Viviane Janouin-Benanti

The Ogre of Hanover Station

Fritz Haarmann

In Hannover, Germany in the early 1920s, there was a rumor that the River Leine was filled with the bodies of dead children. When the river was finally dredged, over 1,500 human bones were found in the foul-smelling sludge. All the flesh had been carefully removed from the bones. What had been done with it? Who had committed these horrific murders? And why hadn’t he been caught sooner?

Readers beware, this story is not for the faint of heart.

“270 missing children, do you realize that there have been 270 disappearances in one year!” barked Police Chief Retz, beside himself, addressing a room full of bewildered police officers.

And the numbers kept growing and growing… A serial killer nicknamed the Ogre of Hannover was able to operate in the city, unchecked, for years.

Local businessman Fritz Haarmann, always so polite and well dressed, greeted everyone in his neighborhood with a smile. He was even on friendly terms with the chief of police. Such a nice man was above all suspicion. How could anyone imagine that he was the one abducting children, let alone that he was killing and dismembering them and dumping their bones in the river at night…? With an average of one murder per week over the span of years, his arrest couldn’t come too soon.

This chilling story has been impeccably researched and tactfully dramatized by Viviane Janouin-Benanti, the author of over twenty captivating historical true crime novels. In telling this story, Janouin-Benanti does not glorify the sordid details of this serial killer’s crimes. She tells us the facts and names his victims, sharing their tragic stories as well.

You can read sample of The Ogre of Hanover Station: Fritz Haarmann on: Amazon

Some photos from the book

Friedrich Haarmann — Friedrich, called Fritz, Haarmann

Magasin de Fritz Haarmann — Fritz Haarmann's clothing store

Appartement d'Haarmann — Haarmann's pantry
where he stored human meat
before selling it

Hans Grans,
Haarmann's lover and accomplice

Gare d'Hanovre — Hannover railway station

Fritz Haarmann
happy to pose for posterity

Articles published on The ogre of Hanover station

In Hanover of the post-war period of 14-18, the police were disorganized and the crisis was raging. The circumstances was propitious to a serial killer. Not just any one, this one, a pedophile, attacks boys and teenagers. Between 1918 and 1924, reports of worrying disappearances rise dramatically. Commissioner Retz admits his powerlessness.

Friedrich Haarmann was mainly active from 1918 to 1924, without the number of his victims being really known. There will be no bodies, only a mountain of anonymous bones in the Leine River. At the very least, Haarmann will be forced to confess to 27 murders during his trial.

Viviane Janouin-Benanti has accustomed us to handle her criminal cases with sensitivity and restraint. She never enters into the sordid, seeking rather to dissect the personality of the protagonists. However, it must be admitted that for this sadistic killer who sold human flesh on the black market, you have to have a strong heart to follow his sordid path. In this sense, it is one of the darkest novels we have ever read.

Fortunately, despite the horror of the facts, the author's clear and alert style leads us in confidence and security to the conclusion of the investigation and the atonement of the monster.

CDL 44, february 2019.