41,809 --> 00:25:46,369
prisoner with an interesting tattoo
521
00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:49,429
write his number down a day or two later
522
00:25:46,369 --> 00:25:52,329
that prisoner would end up dead when we
523
00:25:49,430 --> 00:25:57,650
arrived in Boulevard from Auschwitz
524
00:25:52,329 --> 00:26:00,529
we're a bit worried because we heard
525
00:25:57,650 --> 00:26:04,040
that people who came with numbers from
526
00:26:00,529 --> 00:26:06,589
Auschwitz and ROM she liked the number
527
00:26:04,039 --> 00:26:08,930
she used to send them into the place I
528
00:26:06,589 --> 00:26:12,919
would cut out and put it on the
529
00:26:08,930 --> 00:26:16,060
lampshades you sir commandeered the camp
530
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:18,440
workshops to produce these Ottomans
531
00:26:16,059 --> 00:26:21,109
prisoners were forced to decorate the
532
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:23,519
skins of their dead comrades
533
00:26:21,109 --> 00:26:26,549
apparently many of the objects of human
534
00:26:23,519 --> 00:26:29,490
skin were given away as gifts and there
535
00:26:26,549 --> 00:26:31,259
was a special workshop an artist studio
536
00:26:29,490 --> 00:26:34,109
actually at Buchenwald
537
00:26:31,259 --> 00:26:36,539
they found books in the creative works
538
00:26:34,109 --> 00:26:40,889
of art many of which are shipped to
539
00:26:36,539 --> 00:26:43,279
other camps the book involved doctors
540
00:26:40,890 --> 00:26:47,070
were indulging in other bizarre
541
00:26:43,279 --> 00:26:50,190
experimentation the pathology lab had
542
00:26:47,069 --> 00:26:52,470
several shrunken heads why they prepared
543
00:26:50,190 --> 00:26:55,170
them is hard to imagine there's there's
544
00:26:52,470 --> 00:26:56,910
something barbaric about that too but
545
00:26:55,170 --> 00:26:59,490
apparently one of the camp doctors had
546
00:26:56,910 --> 00:27:02,900
read about how South Sea Islanders did
547
00:26:59,490 --> 00:27:05,730
this he decided to try it on a prisoner
548
00:27:02,900 --> 00:27:08,580
these heads were said to have decorated
549
00:27:05,730 --> 00:27:12,500
else's dining room where she entertained
550
00:27:08,579 --> 00:27:12,500
guests and played with her children
551
00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:18,150
so a band was there to play for her
552
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:20,380
creating an atmosphere a little bit like
553
00:27:18,150 --> 00:27:23,630
a circus
554
00:27:20,380 --> 00:27:27,039
this exorbitant lifestyle was paid for
555
00:27:23,630 --> 00:27:30,080
by money the couple stole from prisoners
556
00:27:27,038 --> 00:27:33,140
ill sir enjoyed dominating the inmates
557
00:27:30,079 --> 00:27:35,599
as one of few women at an all-male camp
558
00:27:33,140 --> 00:27:36,559
she would mock the dying prisoners with
559
00:27:35,599 --> 00:27:38,658
her sexuality
560
00:27:36,558 --> 00:27:40,879
she loved clothes she loved to wear
561
00:27:38,659 --> 00:27:43,278
provocative clothing there's a lot of
562
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:46,490
accounts about her wearing short skirts
563
00:27:43,278 --> 00:27:49,400
and tight blouses in effect exhibiting
564
00:27:46,490 --> 00:27:52,788
herself to the prisoners and the guards
565
00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:55,100
she had ongoing quarrel with several of
566
00:27:52,788 --> 00:27:57,079
the officers lives and I think became
567
00:27:55,099 --> 00:27:59,389
increasingly an isolated figure among
568
00:27:57,079 --> 00:28:00,829
them because she was so different from
569
00:27:59,390 --> 00:28:03,528
the rest and so showy
570
00:28:00,829 --> 00:28:05,720
she would be lying in bed with the
571
00:28:03,528 --> 00:28:08,329
nightgown on are very very flimsy
572
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:11,058
clothing and asked the male prisoners to
573
00:28:08,329 --> 00:28:12,589
come and serve her or bring her food and
574
00:28:11,058 --> 00:28:15,500
other things and obviously she wanted to
575
00:28:12,589 --> 00:28:17,689
show herself off she went her by to be
576
00:28:15,500 --> 00:28:22,730
seen by these prisoners so she liked to
577
00:28:17,690 --> 00:28:25,399
tease unlike other German women he also
578
00:28:22,730 --> 00:28:28,970
didn't have to do any housework in the
579
00:28:25,398 --> 00:28:33,528
Nazi ideal home a housewife would spend
580
00:28:28,970 --> 00:28:35,048
a great deal of her day on chores but if
581
00:28:33,528 --> 00:28:37,730
you live in a really privileged
582
00:28:35,048 --> 00:28:40,639
household and of course the SS was the
583
00:28:37,730 --> 00:28:44,808
aristocracy in Nazi Germany then you
584
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:49,179
don't have these chores and so all you
585
00:28:44,808 --> 00:28:51,558
can really do is amuse yourself and
586
00:28:49,179 --> 00:28:54,320
different people amuse themselves in
587
00:28:51,558 --> 00:28:57,970
different ways some may read listen to
588
00:28:54,319 --> 00:29:00,319
music and others may go out and view
589
00:28:57,970 --> 00:29:03,019
concentration camp prisoners being
590
00:29:00,319 --> 00:29:04,849
cooked through their paces she was
591
00:29:03,019 --> 00:29:07,579
interested in watching the punishments
592
00:29:04,849 --> 00:29:10,668
and and did take part in that and often
593
00:29:07,579 --> 00:29:12,829
ordered prisoners to be punished one
594
00:29:10,669 --> 00:29:15,788
time when a work detail went by the cook
595
00:29:12,829 --> 00:29:18,990
villa she ordered them punished because
596
00:29:15,788 --> 00:29:21,160
some of the men had stared at her
597
00:29:18,990 --> 00:29:22,660
ironically enough she wanted the dis
598
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,360
tear at her and that was the whole point
599
00:29:22,660 --> 00:29:26,980
of the provocative clothing but any male
600
00:29:25,359 --> 00:29:29,769
prisoner who dared stare at the
601
00:29:26,980 --> 00:29:32,259
commandant wife often had lashes or
602
00:29:29,769 --> 00:29:36,240
punishment or perhaps even sent to the
603
00:29:32,259 --> 00:29:36,240
cellblock which often meant death
604
00:29:36,750 --> 00:29:42,779
with time on her hands she looked to the
605
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:44,429
camp for entertainment new prisoners had
606
00:29:42,779 --> 00:29:47,038
to spend their first night standing
607
00:29:44,429 --> 00:29:49,320
naked in the square one of the famous
608
00:29:47,038 --> 00:29:51,538
stories in the book and wild report is
609
00:29:49,319 --> 00:29:54,808
that she and some officers wives went to
610
00:29:51,538 --> 00:29:57,658
watch male prisoners were standing naked
611
00:29:54,808 --> 00:30:00,298
at roll call and apparently took great
612
00:29:57,659 --> 00:30:03,210
interest in what she saw temperature
613
00:30:00,298 --> 00:30:04,048
sciutto could go down to 20 centigrade
614
00:30:03,210 --> 00:30:08,429
centigrades
615
00:30:04,048 --> 00:30:09,839
- lots of snow and even then prisons
616
00:30:08,429 --> 00:30:12,990
would have to stay on the roll crawl
617
00:30:09,839 --> 00:30:16,199
place sometimes for hours not only to be
618
00:30:12,990 --> 00:30:18,298
counted but also to punish and some
619
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:21,840
really decided better to run into the
620
00:30:18,298 --> 00:30:25,490
electric fence and to commit suicide to
621
00:30:21,839 --> 00:30:25,490
survive under these conditions
622
00:30:25,839 --> 00:30:33,309
while starving prisoners were committing
623
00:30:28,339 --> 00:30:33,309
suicide the [ __ ] went short of nothing
624
00:30:34,019 --> 00:30:38,849
at one point several prisoners went into
625
00:30:36,690 --> 00:30:41,640
her cellar and they were supposed to
626
00:30:38,849 --> 00:30:44,609
shovel coal and they happened to see
627
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:46,140
that there were rows of bottles of wine
628
00:30:44,609 --> 00:30:49,139
and champagne
629
00:30:46,140 --> 00:30:51,150
there were hams there were other kinds
630
00:30:49,140 --> 00:30:53,250
of foodstuffs that were extremely scarce
631
00:30:51,150 --> 00:30:56,100
and I think the prisoners were shocked
632
00:30:53,250 --> 00:30:58,440
when they discovered that yes or
633
00:30:56,099 --> 00:31:03,119
sometimes used to look out through the
634
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:05,308
fence and seen sometimes so many people
635
00:31:03,119 --> 00:31:09,299
pass and I thought to myself these
636
00:31:05,308 --> 00:31:14,029
people are free that if they eat they
637
00:31:09,299 --> 00:31:14,029
nice on the outskirts of Vimal
638
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:21,990
the camp held up to 10,000 male
639
00:31:19,349 --> 00:31:25,079
prisoners they were a mixture of Jews
640
00:31:21,990 --> 00:31:28,559
Russians Eastern Europeans and political
641
00:31:25,079 --> 00:31:31,859
opponents the weak were killed and the
642
00:31:28,559 --> 00:31:34,109
healthy worked to death
643
00:31:31,859 --> 00:31:37,558
the camp was for hard labor not
644
00:31:34,109 --> 00:31:40,918
extermination unlike a schvitz gas
645
00:31:37,558 --> 00:31:45,058
chambers weren't needed life expectancy
646
00:31:40,919 --> 00:31:47,490
was three months as the wife of the
647
00:31:45,058 --> 00:31:50,308
commandant bill sir led a life of luxury
648
00:31:47,490 --> 00:31:52,798
and privilege with her two children all
649
00:31:50,308 --> 00:31:56,940
around her brutality and degradation
650
00:31:52,798 --> 00:31:59,398
thrived although she had no official
651
00:31:56,940 --> 00:32:02,548
rank in the camp she enjoyed the power
652
00:31:59,398 --> 00:32:05,579
that came with her position she took it
653
00:32:02,548 --> 00:32:09,778
on herself to mingle in the camp's
654
00:32:05,579 --> 00:32:12,240
running and Affairs and it was that
655
00:32:09,778 --> 00:32:15,538
process that gave her the name nickname
656
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:19,710
among the prisoners of command oohs the
657
00:32:15,538 --> 00:32:22,740
the woman commander the prisoners were
658
00:32:19,710 --> 00:32:26,389
ruled by fear life was worthless and
659
00:32:22,740 --> 00:32:26,388
murder a daily occurrence
660
00:32:26,819 --> 00:32:32,250
I think Ilse [ __ ] was drawn into that I
661
00:32:30,269 --> 00:32:34,169
think along with her husband she began
662
00:32:32,250 --> 00:32:36,329
to believe that they could punish
663
00:32:34,169 --> 00:32:39,269
Germany's enemies in any form
664
00:32:36,329 --> 00:32:41,879
however humiliating however degrading it
665
00:32:39,269 --> 00:32:44,609
might be in fact the more humiliating
666
00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:47,340
the better imagine a system where the
667
00:32:44,609 --> 00:32:49,859
rule of law does not prevail where in
668
00:32:47,339 --> 00:32:53,788
concentration camps there are no laws
669
00:32:49,859 --> 00:32:58,668
other than the laws which are the whim
670
00:32:53,788 --> 00:33:01,589
of the people running the place terrify
671
00:32:58,669 --> 00:33:06,980
but perhaps for the people actually
672
00:33:01,589 --> 00:33:06,980
running the place exhilarating
673
00:33:07,119 --> 00:33:13,179
as the prisoners lived in fear of their
674
00:33:09,220 --> 00:33:15,130
lives the COS lived in luxury they built
675
00:33:13,180 --> 00:33:17,700
their dream home just outside the
676
00:33:15,130 --> 00:33:17,700
perimeter fence
677
00:33:19,349 --> 00:33:24,469
the officers lived on a street just
678
00:33:22,079 --> 00:33:27,929
outside a camp they called officers row
679
00:33:24,470 --> 00:33:30,120
rather comfortable existence with a row
680
00:33:27,930 --> 00:33:32,820
of what were called villas the biggest
681
00:33:30,119 --> 00:33:35,819
Villa was the cook Villa where Ilsa
682
00:33:32,819 --> 00:33:38,039
lived during this whole time so for her
683
00:33:35,819 --> 00:33:40,799
it was something very special and
684
00:33:38,039 --> 00:33:44,609
extraordinary to live in a big house
685
00:33:40,799 --> 00:33:47,569
with even servants that meant prisoners
686
00:33:44,609 --> 00:33:50,669
from the camp doing everything for her
687
00:33:47,569 --> 00:33:52,649
as the common dance wife he also began
688
00:33:50,670 --> 00:33:55,400
to revel in the power she held over her
689
00:33:52,650 --> 00:33:55,400
prisoner slaves
690
00:33:56,059 --> 00:34:00,200
while some prisons for example would
691
00:33:58,490 --> 00:34:04,579
park in the garden or even in her
692
00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:06,140
kitchen and the reports say that it was
693
00:34:04,579 --> 00:34:08,989
always unclear what would happen the
694
00:34:06,140 --> 00:34:11,628
next moment whether she would feel fine
695
00:34:08,989 --> 00:34:15,559
and everything is done well from her
696
00:34:11,628 --> 00:34:18,769
perspective or whether she would say the
697
00:34:15,559 --> 00:34:21,529
person didn't fulfill his duties as his
698
00:34:18,769 --> 00:34:23,750
life to her household and then she could
699
00:34:21,530 --> 00:34:27,169
easily say he should be punished back in
700
00:34:23,750 --> 00:34:28,639
the camp she liked prisoners to dresser
701
00:34:27,168 --> 00:34:31,849
as Gennady gif Rao
702
00:34:28,639 --> 00:34:33,230
which means gracious lady a kind of term
703
00:34:31,849 --> 00:34:37,579
that would have been used to the
704
00:34:33,230 --> 00:34:39,710
nobility in the 18th or 19th century to
705
00:34:37,579 --> 00:34:43,639
go with this title also enjoyed
706
00:34:39,710 --> 00:34:45,918
aristocratic pursuits early in the
707
00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:48,289
camp's history a special writing Hall
708
00:34:45,918 --> 00:34:49,789
was built Buchenwald report says it
709
00:34:48,289 --> 00:34:51,940
probably cost two hundred and fifty
710
00:34:49,789 --> 00:34:54,949
thousand marks to build this structure
711
00:34:51,940 --> 00:34:57,470
thirty prisoners were injured or died in
712
00:34:54,949 --> 00:34:59,659
the construction of that writing Hall it
713
00:34:57,469 --> 00:35:01,909
was mainly for her own personal use and
714
00:34:59,659 --> 00:35:04,279
as a matter of fact she took daily
715
00:35:01,909 --> 00:35:08,789
lessons there or a daily exercise rides
716
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:12,600
at some points accompanied by music
717
00:35:08,789 --> 00:35:15,000
at the end of World War 2 1200 citizens
718
00:35:12,599 --> 00:35:16,920
from the city of Vemma were rounded up
719
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:21,300
and ordered into the liberated
720
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:23,340
Buchenwald concentration camp the US
721
00:35:21,300 --> 00:35:25,650
Army wanted them to witness a horrifying
722
00:35:23,340 --> 00:35:29,090
collection of artifacts found among
723
00:35:25,650 --> 00:35:29,090
thousands of dying prison
724
00:35:29,219 --> 00:35:33,309
there are two heads which have been
725
00:35:31,539 --> 00:35:36,009
shrunk to one fit their normal size
726
00:35:33,309 --> 00:35:39,159
these and other exhibits of Nazi origin
727
00:35:36,010 --> 00:35:40,720
are shown to the townspeople on a table
728
00:35:39,159 --> 00:35:43,359
for all the gaze upon is a lampshade
729
00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:46,809
made of human skin made at the request
730
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:50,590
of an SS officers way that officer's
731
00:35:46,809 --> 00:35:54,009
wife was encircled her husband was the
732
00:35:50,590 --> 00:35:55,809
commander of Pokemon together they
733
00:35:54,010 --> 00:35:58,860
presided over the camp in which a
734
00:35:55,809 --> 00:35:58,860
hundred thousand people
735
00:35:59,949 --> 00:36:05,500
she would personally select prisoners
736
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:07,599
sentence them to death and force fellow
737
00:36:05,500 --> 00:36:08,199
inmates to decorate the skins for her
738
00:36:07,599 --> 00:36:10,420
amusement
739
00:36:08,199 --> 00:36:15,429
she was even worse than some of their
740
00:36:10,420 --> 00:36:20,349
says she's - she was a sadist used to
741
00:36:15,429 --> 00:36:22,949
enjoy it she was known as the [ __ ] of
742
00:36:20,349 --> 00:36:22,949
Bougainville
743
00:36:39,780 --> 00:36:47,830
born in rural Saxony in 1906 Insur Cola
744
00:36:44,260 --> 00:36:50,110
was the daughter of a label little is
745
00:36:47,829 --> 00:36:52,119
known of her modest upbringing but by
746
00:36:50,110 --> 00:36:54,910
the age of 15 she was working at a
747
00:36:52,119 --> 00:36:56,980
cigarette factory she was not terribly
748
00:36:54,909 --> 00:36:59,619
well educated by the standards at the
749
00:36:56,980 --> 00:37:02,320
time she was lucky to receive the job at
750
00:36:59,619 --> 00:37:05,440
the tobacco company as a clerk typist
751
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:07,900
and that's what she was doing in 1932
752
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:11,079
about the time that Hitler begins his
753
00:37:07,900 --> 00:37:12,880
rise to power the young Elsa was
754
00:37:11,079 --> 00:37:15,989
instantly attracted to the hardline
755
00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:19,530
politics of the far-right
756
00:37:15,989 --> 00:37:21,809
she joined the party in April 1932 and
757
00:37:19,530 --> 00:37:24,650
that's a fairly early date a lot of
758
00:37:21,809 --> 00:37:28,079
people joined the party in the late 30s
759
00:37:24,650 --> 00:37:31,349
ever ambitious Elsa became a Nazi
760
00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:34,139
secretary she was singled out by him
761
00:37:31,349 --> 00:37:37,640
ahead of the SS for marriage to a friend
762
00:37:34,139 --> 00:37:37,639
of hers Karl cough
763
00:37:38,309 --> 00:37:43,269
[ __ ] was widely known for his sadistic
764
00:37:40,809 --> 00:37:48,340
tendencies as commander of the saxon
765
00:37:43,269 --> 00:37:55,030
housing concentration he was notorious
766
00:37:48,340 --> 00:37:58,600
for his methods of torture himmler liked
767
00:37:55,030 --> 00:38:00,400
coke and viewed him as a protege viewed
768
00:37:58,599 --> 00:38:03,339
him in many ways as a model
769
00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:05,470
concentration camp commander often held
770
00:38:03,340 --> 00:38:09,640
him up to other commanders as the one to
771
00:38:05,469 --> 00:38:11,219
emulate they were the perfect nazi
772
00:38:09,639 --> 00:38:14,579
couple
773
00:38:11,219 --> 00:38:18,779
one evening in 1936 the couple married
774
00:38:14,579 --> 00:38:23,009
in a grove of oak trees Elsa was 30 Carl
775
00:38:18,780 --> 00:38:24,540
10 years old his new bride didn't mind
776
00:38:23,010 --> 00:38:27,119
Carl's reputation as a cruel
777
00:38:24,539 --> 00:38:29,309
disciplinarian she believed in her
778
00:38:27,119 --> 00:38:30,269
husband and was proud to have risen from
779
00:38:29,309 --> 00:38:33,289
the working-classes
780
00:38:30,269 --> 00:38:33,289
to the Nazi elite
781
00:38:35,150 --> 00:38:41,940
in 1937 Carl was appointed commandant of
782
00:38:39,690 --> 00:38:45,420
a new concentration camp an SS training
783
00:38:41,940 --> 00:38:47,490
center at Brooklyn but she and her
784
00:38:45,420 --> 00:38:51,690
husband Karl Koch arrived when the camp
785
00:38:47,489 --> 00:38:55,189
opened in July 1937 as the brand new
786
00:38:51,690 --> 00:38:55,190
commander of a brand new Kia
787
00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:00,429
Buchan vault was one of the first and
788
00:38:58,059 --> 00:39:04,750
largest incarceration facilities in nazi
789
00:39:00,429 --> 00:39:06,519
germany it was a hostile isolated for
790
00:39:04,750 --> 00:39:08,980
those who didn't witness these macabre
791
00:39:06,519 --> 00:39:12,369
objects their existence seems hard to
792
00:39:08,980 --> 00:39:14,199
believe frankly if I didn't know what
793
00:39:12,369 --> 00:39:15,880
else went on at the camp at the same
794
00:39:14,199 --> 00:39:18,699
time I too might doubt it
795
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:21,460
but having seen examples of medical
796
00:39:18,699 --> 00:39:23,949
experiments where they took organs out
797
00:39:21,460 --> 00:39:26,440
of living prisoners where they had the
798
00:39:23,949 --> 00:39:28,809
typhus block and they experimented with
799
00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:30,730
typhus where they operated on
800
00:39:28,809 --> 00:39:33,699
homosexuals to change their sexual
801
00:39:30,730 --> 00:39:35,858
orientation or they burned prisoners
802
00:39:33,699 --> 00:39:38,259
with phosphorus to see how to treat
803
00:39:35,858 --> 00:39:41,079
phosphorus wounds where they shot
804
00:39:38,260 --> 00:39:42,460
prisoners with poison bullets when all
805
00:39:41,079 --> 00:39:44,710
of these things are going on at
806
00:39:42,460 --> 00:39:47,619
Buchenwald camp as a matter of routine
807
00:39:44,710 --> 00:39:50,588
business then the existence of these
808
00:39:47,619 --> 00:39:53,890
skins in the pathology lab is not so
809
00:39:50,588 --> 00:39:56,710
unusual the prisoners who weren't
810
00:39:53,889 --> 00:39:59,039
victims of experiments faced a battle
811
00:39:56,710 --> 00:39:59,039
for survival
812
00:39:59,369 --> 00:40:07,980
on a Sunday we used to get two boiled
813
00:40:02,519 --> 00:40:10,769
potatoes and jackets and I couldn't eat
814
00:40:07,980 --> 00:40:15,300
the peels because used to burn me I was
815
00:40:10,769 --> 00:40:18,179
very thin just like a skeleton and as I
816
00:40:15,300 --> 00:40:20,970
started peeling some Hungarian Jews came
817
00:40:18,179 --> 00:40:22,889
in and held their hand underneath as I
818
00:40:20,969 --> 00:40:28,619
was bathing and taking the peels and
819
00:40:22,889 --> 00:40:31,230
eating it and I felt somehow I have
820
00:40:28,619 --> 00:40:35,579
never felt so bad here I'm starving and
821
00:40:31,230 --> 00:40:39,829
here the people taking my peels to eat
822
00:40:35,579 --> 00:40:46,889
just to try to survive it was a very
823
00:40:39,829 --> 00:40:49,380
pathetic situation in total contrast to
824
00:40:46,889 --> 00:40:51,769
the emaciated prisoners the high living
825
00:40:49,380 --> 00:40:54,599
[ __ ] stepped up their racketeering
826
00:40:51,769 --> 00:40:56,909
they stole gold teeth and jewelry from
827
00:40:54,599 --> 00:41:02,279
the prisoners and deposited the plunder
828
00:40:56,909 --> 00:41:05,460
in secret Swiss bank accounts her
829
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:07,590
husband and she were trying to grab as
830
00:41:05,460 --> 00:41:09,869
much as they could from their position
831
00:41:07,590 --> 00:41:13,559
that means they also came into conflict
832
00:41:09,869 --> 00:41:17,130
with rules of the SS itself I think one
833
00:41:13,559 --> 00:41:19,460
of the key factors in the fall of the
834
00:41:17,130 --> 00:41:22,440
koch's is that many of the camp guards
835
00:41:19,460 --> 00:41:25,170
witnessed this corruption and resented
836
00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:28,500
it to some extent that the folks were
837
00:41:25,170 --> 00:41:31,110
using embezzled funds to enjoy a very
838
00:41:28,500 --> 00:41:33,300
lavish lifestyle he bought a big car he
839
00:41:31,110 --> 00:41:36,960
bought a boat bought a house on the lake
840
00:41:33,300 --> 00:41:39,180
all this on a salary that was a modest
841
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:40,769
salary at least officially people began
842
00:41:39,179 --> 00:41:42,619
to ask questions where is the money
843
00:41:40,769 --> 00:41:46,590
coming from
844
00:41:42,619 --> 00:41:50,199
in 1942 the couple were charged with
845
00:41:46,590 --> 00:41:52,910
corruption by an SS court
846
00:41:50,199 --> 00:41:54,739
Carl took the blame and was sent to run
847
00:41:52,909 --> 00:42:00,039
a polish extermination camp to be
848
00:41:54,739 --> 00:42:02,809
sentenced at a later date Ilse cook was
849
00:42:00,039 --> 00:42:05,210
acquitted of charges of misuse of funds
850
00:42:02,809 --> 00:42:06,889
although her involvement I think your
851
00:42:05,210 --> 00:42:08,539
involvement is clear by her being
852
00:42:06,889 --> 00:42:11,989
included in the trial in the first place
853
00:42:08,539 --> 00:42:14,029
that many SS officers believe that she
854
00:42:11,989 --> 00:42:16,819
did take part in running of the camp and
855
00:42:14,030 --> 00:42:21,350
certainly knew about many of the corrupt
856
00:42:16,820 --> 00:42:23,870
elements of the Koch administration Ilsa
857
00:42:21,349 --> 00:42:25,819
remained at the camp with her husband
858
00:42:23,869 --> 00:42:29,000
out of the picture she sought male
859
00:42:25,820 --> 00:42:31,910
allies she had affairs with several
860
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:35,469
high-ranking SS officers some of the men
861
00:42:31,909 --> 00:42:38,389
worked outside the fence and the SS
862
00:42:35,469 --> 00:42:41,480
barracks as a woman and they brought
863
00:42:38,389 --> 00:42:44,779
back stone soldiers about her sexuality
864
00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:50,079
and that she was going with all
865
00:42:44,780 --> 00:42:53,540
different assessment and officers in
866
00:42:50,079 --> 00:42:56,690
1944 Carl returned to bootcamp at to
867
00:42:53,539 --> 00:42:58,759
face trial for corruption torture and
868
00:42:56,690 --> 00:43:00,369
murder was nothing compared to ripping
869
00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:02,880
off the right
870
00:43:00,369 --> 00:43:02,880
on a
65693
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