Ilse Koch, notorious German war criminal, suffering from what doctors call a self-induced nervous breakdown, was absent from court again when her trial resumed today. She is charged with 45 murders, and complicity in 135 others. Court officials said the trial would probably close before the end of January, the date originally set.
With the hearing of 80 witnesses this week, Hans Ilkow, the prosecutor, will have finished the bulk of his work. On the request of Judge Georg Maginot, he is expected to prune 40 or 50 from his original list of 480 witnesses. Only four or five of the 50 witnesses asked from Eastern Germany now are expected to arrive. Several defense witnesses have already been heard and Alfred Seidl, Koch’s counsel, is expected to bring another 30 early next month.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.