Who was Ilse Koch and did she influence Ed Gein? Monster season 3 character explained

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This article contains mentions of torture and abuse which some readers may find distressing.

*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Monster: The Ed Gein Story.*

Beyond detailing the crimes of serial killer and grave robber Ed Gein, the story of his life also introduces some surprising people who played a role in the events.

This series explores how Ed Gein impacted Hollywood, demonstrating how his life story fueled iconic films like *Psycho*, *The Silence of the Lambs*, and *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre*. However, the show reveals a deeply disturbing origin story for Gein’s own actions.

The show reveals that Gein received a comic book detailing the life of Ilse Koch, infamously known as the ‘Bh of Buchenwald’. Flashbacks then expose her horrific crimes, suggesting they played a role in shaping Gein’s own disturbing path.

But who was Koch and did she actually influence Gein? Read on to find out.

Who was Ilse Koch?

In the TV series *Monster: The Ed Gein Story*, Vicky Krieps portrays Ilse Koch. She appears in the first episode when Adeline Watkins (played by Suzanna Son) gives Ed a box containing disturbing items from concentration camps as a gift.

The box contains disturbing items, including photos of prisoners from concentration camps, and a brightly colored comic book detailing the life of Ilse Koch, infamously known as the ‘Bh of Buchenwald’.

He begins reading the comic book privately in his room, hiding it from his mother, and soon finds himself lost in the vivid world it depicts. The episode then flashes back to reveal the life of Koch as the wife of Karl Otto-Koch, the commander of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

The novel *Monster* portrays Koch as a woman who maintained a rigid and controlled household, but secretly operated a hidden room where she imprisoned and abused people accused of various offenses. The story also reveals that she hosted lavish parties at night, during which Nazi officers and their spouses subjected prisoners to horrific torture.

Actually, we know Koch frequently threw large parties and insisted her prisoners call her “gracious lady.”

Ilse Koch, a German woman known as the “Kommandeuse of Buchenwald,” became notorious during World War II for her horrific crimes. Though never an official member of the Nazi party’s leadership, her actions made her one of the most infamous figures of the war. She joined the Nazi party in 1932 and began her work as a secretary at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin.

In 1937, Ilse Koch moved to Buchenwald with her husband, Karl, and they had three children. While living there, Koch committed terrible acts, physically torturing prisoners and forcing them into sexual acts with her.

During and after her trial for alleged crimes, Ilse Koch gained notoriety for identifying prisoners with tattoos, reportedly ordering their execution, and then allegedly using their skin to create objects for her home, most famously lampshades.

After World War II, Ilse Koch was arrested and became a public figure due to the serious crimes she was accused of. In 1947, the American military court at Dachau held her first trial, but despite testimony from former prisoners, they couldn’t convict her because there wasn’t enough proof.

Ilse was found guilty of participating in the systematic abuse of prisoners and initially received a life sentence. This sentence was later reduced, and after serving time, she was released in October 1949. However, immediately upon her release, West German authorities rearrested her. Johann Ilkow, a Bavarian prosecutor, then charged her with 25 separate offenses.

The charges included causing serious physical harm, encouraging others to do so in multiple instances where the specific individuals involved are now unknown, sixty-five counts of encouraging attempted murder, and twenty-five counts of encouraging murder.

The trial took seven weeks to complete and involved testimony from 250 witnesses, including 50 who spoke in support of Koch. Despite this, she was ultimately found guilty and received a life sentence in January 1951.

In 1947, while imprisoned at Landsberg, Ilse Koch gave birth to a son, Uwe Köhler, who was then placed in foster care. Reports suggest Uwe’s father was another German prisoner convicted of war crimes. Later in her life, as depicted in the film *Monster*, Koch suffered from delusions, believing prisoners from the concentration camps were going to harm her.

She died by suicide in prison aged 60 on 1st September 1967.

She left a note to her son Uwe, which read: “There is no other way. Death for me is a release.”

Did Ilse Koch influence Ed Gein?

Gein never publicly spoke about Ilse Koch, her crimes or her influence on his own crimes.

Throughout the show, Gein becomes increasingly fascinated by Koch, culminating in a final scene where he fantasizes about discussing their crimes with her.

Although it’s unclear if Koch had an impact on Gein, her case received a lot of media attention in the United States. Following a reduction in her original sentence, a group of US senators investigated the decision and recommended she be retried – this time by the newly formed West German court system.

Although it’s possible Ed Gein was aware of Ilse Koch, considering the extensive American attention on her crimes and trials, we can’t know for sure.

You can now watch ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’ on Netflix. Netflix subscriptions start at just £5.99 per month, and it’s also accessible through Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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2025-10-06 14:05