Background
He was born in Bad Harzburg, Duchy of Brunswick.
He was born in Bad Harzburg, Duchy of Brunswick.
Koch studied Economics, Philosophy and History at Berlin He received a doctorate in 1907 for a dissertation entitled "Consolidation in the German Electrical Indudstry" ("Konzentration in der dt Elektroindustrie").
Between 907 and 1910 he undertook an extensive study tour that included Russia, China and the United States of America. He also worked from 1905 till 1907 for General Electric Company, returning to the company to head up a London based company for them from 1910 till 1914. During World War I he was served in the German army. In 1918 he joined the German Democratic Party (Deutsche Demokratische Partei).
Between the wars he worked as an economist and professor on the Technical University of Berlin.
After World World War II he co-founded the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD) in the Soviet Occupied Zone (SBZ). In 1945 he was briefly the Chairman of the LDPD, but the Soviets forced him to resign after a few months.
In 1949 he went to West Germany (West Berlin) and again worked as an economist professor
He opposed the land reform plans of the Soviet authorities and the Socialist Unity Party (SED).
Until 1948 Koch was a member of the LDPD"s executive committee. From 1948 to 1956 Koch was a member of the liberal Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party) (Free Democratic Party).