The eerie trail of the psychopath: Munich's dark murders of the 1930s

The eerie trail of the psychopath: Munich's dark murders of the 1930s

In the 1930s, Munich was rocked by a terrible series of murders that claimed the lives of numerous women and plunged the city into fear and terror. Between 1928 and 1939, the actions of a psychologically disturbing perpetrator not only committed crimes against human dignity, but also revealed the frightening depths of the human psyche. Loud Focus Five women were murdered and more than 90 were raped, a crime considered particularly cold and calculating.

The first known tragedy occurred in 1931, when young Katharina Schätzl was raped and murdered while on a bicycle ride. The police were initially on their own - there was hardly any evidence of perpetrators or victims. A typical pattern was the attack on young women, often shot and mutilated in Forstenrieder Park, where Anna Geltl was the second victim in 1934.

The hunt for the perpetrator

The crimes continued, and in 1934 Berta Sauerbeck was kidnapped and had to survive the horror of being shot before she finally lost her life. Further atrocities rocked the city in 1937 and 1938, prompting the police to set up a special commission. But despite all their efforts, they were initially unsuccessful.

The turning point came on January 29, 1939, when Johann Eichhorn, a married man and shunter on the Reichsbahn, was arrested. Passers-by were able to prevent an attack on a 12-year-old girl and alert the police. Eichhorn confessed to a fellow prisoner that he had lost count of 70 rapes and was described by a psychiatric report as an “extraordinarily sexually libidinous psychopath.”

A closed process

Although Eichhorn confirmed the rapes in court, he denied the murders. The trial, which took place on November 29th and 30th, 1939, was not allowed to take place in public. On December 1st, Eichhorn was finally sentenced to death and executed. Interestingly, the Nazi regime prevented comprehensive reporting on the case, which has remained relatively unknown to this day.

The case also reflects a deeper social issue: psychopathy, as described in psychopathology, is characterized by abnormal cognitions and maladaptive behavior. These manifest themselves in an extreme deviation from social norms, which influences not only individual behavior but also societal structures as a whole - a topic that has remained relevant since the days of Hippocrates and Plato right up to modern psychotherapy. Psychopathy is also considered a disorder that has deeper psychological underpinnings and whose causes are widely researched.

To this day, the Johann Eichhorn case remains a memorable example of the depths of human nature and the challenges law enforcement agencies face in the face of unimaginable crimes. Such stories are key to expanding understanding of psychopathology and drawing attention to the dark sides of humanity that often remain hidden behind closed doors.

For those interested, research into mental illnesses that are treated in psychopathology continues to be important. Many of today's popular theories are based on answers to the question of how mental disorders develop and what role society, education and individual experiences play in this. Wikipedia offers interesting insights into this.