Talk:Ilse Koch

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[edit] Nickname

As to her nick-name, I'm absolutely sure that the correct term was "The Bitch of Buchenwald", not the "Witch of Buchenwald". At least the Polish inmates report the "Suka z Buchenwaldu" name. Halibutt 15:21, 23 May 2004 (UTC)

It was never proofed that she had possessed lampshades from human skin or that the family dinner table was decorated with shrunken human heads. She was not convicted for those things. She was only convicted for his sadism against prinsoners. --217.247.10.83 09:45, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

How in the hell is this academic? Human lampshades, please. Give me a break. Im not a Nazi but THAT is just stupid.

Where does the article claim that? Well, the "shrunken head" dinner table decoration might be a silly claim as well.

There were pictures taken of the lampshades, I've seen them. I think the book was the 14 most evil people in history or something like that.. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.81.93.202 (talk) 13:33, 22 January 2007 (UTC).

Furthermore, Koch did not walk out of the camp as you claim, but was arrested with her husband in 1943 for imbezzlement, this indeed ended her tenure there.

[edit] Photograph Content

Are we sure that the photograph is really of "Collection of prisoners' tattoos "? These definitely appear to be anatomical samples but most of them look more like organs of some sort than skin samples; the one at center-left appears to be a kidney, the one at top-center appears to be a heart. The others may be possibly be a lung, liver, intestines, etc. I really don't see anything that appears to be a skin sample with a tatoo on it. A similar photograph in one of the articles linked at the article's end simply states "human remains" with a purported lampshade with human skin (no tatoos). Is there a reliable caption we can reference? - JoeConsumer 05/09/06

I is certain of a thing, it is that the photograph is a true photograph taken the day of the release of the camp It is my father-in-law who took this photograph, it was this day there there. It does not make any propaganda and forever published this series of photographs which was in a drawer (it is me which found that very useful for Wikipédia). It made bets 16th Belgian battalion of Fusiliers between on March 13 and on May 7, 1945. The American army had prohibited the catch of photograph. But anyway made him a series of photographs. My father-in-law is still in life and me claims that it is many tatoo human. But its memories and its health are not any more exellent. Afflicted this text is translated into English with tools automatic --Luc Viatour 09:01, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Like much - most - all - of the Nazi atrocities, when original material ever is tested it turns out to be more legend than fact. The US general who commuted her life sentence to 4 years stated that there was never any lampshade or other evidence every even mentioned at any trial. Her second trial was demanded by political pressure, not evidence. She probably was not a nice lady though -

The court apparently concluded that the lampshade in question was goat skin, and that an overzealous / sensationalist reporter started the story that it was made from human skin. Media hype has been around for as long as the media have. There is no need to exaggerate or diminish the scale of what happened; the truth will suffice.

Occam's Razor clearly applies here. The simplest explanation is that the lamp was simply there to illuminate the collection on display.

Zuiram 16:56, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

"the truth will suffice" - I don't think we should go that far. If we only use the truth, well the story about Ilse will either be very short or very sympathetic. Even mentioning her husband ( hung by the Nazis for corruption ) might show that the Nazis wouldn't stand for maltreatment of prisoners,etc. We are backed into a corner - anyway to just delete the whole article?( someone might read it 100 years from now and wonder how off the beam we were)159.105.80.63 18:36, 15 March 2007 (UTC)