A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin
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Authors: Scott Andrew Selby
A SERIAL KILLER IN NAZI BERLIN
The Chilling True Story of the S-Bahn Murderer
SCOTT ANDREW SELBY
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
eBook ISBN 978-1-101-60639-1
Selby, Scott Andrew.
A serial killer in Nazi Berlin : the chilling true story of the S-Bahn murderer / Scott Andrew Selby.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-425-26414-0
1. Ogorzow, Paul. 2. Berliner S-Bahn (Germany) 3. Serial murders—Germany—
Berlin—Case studies. 4. Serial murder investigation—Germany—Berlin—Case studies.
5. Berlin (Germany)—History—1918–1945. I. Title.
HV6535.G33B477 2013
364.152'32092—dc23
2013032412
FIRST EDITION: January 2014
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and
Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the author nor the publisher is responsible
for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Version_1
Dedicated to all the victims of the S-Bahn Murderer
CONTENTS
List Of S-Bahn Stations on Key Route
Chronology Of Background Events—August 1939 to July 1941
CHAPTER FIVE:
A Blow to the Head
CHAPTER SIX:
A Family and Party Man
CHAPTER EIGHT:
The First S-Bahn Attack
CHAPTER NINE:
The Investigation Begins
CHAPTER TWELVE:
Death on the Train
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Examining the Body
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
A Killing on the Ground
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Connecting the Garden and Train Attacks
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
The Wrong Kind of Suspect
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
The Rummelsburg S-Bahn Station
CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Uniforms, Decoys in Drag, and Another Murder
CHAPTER TWENTY:
The Attacks Continue
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
Volunteer Duty
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
Push to Catch the Killer
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
A Dangerous Gambit
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
A Red Herring
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
In Police Custody
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
The Interrogation
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:
The Confession
CHAPTER THIRTY:
A Date with the Executioner
In the coming war we shall fight not only on land, on sea, and in the air. There will be a fourth theatre of operations—the Inner Front. That front will decide on the continued existence or the irrevocable death of the German nation.
HEINRICH HIMMLER, SEPTEMBER 1937
1
LIST OF S-BAHN STATIONS ON KEY ROUTE
Ostkreuz
Rummelsburg
[Betriebsbahnhof Rummelsburg—
not open to the public during this time]
Karlshorst
Wuhlheide
Köpenick
Hirschgarten
Friedrichshagen
Rahnsdorf
Wilhelmshagen
Erkner
Fangschleuse
Hangelsberg
Fürstenwalde
CHRONOLOGY OF BACKGROUND EVENTS—AUGUST 1939 TO JULY 1941
1939:
AUGUST 23
Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression pact
SEPTEMBER 1
Germany invades Poland (widely considered the start of World War II)
SEPTEMBER 3
The UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, and France declare war on Germany; a German U-boat sinks an unarmed British passenger ship, starting the Battle of the Atlantic
SEPTEMBER 5
The United States declares neutrality regarding this conflict
SEPTEMBER 17
The Soviet Union attacks Poland
OCTOBER 6
Germany and the Soviet Union now occupy a divided Poland
1940:
APRIL 9
Germany invades Denmark and Norway; Denmark surrenders
MAY 10
Germany begins the invasion of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg; Luxembourg is occupied
MAY 14
The Netherlands surrenders to Germany
MAY 28
Belgium surrenders to Germany
JUNE 9
Norway surrenders to Germany
JUNE 22
France signs an armistice with Germany
AUGUST 24
Germany accidentally bombs a church in London
AUGUST 25
The UK bombs Berlin
SEPTEMBER 7
The Blitz begins—Germany bombs London and other British cities on purpose
SEPTEMBER 27
Japan, Italy, and Germany sign the Tripartite Pact—establishing the Axis Powers
1941:
FEB 20
German and British land forces fight in Libya
APRIL 6
Invasion of Yugoslavia by Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, and Italy
APRIL 17
Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany
APRIL 27
Greece surrenders to Germany
JUNE 22
Germany breaks its pact with the Soviet Union and invades it
JULY 31
Hermann Göring orders Reinhard Heydrich to plan the Final Solution of the Jewish question (i.e., the Holocaust)
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
KEY VICTIMS
ELIZABETH BENDORF
Attacked November 1940 on the S-Bahn
LINA BUDZINSKI
Attacked August 1939 in the garden area
ELISABETH BÜNGENER
Attacked December 1940 on the S-Bahn
GERTRUDE “GERDA” DITTER
Attacked October 1940 in the garden area
HEDWIG EBAUER
Attacked January 1941 on the S-Bahn