Josef Fritzl And Austria’s House Of Horrors: Blame The Nazis
JOSEF FRITZL has admitted to keeping his family - daughter Elisabeth and their children – in the cellar of his Austrian house. But how Germanic is the crime? And what does it say about us?
Now read on…
DAILY MIRROR: “THE WORLD’S MOST EVIL DAD”
Says police chief Franz Polzer: “We’re not talking about a prison designed to hurt its prisoners, but something built to fulfil their basic human needs. He got planning permission and gradually built the various rooms in which the children were born and lived.”
The Oesterreich newspaper wrote in an editorial: “The community of Amstetten should drown in shame.”
DAILY MAIL: “Austria: Secrecy, shame and the land of the lost children”
Like many Britons whose image of Austria was defined by school history lessons and The Sound Of Music, whenever this landlocked Alpine nation is mentioned certain stereotypes spring to my mind.
And the Nazis. And Hitler. And little cakes with pictures of Mozart on them..
Or at least they did, until this week. One would think of mountain vistas shimmering with snow-white swathes of edelweiss, and apple strudels accompanied by cream-topped mugs of hot chocolate.
And one would remember that, although modern Austria is little more than a stepping-stone on the road to Eastern Europe, it was once the rock on which the mighty Hapsburg Empire was built, and dominated the civilised world for centuries.
What about the Nazis..?
As anyone who remembers the plot to The Sound Of Music will recall, during the late Thirties and Forties, Austrian society was riven with fear and mistrust, as some connived with the annexing Nazis and others (like the film’s defiant naval captain Georg von Trapp) sought to remain free of their malign influence.
Fact and fiction. The camps are alive with the sound of…
The Germans encouraged collaborators to spy on their neighbours and report any dissent, and - much as the Austrians now dislike admitting it - this has produced the sort of insular mentality which underpins its towns and villages to this day.
THE GUARDIAN: “’This monstrous crime raises pressing questions for a rich, self-satisfied society’”
“There are pressing questions raised by this monstrous crime which need to be put to a rich, self-satisfied society in which during a quarter of a century what was happening in the immediate vicinity went apparently unnoticed,” Petra Stuiber wrote in a commentary in the Austrian liberal daily Der Standard…
Because of the war?
“How is it possible that no one ever heard or saw anything, how can it be that no one ever asked questions?” she wrote. “What does it say about neighbours, relations, acquaintances and not least about authorities who had anything to do with the family, that the perpetrator succeeded in ‘deceiving’ everybody?” She said it was “time for a whole country to ask itself what is fundamentally going wrong”.
THE INDEPENDENT: “Josef Fritzl, the man who haunts Austria”
The Amstetten scandal is certain to raise further questions about the conduct of Austrian police in cases involving missing persons. Above all, why police, social services, doctors and teachers at the schools attended by the Fritzl children failed to detect than anything was amiss for nearly a quarter of a century.
THE SUN (front page): “INSIDE THE DEVIL’S LAIR”
Neighbour Erika Manharter said: “I grew up with Josef and he always appeared friendly, though he never seemed to want close contact.
“It seemed as if they were a perfect family unit but it just goes to show you cannot really see what is happening behind closed doors.”
Mercedes-driving Fritzl, who rented out ground floor rooms at his main house, was seen as a pillar of respectability despite having been jailed in the 1960s for sex assault and arson.
THE OBSERVER:
“As the horrors of the case unfolded and Austria tried to come to terms with a case of incest on an extraordinary scale, neighbours said they had thought the family strange, but not suspicious. They said they had not considered it particularly strange that the family bought large quantities of groceries which Fritzl mostly delivered to the cellar in the dark of night.”
Better to grow your own - what with there being a war on, and all…
April 29th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Ah yes; it’s a well known fact that people jailed for sexual assault and arson will emerge from prison striving to get the best possible experience for prisoners.
Though not to the extent of building their prison..
April 29th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Ah well, he can design his own now.
Austria having a bit of a national guilt trip?
I wonder how many are trapped in cellars elsewhere, and can’t get out, or even just trapped?
Perhaps not only Austria needs to examine our species and its cruelty
April 29th, 2008 at 11:17 am
They like bunkers, those Austrians
April 29th, 2008 at 11:40 am
The Daily Mail’s reminder of the Sound of …Storks bringing babies to the doorsteps of convicted rapists at a crtical time but unbelievably uninvestigated by authorities, might make you wonder what happened to Mrs Von Trapp. But this case reminds me of the Wests with large house, large family, lodgers and an unsuspicious community.
I wonder if there had been DNA and other forensic testing of the 3 babies allegedly left on the doorstep, would it be possible to tell that the grandfather was genetically the father?
April 29th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Sad , very very sad!
The feeling of claustrophobia when reading that story is immense, in some places in the bunker the room height was only 5′ 6″!
I only hope the father is being closely monitored so he can’t end his life and not suffer till his dying day!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3835640.ece
April 29th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Blame the Nazi? Austrians joined the Reich and did celebrate it with flowers.
NO Fritzl racall the psychiatric definition of a NAZI, he is himself a NAZI.
A feeling of super power and absolute control over any human being, banning all Judeo-christain fences that prevent humankind to reach this abyssal horror.
After the Kampush Gate that happend in Vienna. Here we discover Hell again.
Europeen cour for human rights should visit all Austrian caves and cellars…and Austrian should question themself on their NAZI heritage.
April 29th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
For gods sake he built a soundproof re- enforced concrete bunker in his basement apparantly with full planning and building permissions. Didn’t any one think this was strange!!! Babys left on doorsteps with notes - where the hell were social services? He is obviously a very sick, perverted and evil old man who unfortunately due to his age will unlikely to have to endure 24 years of incarseration unlike his poor daughter. However it seems to me that there seems to be a lot of other players in this monstrous saga who do not have the excuse of being (I can only assume) some sort of perverted sexual sociopath. Neighbors, social workers, police, relatives - shame on you all!
April 29th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
This case is profoundly disturbing, partly because it reinforces the view that children are pawns of fate and their happiness is completely dependent on the nature of their carers.
I think for Women, this case is enough to turn us all into radical feminists. Men like this and all rapists and abusers are evil. Be aware. Be strong women against male oppression in whatever form you encounter it.
I think Josef F should have his genitals doused in boiling water and be left on a dessert island to rot to death and then receive his divine justice.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:28 am
Like others who have voiced their unbelief of such horror inflicted oanother human being I too feel Fritisl had to have had an accomplice/accomplices. And how come there were no questions about 3 babies/children turning up only on their doorstep and no one else’s doorstep? Did no one make attempts at finding the mothers? And what about the mother? Dont tell me she knew nothing. If that is the case then she is as mad as he is. The authorities have much to answer to in that they made no attepmts at making enquiries of even the smallest amount. They certainly poke their noses into everything here in Australia and thats a good thing. And as for a 15year maximum sentence, thats a joke. I can not understand why people are not up in arms about what he has done. He should be locked in the same cramped isolated windowless cell for 24yrs with no parole. That way he has a taste of his own medicine.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:35 am
It is capitalism and the glory of individualism at its worst. The premise of capitalism is ‘divide and conqeur’ so the media and the politicians have created a system that turns people into suspicious competing mistrusting and egocentric individuals. It suits the system because it promotes spending and selfishness and minimises any chances of people joining together to overthrow greedy monopolists and sick economy. This is epitomised in Fritzl’s case. In almost all western countries neighbours don’t socialise other than wave hi and bye or chat on the driveway. In most western countries the governments create this culture as the only means to keep capitalism alive. Capitalism and individualism are unhealthy because you cannot expect healthy societies in countries that put money before people.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:45 am
When was the last time you invited your neighbour home? Did you ever show interest in really getting to know your neighbours? How many show genione interest even in their own families in western societies? Most parents dispose of their kids as oon as they can earn their own bread and in return their kids dispose of them as soon as they can fit them in the nursing homes. So much so for civilised cultures. When you teach people to put money first and foremost this is just one of the common casualties. It’s a great feed for dead journalism to liven up the circulation figures and TV ratings. HEY, DIDN’T BIG BROTHER GIVE PEOPLE THE RECIPE HOW TO KEEP OTHER CAPTIVE IN A LOCKED HOUSE AND EXPLOIT AND ENJOY IT. DID YOU EVEN CONSIDER THIS AS ONE FACTOR? HMMM…That is what you get when you create PSYCHOPATHIC TV SHOWS .
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:24 am
Did this man act alone. Probably not. The wife must be a dim wit to have not suspected something. Now the son could be in on something. What a horror story. If this chap only gets 15 years for what he has done, well that says a lot about the area does it not. More and more will come out about this case for sure. Look at the chap talking on TV now. He heard noises but never bothered to do anything and even saw the son going into the basement.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:58 am
We can never make it right for Elizabeth, not ever. She has been nothing but a sex slave to a perverted father for such an unimaginable period of time. I bet my life he has touched those innocent offspring as well.Why did that sick b—— have one room padded? To read that he may get UP TO 15yrs only is nothing short of a crime in itself. HOW SHAMEFUL!!!! His beautiful innocent daughter who had already endured years of sexual abuse since age 11 was than locked up and totally robbed of a healthy life. Where was the mother when the sick b—— was sexually forcing himself on Elizabeth for 5yrs before he hid her away???? Perhaps she didnt know about the house of horror but she must [surely ?] have known Elizabeth was being abused at age 11. [If she did know that] perhaps thats why she accepted the story that her daughter had run away. I was the eldest daughter of 5 girls. I have recently turned 50yrs and still share a wonderfully warm loving and supportive relationship with my Dad. I believe this is my right.
dr:07.02
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:33 am
Morning all
I have been thinking so much about this horror story.It is out of this world.
What infuriates me most, is that surely , Elizabeths mother KNEW it.and she let it happen ? [If so then] this woman is as guilty as that monster.
I have the feeling people knew but no one moved. Same as they knew about what was happening in concentration camps and they didnt move
dr.08:10
May 4th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I have also lived under the impression of this horror story for several days now. I share the opinion of those who claim that Austria has many, many skeletons in the cupboard and I hope that this tragedy will start revealing them….one of them being the decades of oppression of the minorities living in Austria. And the country wants to see itself as a civilized, developed country, looking down on others…….SHAME and DISGRACE in every respect !!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Terry Carty.
Hear, hear.
Truelly, for gods sake…a convicted rapist, exchibitionist, and attempted rapist building a reinforced concrete maze under his house, then his daughter dissappearing, no news from her to anyone and three kids on his doorstep, and no one even wonders (of course a lot of people did but kept their f. mouth shut). This sounds like some very sick sick joke. Shame on you you cowards.
A lot of other people too have spoken wisely.
And shame on the austrian police at the moment who are still pretending this was a one man act…shame on their minister too who talked about an “image campaign “.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I cannot write correct english but.. I really really agree with you all!
Shame on a society that do not care.. and that do not react when citycents disappears..