Kate Winslet's character in the movie The Reader is based on a real-life war criminal. The woman she plays, Hanna Schmitz, was inspired by Ilse Koch, a notorious Nazi concentration camp guard. 

Ilse Koch was known as the "Bitch of Buchenwald." She was sentenced to life in prison for her crimes and eventually took her own life, similar to Hanna Schmitz in the film.

Bernhard Schlink wrote the book that the movie is based on. He never said who inspired Hanna Schmitz, but Professor Bill Niven from Nottingham Trent University believes it was Ilse Koch. He pointed out many similarities between the two women. "No other female camp guard matches up with Schmitz as closely as Koch does," Niven said.

Story of The Reader:

In the movie, which starts in 1958, a German teenager named Michael Berg meets a tram conductor named Schmitz. They have a passionate but abusive affair. Schmitz suddenly disappears, leaving Michael heartbroken. Eight years later, Michael sees her again at a war crimes trial. She is one of the defendants being tried for her actions as a concentration camp guard and gets sentenced to life in prison. Michael sends her taped books because she can't read. Schmitz commits suicide the day before her release from prison.

Ilse Koch's True Story:

Koch also killed herself while serving a life sentence. She had just met her son, Uwe, who had recently learned about her crimes. Koch was very cruel and was accused of hitting prisoners with a riding crop, similar to how Hanna hits Michael with a belt in the movie. Both women selected prisoners for execution and were suspected of having sexual relations with prisoners.

Like Schmitz, Koch came from a poor background and joined the Nazi party in 1932. She married Karl Koch, a high-ranking Nazi, in 1936. They moved to Buchenwald, where she was very sadistic. She would ride her horse through the camp, whipping prisoners, and even kicking a man to death.

In 1943, the SS tried the Kochs for stealing from prisoners. Ilse was acquitted, but Karl was executed in 1945. Ilse was arrested later that year and sentenced to life in prison in 1947. She gave birth to a son, Uwe, while in prison, who was adopted soon after. Uwe visited her in prison but disappeared after she died.

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