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Name |
Years active |
Proven victims |
Possible victims |
Status |
Notes |
Ref
|
Bartsch, Jürgen
|
1962–1966
|
4
|
4
|
Died during castration surgery
|
Known as “The Carnival Killer”; killed boys aged 8–13 in Langenberg, with one managing to escape
|
[4] |
Beck, Ernst-Dieter
|
1961–1968
|
3
|
3
|
Died while imprisoned
|
First murderer in German history on whom a chromosome test was applied
|
[5] |
Bingelhelm, Simon
|
16th century
|
26
|
26
|
Executed 1600
|
Known as “The Thousand Devils of Halberstadt”; robber who confessed to multiple murders in the present-day area of Saxony-Anhalt
|
[6] |
Boost, Werner
|
1953–1956
|
1
|
5
|
Released 1990
|
Known as “The Couples’ Killer”; along with accomplice Franz Lorbach, murdered couples in the 1950s, but only convicted of one murder
|
[7] |
Denke, Karl
|
1903–1924
|
30
|
42+
|
Committed suicide in police custody
|
Cannibal who killed homeless vagrants and travellers in Prussia; allegedly sold his victims’ flesh as meat to unsuspecting customers
|
[8] |
Eichhorn, Johann
|
1931–1939
|
5
|
5+
|
Executed 1939
|
Known as “The Beast of Aubing”; raped numerous women around western Munich, killing and mutilating at least five of them when they resisted him
|
[9] |
Fleischer, Simeon
|
16th-century
|
19
|
19
|
Executed 1581
|
Wool weaver who murdered 19 wives for money; existence is disputed
|
[10] |
Gatter, Arthur
|
1990
|
8
|
8
|
Committed suicide before sentencing
|
Known as “The Hammer-Killer of Frankfurt”; killed people with a hammer in Frankfurt city parks
|
[11] |
Genipperteinga, Christman
|
1568–1581
|
964
|
964
|
Executed 1581
|
Possibly fictitious bandit who kept a registry of all the people he had killed, tallying up to 964
|
[12][13] |
Gossmann, Klaus
|
1960–1965
|
7
|
7
|
Released 2015
|
Known as “The Midday Murderer”; committed robberies and murders at noon, hence his nickname
|
[14] |
Gottfried, Gesche
|
1813–1827
|
15
|
15
|
Executed 1831
|
Poisoned people with arsenic in Bremen and Hanover; last person to be publicly hanged in the city of Bremen
|
[15] |
Großmann, Carl
|
1918–1921
|
26
|
100+
|
Committed suicide while imprisoned
|
Known as “The Berlin Butcher”; killed women and later sold their flesh on the black market
|
[16] |
Haarmann, Fritz
|
1918–1924
|
24
|
27+
|
Executed 1925
|
Known as “The Butcher of Hanover”; murdered young men and boys before dismembering their bodies; allegedly sold some of the flesh as contraband meat
|
[17] |
Hagedorn, Erwin
|
1969–1971
|
3
|
3
|
Executed 1972
|
Killed three boys in Eberswalde; last civilian to be executed by East Germany in 1972
|
[18] |
Hanebuth, Jasper
|
17th-century
|
19
|
19
|
Executed 1653
|
Former mercenary and highwayman who killed people around the Eilenriede forest
|
[19] |
Holst, Thomas
|
1987–1989
|
3
|
3
|
Committed to a psychiatric clinic
|
Known as “The Heidemörder”; tortured and then killed women in south Hamburg
|
[20] |
Honka, Fritz
|
1970–1975
|
4
|
4
|
Died 1998
|
Murdered prostitutes in Hamburg’s red light district
|
[21] |
Hopf, Karl
|
1902–1906
|
4
|
4
|
Executed 1914
|
Poisoned family members and attempted to kill others in the Frankfurt area
|
[22] |
Imiela, Arwed
|
1968–1969
|
4
|
4
|
Died in prison
|
Known as “The Bluebeard of Fehmarn”; fraudster who lured and killed women in Fehmarn after gaining access to their bank accounts
|
[23] |
Kimmritz, Willi
|
1946–1948
|
4
|
4
|
Executed 1950
|
Known as “The Horror of the Brandenburg Forest”; raped and robbed women in the forests around Berlin, killing some of his victims
|
[24] |
Kroll, Joachim
|
1955–1976
|
14
|
14
|
Died while imprisoned
|
Known as “The Ruhr Cannibal”; raped and killed mostly women in and around the Ruhr region, eating parts of their flesh afterwards
|
[25] |
Kürten, Peter
|
1913–1929
|
9
|
9+
|
Executed 1931
|
Known as “The Vampire of Düsseldorf”; responsible for numerous sexual assaults, murders and attempted murders in Düsseldorf
|
[26] |
Lehmann, Christa
|
1952–1954
|
3
|
3
|
Released 1977
|
Poisoned family members and the family dog; initially sentenced to life imprisonment but released after 23 years
|
|
Ludy, Franz Josef
|
1952–1968
|
4
|
4
|
Sentenced to life imprisonment
|
Serial child abuser who murdered two children and a couple
|
[27] |
Mayer, Johann
|
1918–1919
|
5
|
5
|
Executed 1923
|
Known as “Stumpfarm”; disabled man who shot and killed people with a carbine
|
[28] |
Niers, Peter
|
16th-century
|
544
|
544+
|
Executed 1581
|
Reputed bandit and gang leader who killed numerous people with his accomplices
|
|
Ogorzow, Paul
|
1940–1941
|
8
|
8+
|
Executed 1941
|
Known as “The S-Bahn Murderer”; SA sergeant who killed women in wartime Berlin
|
[29] |
Pinzner, Werner
|
1984–1986
|
13
|
13
|
Committed suicide to avoid apprehension
|
Known as “The St. Pauli Killer”; contract killer who murdered various people around Hamburg
|
[30][31] |
Pleil, Rudolf
|
1946–1947
|
10
|
25
|
Committed suicide while imprisoned
|
Known as “The Deadmaker”; killed one salesman and nine women in the Harz mountain range, but confessed to killing more
|
[32] |
Poehlke, Norbert
|
1984–1985
|
6
|
6
|
Committed suicide to avoid apprehension
|
Known as “The Hammer-Killer”; police officer and bank robber who killed people during his crimes in Baden-Württemberg; killed his wife, two sons and then himself in Italy to avoid capture
|
[33] |
Pommerenke, Heinrich
|
1959
|
4
|
4+
|
Died while imprisoned
|
Killed women around Baden-Württemberg; longest-serving prisoner in Germany until his death
|
[34] |
Prigan, Bernhard
|
1947–1952
|
3
|
16
|
Sentenced to life imprisonment
|
Known as “The Strangler”; killed women near controlled-access highways and major roads
|
[35] |
Reinstrom, Lutz
|
1986–1988
|
2
|
2
|
Sentenced to life imprisonment
|
Known as “The Acid Killer”; sadomasochist who tortured and killed two women in Hamburg
|
[36] |
Schiffer, Egidius
|
1983–1990
|
5
|
5
|
Died in prison
|
Known as “The Strangler of Aachen”; murdered girls and women, sexually abusing three of them
|
[37] |
Schmidt, Ulrich
|
1987–1989
|
5
|
5
|
Sentenced to life imprisonment
|
Known as “The Holiday Killer”; Assaulted nine women in Essen, killing five.
|
[38] |
Schumann, Friedrich
|
1918–1920
|
7
|
7
|
Executed 1921
|
Known as “The Terror of Falkenhagen Lake”; criminal who killed people in the Berlin area
|
[39] |
Seefeldt, Adolf
|
1908–1935
|
12
|
12+
|
Executed 1936
|
Known as “The Sandman”; travelling watchmaker who poisoned and then sexually assaulted young boys in their sleep
|
[40] |
Steinwegs, Kurt-Friedhelm
|
1974–1983
|
6
|
6
|
Committed to a psychiatric institution
|
Known as “The Monster from Lower Rhine”; juvenile delinquent who killed six people
|
[41] |
Sternickel, August
|
1905–1913
|
7
|
7
|
Executed 1913
|
Petty criminal who killed his employer in 1905; while on the run for authorities in the next years, proceeded to kill other people for profit
|
[42] |
Stumpp, Peter
|
c. 1564–1589
|
18
|
18
|
Executed 1589
|
Known as “The Werewolf of Bedburg”; farmer and accused cannibal who killed people in the 16th-century
|
[43] |
Tessnow, Ludwig
|
1898–1901
|
4
|
4
|
Executed 1904
|
First criminal in history on whom a blood type test was performed
|
[44] |
Ursinus, Sophie
|
1796–1803
|
3
|
3
|
Died 1836
|
Poisoned her family members with arsenic; her trial led to a method of identifying said type of poisoning
|
[45] |
Velten, Maria
|
1963–1982
|
3
|
5
|
Died 2008
|
Known as “The Poison Witch from Lower Rhine”; poisoned her family members and partners with parathion; released from prison at 93
|
[46] |
Wiese, Elisabeth
|
1902–1903
|
5
|
5
|
Executed 1905
|
Known as “The Angel Maker of St. Pauli”; poisoned her grandchild and other children with morphine, burning their bodies in the stove afterwards
|
[47] |
Wichmann, Kurt-Werner
|
1989
|
4
|
21+
|
Committed suicide
|
Cemetery gardener thought to be responsible for the Göhrde Murders, and other ones as well
|
[48] |
Wittmann, Ferdinand
|
1860–1865
|
6
|
6
|
Executed 1868
|
Poisoned his relatives with arsenic; youngest serial killer in German history
|
[49] |
Wittmann, Manfred
|
1968–1969
|
3
|
3
|
Released 2013
|
Known as “The Staffelstein Killer”; sadist who killed underage girls in Coburg
|
[50] |
Zwanziger, Anna Maria
|
1801–1811
|
4
|
4
|
Executed 1811
|
Bavarian poisoner who killed people with arsenic; executed by decapitation in Kulmbach
|
[51] |
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