One of the worst cannibals of all time

Karl Denke, better known as the “Cannibal of Münsterberg,” is considered one of the worst cannibals of all time, having slaughtered no fewer than 30 people over a period of 20 years in order to cure their flesh and then eat it with relish. Until he was discovered to be a cannibal, Karl Denke lived in a small apartment in Münsterberg. The bearded old man was known as a taciturn but helpful loner who often offered vagrants or traveling craftsmen not only a place to stay for the night, but also food, which is why his neighbors affectionately nicknamed him “Papa Denke.” No one suspected that behind the friendly, harmless-looking old man lurked a true monster. It was only by chance that Denke’s true self came to light. It was December 21, 1924, when the vagrant Vinzenz Olivier began his alms round in Teichstraße in Münsterberg, Silesia. After a short time, he stood in front of house number 10, where Karl Denke opened the door for him. He not only offered him shelter and food, but also 20 pfennigs if he would write a few lines for him. Vinzenz gratefully accepted the offer. He went into Denke’s apartment and sat down at the dining table, where Denke gave him a letterhead and a pencil. Then Denke dictated the following to him: “Adolph, you fat slob!” When Vinzenz heard this, he turned in astonishment to Denke, who had already taken out his pickaxe. But he only hit Vinzenz on the temple and not, as he had hoped, in the middle of the head to smash his skull. Vinzenz quickly grabbed the pickaxe. A violent scuffle ensued between the two men, which Vinzenz managed to win. With the pickaxe in his hand and a bleeding laceration on his head, he was able to escape to the courtyard. There he cried for help. The neighbors rushed over and called the police. But the police did not believe Vinzenz’s story. Karl Denke’s reputation was impeccable. Instead, Vinzenz was taken to the district court, which sentenced him to two weeks’ imprisonment the next day for begging and vagrancy. However, the judge in charge pondered Vinzenz’s statement, as it sounded entirely plausible. Furthermore, it was impossible for him to have inflicted the laceration on his head himself, which is why Karl Denke was arrested on December 22, 1924, despite protests from his neighbors about the vagrancy charge. Karl Denke was to be interrogated the next day, but this never happened because he hanged himself in his cell with a long cloth handkerchief and a string. To cover the costs of the funeral, his apartment and barn were searched for valuables. But instead of finding valuables, cured human flesh and traces of blood were discovered. This led to further investigations that brought the incredible truth to light. The loving Papa Denke turned out to be a cannibal who had sorted 420 teeth and 480 bones in his garden shed. Karl Denke had noted every killing in a notebook, down to the smallest detail, including the date, name of the victim, and weight. He had committed his first murder in 1903. Karl Denke always followed the same modus operandi. He offered travelers, vagrants, or itinerant craftsmen accommodation and food in exchange for 20 pfennigs if they would write a message for him. This is how he lured his victims into his apartment, where he beat or strangled them to death. Then the bloody carnage began, in which he dismembered the victims with a tree saw, stripped the flesh from the bones, and placed it in large barrels of brine. These were located right next to his bed, and whenever he felt hungry, he helped himself to the cured meat. He processed the skin further, making suspenders and cords for his wicker baskets, which he then sold at the market in Breslau. None of his neighbors ever suspected Karl Denke of anything. Many believed that he killed dogs and ate their meat because of the meager food rations after the war, which is why bloody dog skins hung outside his door, which he had hung there as a cover for his human slaughter. But who was Karl Denke, who was able to remain undetected as a cannibal for so long? Karl Denke was born on February 11, 1860, the third son of a farming family in Oberkunzendorf. His teachers considered him mentally disabled because he hardly spoke and was extremely slow to understand. His only confidant was his older brother. Karl Denke wet his bed until he was well into his teens and worked in his father’s business after school. At the age of 22, he ran away from home for nine months. He then returned without saying where he had been during that time. After the death of his parents, his siblings wanted to take care of him. But after a short time, Karl moved into a small apartment in Münsterberg. He made a living by weaving baskets and making bread bowls, which he sold at the market. Although he was considered taciturn and reserved, he was hard-working and extremely helpful. After moving to Münsterberg, he bought a piece of land. But when his siblings found out that he had paid three times what the plot was worth, they wanted to have Karl declared legally incompetent. However, they ultimately withdrew their application for fear of Karl’s revenge. After that, Karl Denke isolated himself even more from his fellow human beings. Although he liked to help out at funerals as a wreath bearer, he otherwise secretly hunted young men to eat them. In total, he slaughtered 30 people in 20 years, mostly men over 40 who were not from the immediate vicinity. Karl Denke was 64 years old when he took his own life. After the gruesome discovery, he was known only as the “Cannibal of Münsterberg” or the “Silesian Haarmann.” Four days before Karl Denke was exposed as a cannibal, serial killer Fritz Haarmann, who had brutally murdered and dismembered 27 men in Hanover, had been sentenced to death. Unfortunately, a miscarriage of justice occurred when the innocent butcher Edward Trautmann was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a murder committed by Karl Denke. It was only after Karl Denke’s suicide that this miscarriage of justice was uncovered. Karl Denke has gone down in criminal history as one of the worst cannibals of all time, suffering from an eternal compulsion to eat human flesh.