Arrest
On the night of 22 June, Haarmann was observed by the two
undercover officers prowling Hanover's central station. He was soon observed
arguing with a 15-year-old boy named Karl
Fromm, then to approach police and insist they arrest the youth on the
charge of travelling upon forged documents. Upon his arrest, Fromm informed
police he had been living with Haarmann for four days, and that he had been
repeatedly raped by his accuser, sometimes as a knife was held to his throat.
Haarmann was arrested the following morning and charged with sexual assault.
Following his arrest. Haarmann's attic apartment at No. 2 Rote Reihe was searched. Haarmann
had lived in this single room apartment since June 1923. The flooring, walls
and bedding within the apartment were found to be extensively bloodstained. Haarmann initially attempted to explain this
fact as a by-product of his illegal trading in contraband meat. Various acquaintances and former neighbors of
Haarmann were also extensively questioned as to his activities. Many fellow
tenants and neighbors of the various addresses in which Haarmann lived since
1920 commented to detectives about the number of teenage boys they observed
visiting his various addresses. Moreover, some had seen him leaving his
property with concealed sacks, bags or baskets—invariably in the late evening
or early morning hours. Two former
tenants informed police that, in the spring of 1924, they had discreetly
followed Haarmann from his apartment and observed him discarding a sack into
the Leine River.
The clothes and personal possessions found at Haarmann's
apartment and in the possession of his acquaintances were suspected as being
the property of missing youths: all were confiscated and put on display at Hanover Police Station, with the
parents of missing teenage boys from across Germany invited to look at the items. As successive days passed, an
increasing number of items were identified by family members as having belonged
to their sons and brothers. Haarmann did initially attempt to dismiss these
successive revelations as being circumstantial in nature by explaining he
acquired many of these items through his business of trading in used clothing,
with other items being left at his apartment by youths with whom he engaged in
sexual activity.
The turning point came when, on 29 June, clothes, boots and
keys found stowed at Haarmann's apartment were identified as belonging to a
missing 18-year-old named Robert Witzel.
A skull which had been found in a garden on 20 May (which was not initially connected
with later skeletal discoveries) was identified as that of the missing youth. A
friend of Witzel identified a police officer seen in the company of the youth
the day prior to his disappearance as Haarmann. Confronted with this evidence,
Haarmann briefly attempted to bluster his way out of these latest and most
damning pieces of evidence. When Witzel's jacket was found in the possession of
his landlady and he was confronted with various witnesses' testimony as to his
destroying identification marks upon the clothing, he broke down and had to be
supported by his sister.
Confession
Faced with this latest evidence, and upon the urging of his
sister, Haarmann confessed to raping, killing and dismembering many young men
in what he initially described as a "rabid
sexual passion" between 1918 and 1924. According to Haarmann, he never
actually intended to murder any of his victims, but would be seized by an
irresistible urge to bite into or through their Adam's apple—often as he
manually strangled them—in the throes of ecstasy, before typically collapsing
atop the victim's body. Only one intended victim had escaped from Haarmann's
apartment after he attempted to bite into his Adam's apple, although this
individual is not known to have reported the attack to police.
All of Haarmann's victims' bodies were disposed of via
dismemberment shortly after their murder, and Haarmann was insistent that he
found the act of dismemberment extremely unpleasant; he had, he stated, been
ill for eight days after his first murder. Nonetheless, Haarmann was insistent that his
passion at the moment of murder was invariably "stronger than the horror of the cutting and the chopping"
which would inevitably follow, and would typically take up to two days to
complete.
To fortify himself to dismember his victims' bodies,
Haarmann would pour himself a cup of strong black coffee, then place the body
of his victim upon the floor of this apartment and cover the face with cloth,
before first removing the intestines, which he would place inside a bucket. A
towel would then be repeatedly placed inside the abdominal cavity to soak the
collecting blood. He would then make three cuts between the victim's ribs and
shoulders, then "take hold of the
ribs and push until the bones around the shoulders broke." The
victim's heart, lungs and kidneys would then be removed, diced, and placed in
the same bucket which held the intestines before the legs and arms would be
severed from the body. Haarmann would then begin paring the flesh from the
limbs and torso. This surplus flesh would be disposed of in the toilet or,
usually, in the nearby river.
The final section of the victims' bodies to be dismembered
was invariably the head. After severing the head from the torso, Haarmann would
use a small kitchen knife to strip all flesh from the skull, which he would
then wrap in rags and place face downwards upon a pile of straw and bludgeon
with an axe until the skull splintered, enabling him to access the brain. This
he would also place in a bucket, which he would pour, alongside the "chopped up bones" in the Leine.
Haarmann was insistent that none of the skulls found in the Leine belonged to his victims, and that
the forensic identification of the skull of Robert Witzel was mistaken, as he had almost invariably smashed his
victims' skulls to pieces. The exceptions being those of his earliest
victims—killed several years prior to his arrest—and that of his last victim, Erich de Vries. Although insistent that none of his murders
were premeditated, investigators discovered much circumstantial evidence
suggesting that several murders had been planned hours or days in advance, and
that Haarmann had both concocted explanations for his victims' disappearances
and dissuaded acquaintances of his victims from filing missing persons' reports
with Hanover police. Investigators also noted that Haarmann would
only confess to murders for which there existed evidence against him; on one
occasion, Haarmann stated: "There
are some [victims] you don't know about, but it's not those you think."
When asked how many victims he killed, Haarmann claimed, "Somewhere between 50 and 70."
The police, however, could only connect Haarmann with the disappearance of 27
youths, and he was charged with 27 murders—some of which he claimed were
committed upon the insistence of Hans
Grans, who was arrested on 8 July, and formally charged with being an
accessory to murder one week later.
On 16 August 1924, Haarmann underwent a psychological
examination at a Göttingen medical
school; on 25 September, he was judged competent to stand trial and returned to
Hanover to await trial.
Trial
The trial of Fritz
Haarmann and Hans Grans began on
4 December 1924. Haarmann was charged with the murder of 27 boys and young men
who had disappeared between September 1918 and June that year. In 14 of these
cases, Haarmann—who insisted upon conducting his own defense—acknowledged his
guilt, although he claimed to be uncertain of the identification of the
remaining 13 victims upon the list of charges. Grans pleaded not guilty to
charges of being an accessory to murder in several of the murders. Initially, following a thorough security
search, all members of the public were permitted access to the courtroom,
although by the third day the judge excluded all spectators from the courtroom
in the opening days of the trial as each murder was discussed in detail, due to
the ongoing carnal and gruesome nature of the revelations.
The trial was one of the first major modern media events in
Germany, and received extensive international press coverage, being described
as the "most revolting [case] in German criminal history." Varying
sensational headlines—in which Haarmann was variously referred to by such
titles as the "Butcher of
Hanover," the "Vampire of
Hanover," and the "Wolf
Man"—continuously appeared in the press.
Although Haarmann denied any premeditation in the crimes,
and remained adamant the ultimate reason he killed was a "mystery" to him, he readily confessed to having killed
14 of the victims for whose murder he was tried and to retaining and selling
many of their possessions, although he denied having sold the body parts of any
of his victims as contraband meat. Haarmann's denial that he had either
consumed or sold human flesh would be supported by a medical expert, who
testified on 6 December that none of the meat found in Haarmann's apartment following
his arrest was human.
When asked to identify photographs of his victims, Haarmann
became taciturn and dismissive as he typically claimed to be unable to
recognize any of his victims' photographs; however, in instances where he
claimed to be unable to recognize his victims' faces but the victims' clothing
or other personal belongings had been found in his possession, he would simply
shrug and make comments to the effect of, "I
probably killed him," or: "Charge
it to me; it's alright with me." For example, when asked to identify a
photograph of victim Alfred Hogrefe,
Haarmann stated: "I certainly assume
I killed Hogrefe, but I don't remember his face."
Numerous exhibits were introduced into evidence in the
opening days of the trial, including 285 sections of the skeletal
structure—particularly skulls and thigh bones—recovered from the Leine River and forensically determined
as belonging to young men under 20 years of age which had been retrieved from
the Leine River, the bucket into
which he stored and transported human remains, and the extensively bloodstained
camp bed upon which he had killed many of the victims at his Rote Reihe address. As had been the case when earlier asked
whether he could recognize the photographs of any of his victims, Haarmann's
demeanour became dismissive upon the introduction of these exhibits; he denied
any of the skulls introduced into evidence belonged to his victims, stating he
had almost invariably "mashed"
the victims' skulls, and had thrown only one undamaged skull into the river.
Several acquaintances and criminal associates of Haarmann
testified for the prosecution, including former neighbors who testified to
having purchased brawn or mince from Haarmann, whom they noted regularly left
his apartment with packages of meat, but rarely arrived with them. Haarmann's
landlady, Elisabeth Engel, testified
that Haarmann would regularly pour chopped pieces of meat into boiling water
and would strain fat from meat Haarmann claimed was pork. This fat would invariably be poured into
bottles. On one occasion in April 1924, Haarmann's landlady and her family
became ill after eating sausages in skins Haarmann claimed were sheep's
intestines. Another neighbor testified to the alarming number of youths whom he
had seen entering Haarmann's Neue Straße
apartment, but whom he seldom observed leaving the address. This neighbor
assumed Haarmann was selling youths to the Foreign
Legion; another neighbor testified to having observed Haarmann throw a sack
of bones into the Leine River. Two
female acquaintances of Hans Grans
also testified how, on one occasion in 1923, they discovered what they believed
to be a human mouth boiling in a soup kettle in Haarmann's apartment; these
witnesses testified they had taken the item to Hanover police, who simply replied the piece of flesh may be a
pig's snout.
By the second week of the trial, testimony began to focus
upon the extent of police knowledge of the criminal activities Haarmann engaged
upon following his 1918 release from prison and issues relating to the trust
bestowed upon him. Until Haarmann was
arrested for sexual assault upon Karl
Fromm and his apartment searched, the police seemingly never seriously
suspected that the individual responsible for the sharp increase in missing
person cases relating to boys and young men filed in Hanover in 1923 and 1924, or the discovery of more than 500 human
bones in and around the Leine River
in May and June 1924, was actually an individual whom they regarded as a
trusted informant, despite the fact some of the victims were last seen in his
company, and that he had amassed a lengthy criminal record for various criminal
offenses including sexual assault and battery.
The trial lasted barely two weeks, and saw a total of 190
witness called to testify. These
witnesses included the parents of the victims, who were asked to identify their
sons' possessions. Also called to testify were police officers, psychiatrists
and numerous acquaintances of both Haarmann and Grans. On 19 December 1924,
court reconvened to impose sentence upon both defendants. Judged sane and
accountable for his actions, Haarmann was found guilty of 24 of the 27 murders
and sentenced to death by beheading. He
was acquitted of three murders which he denied committing. Upon hearing the
sentence, Haarmann stood before the court and proclaimed, "I accept the verdict fully and freely", before adding: "I [shall] go to the decapitating block
joyfully and happily." Grans
became hysterical upon hearing he had been found guilty of incitement to murder
and sentenced to death by beheading in relation to the murder of victim Adolf Hannappel, with an additional
sentence of 12 years' imprisonment imposed for being an accessory to murder in
the case of victim Fritz Wittig. Upon returning to his cell after hearing the
verdict, Grans collapsed.
In the case of Hannappel, several witnesses testified to
having seen Grans, in the company of Haarmann, pointing towards the youth.
Haarmann claimed this was one of two murders committed upon the insistence of
Grans and for this reason, Grans was sentenced to death. In the case of Wittig,
police found a handwritten note from Haarmann, dated the day of Wittig's
disappearance and signed by both he and Grans, in which Grans agreed to pay
Haarmann 20 gold marks for the youth's suit. As the note indicated Grans'
possible knowledge in the disappearance of Wittig, he was convicted of being an
accomplice to Haarmann in this murder and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.
"Condemn me to
death. I ask only for justice. I am not mad. Make it short; make it soon.
Deliver me from this life, which is a torment. I will not petition for mercy,
nor will I appeal. I want to pass just one more merry night in my cell, with
coffee, cheese and cigars, after which I will curse my father and go to my
execution as if it were a wedding."
Haarmann made no appeal against the verdict; claiming his
death would atone for his crimes and stating that, were he at liberty, he would
likely kill again. Grans did lodge an
appeal against his sentence, although his appeal was rejected on 6 February
1925.
Execution
At 6 o'clock on the morning of 15 April 1925, Fritz Haarmann was beheaded by
guillotine in the grounds of Hanover
prison. In accordance with German tradition,
Haarmann was not informed of his execution date until the prior evening. Upon
receipt of the news, he observed prayer with his pastor, before being granted
his final wishes of an expensive cigar to smoke and Brazilian coffee to drink in his cell.
No members of the press were permitted to witness the
execution, and the event was seen by only a handful of witnesses. According to published reports, although
Haarmann was pale and nervous, he maintained a sense of bravado as he walked to
the guillotine. The last words Haarmann spoke were: "I am guilty, gentlemen, but, hard though it may be, I want to die
as a man." Immediately prior to
placing his head upon the execution apparatus, Haarmann added: "I repent, but I do not fear
death."
Victims
The true tally of Haarmann's victims will never be known.
Following his arrest, Haarmann made several imprecise statements regarding both
the actual number of his victims he killed, and when he began killing.
Initially, Haarmann claimed to have killed "maybe
30, maybe 40" victims; later, he would claim the true number of
victims he had killed was between 50 and 70.
1918
27 September: Friedel
Rothe, 17. Encountered Haarmann in a cafe, having run away from home.
Haarmann claimed to have buried Rothe in Stöckener
cemetery.
1923
12 February: Fritz
Franke, 17. Franke was a pianist, originally from Berlin. He encountered Haarmann in the Hanover station waiting
rooms. All Franke's personal possessions were given to Grans.
20 March: Wilhelm
Schulze, 17. An apprentice writer who last informed his best friend he
intended to run away from home. Schulze's clothing was found in the possession
of Haarmann's landlady. Haarmann formally identified Schulze's possessions at his
trial.
23 May: Roland Huch,
16. Huch vanished from Hanover station after running away from home. Items of
his clothing were traced to a lifeguard who later testified at Haarmann's trial
he obtained these items from Haarmann.
c. 31 May: Hans
Sonnenfeld, 19. A runaway from the suburb of Limmer who is known to have associated with acquaintances at
Hanover station. Sonnenfeld's coat and tie were found at Haarmann's apartment.
25 June: Ernst
Ehrenberg, 13. The first known victim killed at Haarmann's Rote Reihe address. Ehrenberg was the
son of Haarmann's own neighbor. He never returned home after running an errand
for his parents.
24 August: Heinrich
Struß, 18. A carpenter's son from the suburb of Egestorf. Struß was last seen at a Hanover cinema. Haarmann was in
possession of the youth's violin case when arrested.
24 September: Paul
Bronischewski, 17. Vanished as he travelled home to the city of Bochum after visiting his uncle in Groß Garz. He was offered work by
Haarmann when he alighted the train at Hanover.
C. 30 September: Richard
Gräf, 17. Disappeared after informing his family a detective from Hanover
had found him a job. Haarmann's landlady is known to have pawned Gräf's
overcoat.
12 October: Wilhelm
Erdner, 16. A locksmith's son from the town of Gehrden. Erdner disappeared as he cycled to work. Haarmann is known
to have sold Erdner's bicycle on 20 October.
24 October: Hermann
Wolf, 15. Wolf was last seen by his brother in the vicinity of Hanover
station; his belt buckle was later found in Haarmann's apartment, although
Haarmann would deny having killed Wolf at his trial. Haarmann was acquitted of
this murder.
27 October: Heinz Brinkmann, 13. Vanished from Hanover
station after missing his train home to Clausthal.
A witness would later testify to having seen Haarmann and Grans conversing with
Brinkmann in the waiting rooms at Hanover station.
10 November: Adolf
Hannappel, 17. One of the few murder victims whom Haarmann readily
confessed to killing. Hannappel was seen
by several witnesses sitting in the waiting rooms at Hanover station; all of
whom would later testify to having seen Haarmann approach Hannappel. Haarmann
would himself claim to have committed this murder upon the urging of Hans Grans.
6 December: Adolf
Hennies, 19. Hennies disappeared while looking for work in Hanover; his
coat was found in the possession of Hans
Grans. Haarmann would claim at his trial that, although he dismembered
Hennies's body, Grans and another acquaintance were responsible for this
murder. Haarmann was acquitted of this murder.
1924
5 January: Ernst
Spiecker, 17. Last seen by his mother on his way to appear as a witness at
a trial. Grans was wearing Spiecker's shirt at the time of his arrest.
15 January: Heinrich
Koch, 20. Although Haarmann claimed to be unable to recognize a photo of
Koch, the youth was known to be an acquaintance of his. Koch's clothing and
personal possessions were given to the son of Haarmann's landlady.
2 February: Willi
Senger, 19. Senger had known Haarmann prior to his murder. Although
Haarmann initially denied any involvement in the youth's disappearance, police
established Haarmann regularly wore Senger's coat after the youth had vanished.
8 February: Hermann
Speichert, 16. An apprentice electrician from Linden-Limmer. Speichert's clothing is known to have been sold by
the son of Haarmann's landlady; his geometry kit was given to Grans as a gift.
C. 1 April: Hermann
Bock, 22. Bock was a laborer from the town of Uelzen, who had known Haarmann since 1921. He was last seen by his
friends walking towards Haarmann's apartment. Although Haarmann was wearing
Bock's suit when arrested, he was acquitted of this murder.
8 April: Alfred
Hogrefe, 16. Ran away from home on 2 April following a family argument. He
was repeatedly seen in the company of Haarmann at Hanover station in the days
prior to his murder. All of Hogrefe's clothes were traced to Haarmann, Grans,
or Haarman's landlady.
17 April: Wilhelm Apel, 16. Disappeared on his
way to work; Apel was lured from the Hanover-Leinhausen
station to Haarmann's apartment. Much of his clothing was later sold by Haarmann's
landlady.
26 April: Robert Witzel, 18. Last seen visiting a
travelling circus; Witzel's skull was found on 20 May. The remainder of his
body was thrown into the Leine River.
9 May: Heinz Martin, 14. An apprentice locksmith from the city of Chemnitz. His leather marine cap, shirt
and cardigan were all found in Haarmann's apartment. It is speculated that
Martin disappeared from Hanover station while looking for work.
26 May: Fritz Wittig,
17. A 17-year-old travelling salesman from the town of Kassel. According to Haarmann, he had not wanted to kill Wittig,
but was persuaded to "take the
boy" by Grans, who coveted Wittig's suit.
26 May: Friedrich
Abeling, 10. The youngest victim. Abeling disappeared while playing truant
from school. His skull was found in the Leine
River on 13 June.
5 June: Friedrich
Koch, 16. Vanished on his way to college. Koch was last seen by two
acquaintances in the company of Haarmann.
14 June: Erich de
Vries, 17. De Vries disappeared after informing his parents he intended to
go for a swim in the Ohe River.
Following his arrest, Haarmann led police to de Vries's dismembered skeletal
remains, which he had discarded in a lake located at the entrance to the
Herrenhausen Gardens.
Footnotes
Haarmann was acquitted of three murders at his trial: those
of Adolf Hennies, Hermann Wolf, and Hermann Bock. In each instance, strong circumstantial evidence
existed attesting to his guilt.
In the case of Hermann
Wolf, police established that prior to the youth's disappearance, he had
informed his father he had conversed with a detective at Hanover station.
Haarmann is known to have given many of Wolf's clothes to his landlady in the
days immediately following his 44th birthday (shortly after Wolf was reported
missing). Moreover, the youth's
distinctive belt buckle was found at Haarmann's Rote Reihe address. Haarmann only chose to deny this murder midway
through his trial, following heated threats made against him by the father of
the murdered youth.
Haarmann was acquitted of the murder of Adolf Hennies due to conflicting testimony regarding the
circumstances as to whether he or Grans actually murdered the youth. Although
Haarmann admitted at his trial to having dismembered Hennies's body, he claimed
to have returned to his apartment and "found
a dead body lying there," to which, he claimed, Grans simply replied, "One of yours." Grans would
deny this claim, and would state that he had bought Hennies's distinctive coat
from Haarmann for eight Marks, after having been warned the coat was stolen.
Due to this conflicting testimony, and the lack of an actual witness to the
murder, neither Haarmann nor Grans were convicted of Hennies's murder.
In the case of Hermann
Bock, several friends of his testified at Haarmann's trial that, prior to
Haarmann's arrest, they were actively dissuaded from filing a missing person
report upon the youth with police; these witnesses testified that Haarmann was
insistent on filing the report himself (he had never done so). Other witnesses
testified to having acquired various personal possessions belonging to the
youth from Haarmann. In addition, a tailor testified at Haarmann's trial to
having been asked by Haarmann to alter the suit. Haarmann repeatedly
contradicted himself regarding his claims as to how he acquired the youth's
possessions. It is likely that Haarmann chose to deny this murder due to
evidence suggesting the murder had been premeditated, as opposed to being
committed in the throes of passion. He had known the youth for several years
prior to his murder, and Bock was known to be heterosexual. Due to his denial
of having committed this particular murder, Haarmann was acquitted.
Suspected victims
In September 1918, Haarmann is believed to have killed a
14-year-old named Hermann Koch; a
youth who disappeared just weeks prior to his first confirmed victim, Friedel Rothe. Haarmann is known to
have kept company with Koch; he is also known to have written a letter to
Koch's school providing an explanation for the youth's prolonged absence. As had been the case in the disappearance of Friedel Rothe, police had searched
Haarmann's Cellerstraße apartment in
search of the youth, although no trace of Koch was found and charges against
Haarmann in relation to the disappearance were dropped. Koch's father had
petitioned in 1921 for Haarmann to be tried for his son's murder; however, his
requests were officially rejected.
Haarmann is also strongly suspected of the murder of Hans Keimes, a 17-year-old Hanover
youth who was reported missing on 17 March 1922 and whose nude, bound body was
found in a canal on 6 May. The cause of death was listed as strangulation, and
the body bore no signs of mutilation. A distinctive handkerchief bearing Grans'
name was found lodged in Keimes's throat.
Prior to the discovery of Keimes's body, Haarmann is known
to have both visited the youth's parents offering to locate their son and to
have immediately thereafter informed police that he believed Grans was responsible
for Keimes's disappearance. (Hans Grans
is known to have been in custody at the time of the disappearance of Keimes.)
Two weeks prior to the disappearance of Keimes, Haarmann had
returned to his Neue Straße
apartment, having served six months in a labour camp for several acts of theft
he committed in August 1921. Upon his return, Haarmann discovered that Grans
had stolen much of his personal property and fraudulently obtained and spent
his military pension while he had been incarcerated. This resulted in a violent
argument between the two men, culminating in Haarmann evicting Grans. Shortly
thereafter, Grans and a criminal acquaintance named Hugo Wittkowski returned to and further ransacked the apartment. It
is likely Haarmann committed this murder in an attempt to frame Grans in
reprisal for the theft of his property and pension.
Haarmann was not tried for the murder of either Koch or
Keimes. Officially, both cases remain unsolved.
Aftermath
Following Haarmann's execution, sections of his brain were
removed for forensic analysis. An examination of slices of Haarmann's brain revealed
traces of meningitis, although no sections of Haarmann's brain were permanently
preserved. Nonetheless, Haarmann's head was preserved in formaldehyde and
remained in the possession of the Göttingen
medical school from 1925 until 2014, when it was cremated.
The remains of Haarmann's victims which had been recovered
were buried together in a communal grave in Stöckener Cemetery in February 1925. In April 1928, a large granite
memorial in the form of a triptych, inscribed with the names and ages of the
victims, was erected over the communal grave.
The discovery of a letter from Haarmann declaring Hans Grans' innocence subsequently led
to Grans receiving a second trial. This letter was dated 5 February 1925, and
was addressed to the father of Grans. In
this letter, Haarmann claimed that although he had been frustrated at having
been seen as little more than a "meal
ticket" by Grans, Grans "had
absolutely no idea that I killed". Furthermore, Haarmann claimed many
of his accusations against Grans prior to his trial were obtained under extreme
duress, and that he falsely accused Grans of instigating the murders of
Hannappel and Witzel as a means of revenge. Haarmann claimed that his pastor
would be informed as to the contents and the authenticity of the letter.
Hans Grans was
retried in January 1926. He was charged with aiding and abetting Haarmann in
the murders of victims Adolf Hannappel
and Fritz Wittig. Although Grans
stated in one address to the judge at this second trial that he expected to be
acquitted, on 19 January, he was again found guilty of aiding and abetting
Haarmann in both cases, although in this instance, he was sentenced to two
concurrent 12-year sentences. After serving this 12-year sentence, Grans was extra
legally interned in Sachsenhausen concentration
camp. Following the conclusion of the Second
World War, he continued to live in Hanover
until his death in 1975.
The murders committed by Haarmann stirred much discussion in
Germany regarding methods used in
police investigation, the treatment of mentally ill offenders, and the validity
of the death penalty. However, the most
heated topic of discussion in relation to the murders committed by Haarmann
were issues relating to the subject of homosexuality, which was then illegal
and punishable by imprisonment in Germany.
The discovery of the murders subsequently stirred a wave of homophobia
throughout Germany, with one
historian noting: "It split the [gay
rights] movement irreparably, fed every prejudice against homosexuality, and
provided new fodder for conservative adversaries of legal sex reform."
Media
Film
The first film to draw inspiration from the Haarmann case, M, was released in 1931. Directed by Fritz Lang, M starred Peter Lorre as
a fictional child killer named Hans
Becker. In addition to drawing inspiration from the case of Fritz Haarmann, M was also inspired by the then-recent and notorious crimes of Peter Kürten and Carl Großmann.
The film The Tenderness of the Wolves (Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe) was directly
based upon Haarmann's crimes. This film was released in July 1973 and was
directed by Ulli Lommel. The Tenderness of the Wolves was both
written by and starred Kurt Raab,
who cast himself as Fritz Haarmann. German film
director Rainer Werner Fassbinder
produced the film and also appeared in a minor role as Haarmann's criminal
accomplice, Hugo Wittkowski.
The most recent film to be directly based upon Haarmann's
murder spree, Der Totmacher (The Deathmaker), was released in 1995.
This film starred Götz George as
Haarmann. Der Totmacher focuses upon
the written records of the psychiatric examinations of Haarmann conducted by Ernst Schultze; one of the main
psychiatric experts who was to testify at Haarmann's 1924 trial. The plot of Der Totmacher centers around Haarmann's
interrogation after his arrest, as he is being interviewed by a court
psychiatrist.
The 2010 film Cyrus:
Mind of a Serial Killer, written and directed by Mark Vadik, was loosely based on both Haarmann and American serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.
Books
Cawthorne, Nigel;
Tibballs, Geoffrey (1993) Killers: The Ruthless Exponents of Murder
ISBN 0-7522-0850-0
Lane, Brian; Gregg, Wilfred (1992) The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers ISBN
978-0-747-23731-0
Lessing, Theodor
(1925) Monsters of Weimar: Haarmann, the
Story of a Werewolf ISBN 1-897743-10-6
Marriner, Brian
(1992) Cannibalism: The Last Taboo!
ISBN 1-859-58495-0
Wilson, Colin; Wilson, Damon (2006) The World's Most Evil Murderers: Real-Life
Stories of Infamous Killers ISBN 978-1-405-48828-0
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