The Girl Slitter of Augsburg

The fascinating but also eerie history of the city of Augsburg features numerous figures who have left a lasting mark on the annals of time. One of these figures is undoubtedly the “Girl Slitter,” a name that caused fear and terror among the population in the 19th century. The Girl Slitter was a man who slashed young girls without killing them, unlike the notorious serial killer “Jack the Ripper.” He always used the same modus operandi, inflicting deep cuts on young women with a sharp object in secluded alleys at dusk. After his attack with a sharp instrument, the unknown assailant disappeared into the darkness of the night. The women who were attacked described the man as tall and very slim, wearing a wide coat and a large hat that covered his face. Sometimes the man also used a stranglehold on the women. The girl slasher, as he was called in the press, caused panic among the population of Augsburg. Women only dared to leave their homes when accompanied, and the police stepped up their daily patrols. Due to public pressure, in January 1832, the magistrate of the city of Augsburg offered a reward of 50 guilders, which was increased to 100 guilders a month later. But despite intensive police investigations, a fatal miscarriage of justice occurred as early as 1820. The girl slasher was already on the loose at that time. Back then, 19-year-old Katharine Huber was attacked by a man while out buying beer in the evening. On February 26, 1820, bank employee Georg Rügemer was wrongfully arrested as the Augsburg girl slasher. Although he regained his freedom after a few days, he was subsequently ostracized. He lost his job and the reputation of being the girl slasher stuck to him like glue. After Rügemer’s death, the population believed that the attacks would stop, but they continued. A particularly striking case was described in the historical edition of the Augsburger Tagblatt newspaper from 1832. On her way home, 16-year-old maid Karolin Eislin was attacked in a narrow alley, with the perpetrator inflicting a cut about a finger’s length on her right forearm. Such detailed descriptions reinforced the feeling of constant threat in the city. Further attacks followed until the Mädchenschneider was finally arrested after an attack on Josepha Merk on January 6, 1837. He turned out to be 37-year-old Karl Alois Joseph Bertle, the unmarried son of a wine merchant and real estate owner in Augsburg. He was considered an upstanding citizen of Augsburg, but lived a very socially withdrawn life and suffered from melancholy. Karl Bertle was examined psychologically by the court physician and Munich police doctor Dr. Senger, who classified him as mentally incompetent. An additional expert opinion from the Medical Committee confirmed his full mental competence. The motive lay in a disturbed lust complex. Karl Bertle dreamed at night of the idea of giving women complete sexual satisfaction by cutting them. He was charged with a total of 19 counts, some of which were attempted bodily harm. On December 29, 1839, the Royal Court of Appeal for the Upper Danube District sentenced him to four years in a workhouse. This sentence was confirmed on August 12, 1839, by the High Court of Appeal of the Kingdom of Bavaria, but was reduced to three and a half years. The sentence was served in the prison and workhouse in Munich. On March 29, 1842, Karl Bertle was pardoned in view of his proven rehabilitation. According to a woman named Creszentia Weishaupt, after his release, Karl Bertle is said to have brandished a cutting instrument in public on December 23, 1843. However, the authorities did not pursue the complaint, as Bertle’s behavior had been impeccable up to that point. There were no further attacks on young women. After his release, Bertle lived in complete poverty and attempted suicide in Holzbach in September 1883, but failed. After that, he was given a daily soup and a weekly allowance of 4 marks by the municipal poor relief service. He died on July 16, 1885, at the age of 86 in Augsburg. But the memory of his deeds and their effects remained present for a long time. Bertle’s case is not only a thrilling story of crime and punishment, but also offers insights into the development of criminal history and judicial practice in 19th-century Augsburg. This dark episode impressively shows how profoundly a single perpetrator can terrorize an entire city and how complex the psychosocial mechanisms behind such acts are.