what did ilse koch do

Ilse Koch was a German war criminal infamous for her cruelty while her husband, Karl-Otto Koch, was commandant of Buchenwald concentration camp. She was known as the "Witch of Buchenwald" for her sadistic behavior, which included beating prisoners with a riding crop, forcing them to perform exhausting tasks for her amusement, and selecting prisoners with "interesting" tattoos for death to allegedly use their skin to make items like lampshades, book covers, and gloves. Although the most gruesome allegations, such as making lampshades from human skin, lacked conclusive proof in court, she was found guilty of other war crimes including the use of slave labor, assaulting inmates, and reporting prisoners for brutal beatings. Ilse Koch was sentenced to life imprisonment after the war and died by suicide in prison in 1967.