Karl Denke - serial murderer and cannibal, who hanged himself on his handkerchief

Looking for information about the market hall located on Piaskowa Street in Wrocław, I came across the story of person named Karl Denke (1870 - 1924) - a serial killer and a cannibal. Karl lived and murdered in Münsterberg, Kingdom of Prussia (now Ziębice, Poland). He sold his products made from human, like pickled meat, belts, suspenders at Wroclaw's (previously Breslau) market halls. It is estimated that he murdered more than 40 people. He ended his life in a police station - hanging on a handkerchief.

Picture of Karl Denke taken after his death

Denke was born in an farmer family, August 12, 1870 most likely in the village of Oberkunzendorf (now Kalinowice Górne, Poland). In his youth he was a bad student, often fled from home. When Karl was 25 years old, his father died and he inherited money for which he bought a farm in Ziębice. He was not a good landlord and soon he had to sell the farm, in exchange he settled in an apartment at Stawowa 10. He also owned a shed. Denke had a good reputation, he was considered calm and religious. He was a type of solitary, didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't meet with women. He helped homeless and poor people, so he had no trouble getting a permission to trade.

Building at Stawowa 10

Shed owned by Denke

On December 20, 1924, vagabond Vincenz Olivier cames to Ziębice. Without job or money, he starts begging. That way he arrives to the murderer's house. Karl invites him inside, offering money in exchange for helping to write a letter to his brother. When Olivier heard the dictated words: "Adolf you fatty" (Adolf du Dicker Wanst) laughed and turned his head. At that moment Denke hit him with a hoe. Olivier heavily bleeding, managed to stop the attacker and escape the building calling for help. In the meantime, Denke was shouting that the beggar wanted to rob him. Vagabond reported to the police and told them about the assault. Policemen didn't want to believe in his story. How such a decent citizen could do anything like that. But they treated his wounds and put him in a cell. They put Denke in a cell also, who claimed to have beaten Olivier, because he wanted to rob him. A few hours later, the police found Karl dead. He hanged himself in the cell on his handkerchief.

On December 22, Denke's family requested for a corpse and permission for funeral. After two days later, on December 24, in order to secure property, police made a review of the apartment and the shed at Stawowa 10. What they saw made their blood run cold: jars with pickled meat, bones, belts and suspenders made of human skin, collection of about 400 human teeth, tools to make a soap, collection of personal documents belonging to many people. Wroclaw's criminological laboratory confirmed that the human meat was found in the containers.

Human meat, bones, and pair of suspenders made from human skin

Twenty victims of a serial killer have been identified. Nevertheless, police findings describe the list of more than 40 people. Mostly they were vagabonds, unemployed journeymen who came to the city in search of work and whose disappearance nobody would notice. A few days after newspapers published the story, meat sell fell dramatically. Rumors have circulated that Denke was selling human flesh as cheap pork meat at Wroclaw's marketplaces. Those moods didn't changed even after offical statement of the meat dealer association that the sale of human meat would be impossible due to the frequent police checks among sellers. Karl was buried early in the morning on December 31, 1924 with the police assist, in an unmarked grave in the corner of the cemetery.

Today, Denke's house is still standing at Stawowa Street. Only numbering changed from 10 to 13. You can watch it on Google Street View:

https://www.google.pl/maps/@50.6070769,17.0416314,3a,75y,273.25h,83.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6LAE2cF05D61qEV_SlTBxw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

It seems that actuall owners have troubles with unwanted visitors ("no photo" signs visible on the building's wall).

sources:
http://foodfirstblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/vater-denke.html
http://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/29894/Lucyna_Bialy_Z_ciemnych_kart_historii_Ziebic.pdf