A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin (31 page)

EPIGRAPH

1
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) Evaluation and Dissemination Section, G-2 (Counter Intelligence Sub-Division), compiled by MIRS (London Branch),
The German Police
, April 1945, E.D.S./G/10, ii.

CHAPTER ONE

1
Dorothy Elkins, T. H. Elkins, and B. Hofmeister,
Berlin: The Spatial Structure of a Divided City
(New York: Methuen & Co., 1988), 86.

2
Laurenz Demps, quoted in Gabi Schlag and Benno Wenz,
Tatort Berlin—Der S-Bahn-Mörder von Rummelsburg
, TV documentary program, original airdate November 26, 2012, broadcast in Germany by Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting (rbb).

3
Lothrop Stoddard, “People of Berlin Show Little Interest in War, Says Observer,”
Calgary Herald
, December 16, 1939, 28.

4
Ellen Pastorino and Susann Doyle-Portillo,
What Is Psychology? Essentials
(Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011), 87.

5
John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker,
The Anatomy of Motive: The FBI’s Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999), 39–40.

6
Ibid., 40.

CHAPTER TWO

1
National Archives, Washington, D.C., RC Box #082, Location (RC) 230/86/23/05, “Ludtke Wilhelm,” 9. Note that the file name is missing the umlaut. Lüdtke also mentioned this in his
Fragebogen
(denazification questionnaire), which is contained in this CIA file.

CHAPTER FOUR

1
The quotes from Paul Ogorzow’s attack on Mrs. Nieswandt are from Special Court of Berlin, judgment against Paul Ogorzow, July 24, 1941. As mentioned in the author’s note at the start of this book, the original documents from the criminal investigation into the S-Bahn murders are at the Landesarchiv Berlin, A.Pr. Br. Rep. 030-03 Tit. 198B Nr. 1782–1789.

CHAPTER SIX

1
As the motive for these crimes had a strong sexual component, the German police wanted to know about the couple’s sex life and interviewed them separately about this detail. Wilhelm Lüdtke and Georg Heuser, “Die Berliner S-Bahn-Morde,”
Kriminalistik
16, Issue 5 (May 1942), 68.

2
Phil Chalmers,
Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 132–133.

CHAPTER SEVEN

1
William L. Shirer, The
Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1st Touchstone edition, 1990), 778.

2
Andrew Roberts,
The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War
(New York: HarperCollins, 2011), lv.

3
See, e.g., Stephen Frater,
Hell Above Earth: The Incredible True Story of an American WWII Bomber Commander and the Copilot Ordered to Kill Him
(New York: Macmillan, 2012), 179.

4
Shirer,
Rise and Fall,
778.

5
“Appeal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Aerial Bombardment of Civilian Populations,” addressed to the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and His Britannic Majesty, September 1, 1939, quoted in Frits Kalshoven,
Reflections on the Law of War: Collected Essays
(Leiden, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2007), 439, footnote 20.

6
United Press, “Hitler Agrees to FDR’s Plan,”
Telegraph-Herald
(Dubuque, Iowa), September 3, 1939.

7
Jack Fleischer, United Press, “Vicious Attacks on Channel Ports Aftermath of Berlin Bombing,”
Leader-Post
(Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada), August 26, 1940, 1.

8
“Die Achte Durchführungsverordnung zum Luftschutzgesetz (Verdunklungsverordnung),”
Reichsgesetzblatt
I (May 23, 1939), 965.

9
Ibid., Section Sixteen, Clause 1.

10
Associated Press, “German Air Raid Maneuvers Staged for Berlin Residents,”
Reading Eagle
(Reading, PA), July 27, 1939, 24.

11
Lothrop Stoddard, “People of Berlin Show Little Interest in War, Says Observer,”
Calgary Herald
, December 16, 1939, 28.

12
In German, this poster said: “
Der Feind sieht Dein Licht! Verdunkeln!
” Author’s collection.

13
In German, this poster said: “
Licht. Dein Tod!
” Author’s collection.

14
Herbert R. Vogt,
My Memories of Berlin: A Young Boy’s Amazing Survival Story
(Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation, 2008), 74.

15
In German: “
Dieses Haus ist schlecht verdunkelt!
” Author’s collection.

16
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Background: Decree Against Public Enemies,” 
Holocaust Encyclopedia,
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007906, accessed on February 1, 2013.

17
William D. Bayles, “Wartime Germany,”
Life
, January 8, 1940, 55. The article is broken up into different letters. This quote is from the letter dated October 24.

18
Marianne Zappe, S-Bahn Berlin GmbH,
Kundenbetreuung
, e-mail to author, February 1, 2013.

CHAPTER EIGHT

1
Thomas Krickstadt, e-mail to author, March 3, 2013.

2
Marianne Zappe, S-Bahn Berlin GmbH,
Kundenbetreuung
, e-mail to author, February 1, 2013.

3
Dorothy Elkins, T. H. Elkins, and B. Hofmeister,
Berlin: The Spatial Structure of a Divided City
(New York: Methuen, 1988), 105–106.

4
Thomas Krickstadt and Mike Straschewski, joint e-mail to author, February 20, 2013.

5
The information on the rates for the S-Bahn is from Thomas Krickstadt and Mike Straschewski, joint e-mail to author, February 20, 2013. Note that later on, as the war progressed, this changed to a war ticket tariff system.

6
The information on how tickets were checked is from Thomas Krickstadt and Mike Straschewski, joint e-mail to author, February 25, 2013.

7
Robin Gottschlag, e-mail to author, December 28, 2012.

8
New York Prosecutors Training Institute, Inc., The Continuing Legal Education and Mutual Assistance Division of the New York State District Attorneys Association, “Strangulation in Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault,” from the September 28–30, 1999, conference on Detection and Prosecution of Strangulation in Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Cases.

9
Waldemar Weimann and Gerhard Jaeckel,
Diagnose Mord: Die Memoiren eines Gerichtsmediziners
(Bayreuth, Germany: Hestia, 1964), 274.

CHAPTER NINE

1
UPI, “Berlin Resident Given Death Penalty for Theft,”
Reading Eagle
(Reading, PA), January 17, 1941.

2
Thomas Krickstadt and Mike Straschewski, joint e-mail to author, March 15, 2013.

3
William D. Bayles, “Wartime Germany,”
Life
, January 8, 1940, 54–55.

CHAPTER TEN

1
Alan Gunn,
Essential Forensic Biology
(Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008), 181.

2
Don Bible,
Third Reich Warrant Discs, 1934–1945
(Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History, 2001), 4.

3
Berlin
Kripo
, Murder Division Ditter document, October 5, 1940.

4
Forensic Institute of the Security Police at the Office of the Reich Criminal Investigations Department, “Examination of a kitchen knife for human blood,” statement sent to the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarters, October 8, 1940.

5
Statement of Gertrud Ditter (born Kerwat), Murder Division Ditter document, October 4, 1940. Note that this is Arthur Ditter’s mother, who spells her first name without an “e” at the end of it, not his murdered wife.

6
Statement of Arthur Ditter, Murder Division Ditter document, October 4, 1940.

7
Ibid.

8
Ibid.

9
This quote is from the second time the police interviewed Auguste Bohm. The wording is different, but the facts are the same as in her first statement. Statement of Mrs. Auguste Bohm (born Zimmermann), Murder Division Ditter document, October 16, 1940.

10
Statement of Arthur Ditter, Murder Division Ditter document, October 4, 1940.

11
Ibid.

12
Ibid. Note that some documents have Mrs. Ditter’s maiden name misspelled as “Bath”—it is correctly spelled in this document as “Barth.”

13
Laurenz Demps, quoted in Gabi Schlag and Benno Wenz,
Tatort Berlin—Der S-Bahn-Mörder von Rummelsburg
, TV documentary program, original airdate November 26, 2012, broadcast in Germany by Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting (rbb).

14
Berlin
Kripo
, Ditter Reward Poster, October 7, 1940.

15
Berlin
Kripo
, Announcement of Ditter Crime,
Deutsches Kriminalpolizeiblatt
, Berlin, October 7, 1940, volume 13, number 3793, 235.

16
Berlin
Kripo
, Status Report on Ditter Case, October 10, 1940.

17
Berlin
Kripo
, Ditter Reward Announcement, October 15, 1940.

18
Berlin
Kripo
, Notes on Information Provided by Mrs. Helene Schollain, October 11, 1940.

19
Statement of Mrs. Auguste Bohm, October 16, 1940.

20
Steve Hewitt,
Snitch!: A History of the Modern Intelligence Informer
(New York: Continuum, 2010), 105–106.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

1
Alan Gunn,
Essential Forensic Biology
(Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008), 184.

2
Lee B. Kennett, 
For the Duration . . . : The United States Goes to War, Pearl Harbor–1942
(New York: Scribner, 1985), 162, note 23.

3
In German: “
Hilf auch Du mit!
” Author’s collection.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

1
Waldemar Weimann and Gerhard Jaeckel,
Diagnose Mord: Die Memoiren eines Gerichtsmediziners
(Bayreuth, Germany: Hestia, 1964), 261.

2
Ibid.

3
Ibid., 262.

4
Ibid. “Who, When, Where, How and Why” all start with “W” in German—“
Wer, Wann, Wo, Wie und Warum
.”

5
Ibid.

6
Ibid., 260.

7
Ibid., 262.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

1
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) Evaluation and Dissemination Section, G-2 (Counter Intelligence Sub-Division), complied by MIRS (London Branch),
The German Police
, April 1945, E.D.S./G/10, 3.