tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166698636854552082012-01-20T12:35:53.701+01:00cannibalism in Central Europe the starting point for this blog is the story of three murderers living in the same country, same period, committing similar crimes. All happened in the 1920's in Germany. The three serial killers are Fritz Haarmann, Carl Grossmann and Karl Denke. They all slaughtered their victims and sold or exchanged their meat. They were probably cannibals themselves.foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-79959528245919835802010-11-18T16:04:00.006+01:002010-11-18T16:53:56.389+01:00

An Intellectual History of Cannibalism, a book by the Romanian researcher Cătălin Avramescu has been recently translated into English. Quoted from Open Democracy: Catalin Avramescu examines the place of cannibalism in European intellectual discourse. The practice as understood today cannot be divorced from a deep substrata of history and myth extending back to the first Crusades. Avramescu's

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-91781730633266476982010-11-10T20:38:00.005+01:002010-11-10T20:47:18.832+01:00

source: Wikipedia Cannibal Cottage is more than just a gruesome horror tour. When the exhibit first opened, it was controversial, particularly for its collection of slaughtered human bones. These remains are nearly thirteen thousand years old and prove that the first humans were cannibals. The museum attempts to contextualize these findings by detailing the history of cannibalism, how and why it

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-52025848546017209852010-11-10T11:02:00.003+01:002010-11-18T15:25:50.945+01:00

From Roman Polanski's Pirates.

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-26680623361237973292010-08-29T00:35:00.011+02:002010-11-18T17:09:17.326+01:00

The so called Cannibal Restaurant is most probably just a hoax. However its prominent campaign has triggered outrage and disgust. From the Guardian: In a prominent advertising campaign on the internet, in German newspapers and on television, the restaurant, Flime, is appealing for willing donors and diners to become members of what it hints at being a new dining movement. (click to enlarge)"

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-73405655742213559152010-01-23T02:20:00.008+01:002010-08-29T01:12:18.233+02:00

This has nothing to do with central Europe. I blog about this weird story just because of its resemblance to another one: hereFrom PeaceFM Online:A well-known organiser of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Somanya in the Eastern region, Kwame Wayo Acheampong, has found himself in the grips of the law after pouncing on his tenant and chewing part of his scrotum in a fierce fight

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-15057861398978055302010-01-22T21:59:00.009+01:002010-08-29T01:13:37.826+02:00

In my previous post I blogged about evidence of mass cannibalism in central Europe (southern Germany to be more precise). Now though scientists point out to other possible explanations of the butchered bones found in Herxheim. (inhabitants of modern Herxheim are probably NOT cannibals:)source: flickrFrom ScienceNews' article:Two archaeologists who have studied human bones unearthed a decade ago

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-89510626182823992182009-12-08T01:52:00.003+01:002010-01-23T02:48:27.583+01:00

Archaeologists have found evidence of mass cannibalism at a 7,000-year-old human burial site in south-west Germany, the journal Antiquity reports.The authors say their findings provide rare evidence of cannibalism in Europe's early Neolithic period.Up to 500 human remains unearthed near the village of Herxheim may have been cannibalised.More here (BBC News)Via BBC News

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-57650057378030207132009-09-28T01:27:00.006+02:002009-09-28T01:41:25.340+02:00

Eugenics and cannibalism combined: Time Machine (1895) by H.G. Wells.Humanity in the year A.D. 802,701 is divided into the Eloi, a society of elegant, androgynous, and rather childishly naive people and the Morlocks - troglodytes, who breed and eat the Eloi. Here is a fragment of the 1960 movie directed by George Pal:

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-70398488660280593842009-09-27T23:16:00.008+02:002010-01-23T12:29:02.965+01:00

Hufu is the name of a soy-based product designed to resemble human flesh (in taste and texture): "Healthy Human Flesh Alternative". According to the producer's website, human flesh has the "taste and texture of beef, except a little sweeter in taste and a little softer in texture. Contrary to popular belief, people do not taste like pork or chicken".Armin Meiwes (and we can trust this guy in

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-43977470593491439492009-09-25T01:06:00.007+02:002009-09-25T01:28:30.306+02:00

I mentioned this American band before, but described it as extreme metal. Well, I was wrong: indeed they play murder metal. They have a brand new site on myspace, hence we know, that Macabre blends elements of true crime, math rock, nursery rhymes, punk, thrash, folk melodies, death metal, jazz fusion, black metal and more into an energetic, catchy and unmistakable amalgam, refers to Macabre's

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-72738105183834759542009-09-24T23:42:00.005+02:002009-09-24T23:48:38.208+02:00

New book with an article about Karl Denke by Armin Rütters is out: Publisher: Kirchschlager Verlag ISBN 978-3-934277-25-0

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-74657373983414730152009-09-24T23:37:00.003+02:002009-09-24T23:40:04.945+02:00

Quoted from Modernity Problems: Belge colonizers were into measuring cranial dimensions of Rwandans and making them do calisthenics in the name of evolving the barbarians. Back in the day, it was all about ethnicity. Today, its about mental capacity. And, creepily, forced sterilization. Wednesday, Human Rights Watch urged: Rwanda to revise a draft law which it said would introduce compulsory HIV

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-54890710226378340132009-09-24T22:15:00.015+02:002009-09-24T23:00:40.112+02:00

The fourth child of Wioletta Woźna (42) has been taken away from her after social workers declare, that "the house is untidy, the floor is not swept, the dishes dirty, crumbs of bread on the table, the woman is unresourceful, her partner works in the field and doesn't help her much. The court states, that the woman is handicapped, and the father is 63 year old". The story (in Polish) here;

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-606206679194414722009-09-24T19:49:00.007+02:002009-09-24T22:59:20.742+02:00

Vasectomy instruments found on ebay. The set includes: 1 Ring Forceps 1 Micro Point Mosquito Surgical Hemostat Non-Cantilevered Ringed Forceps. ("fixation clamp") LIFE time Warranty against rust The description says it all: One of the most common and popular means for contraception around the world is vasectomy – a brief, surgical procedure used for male sterilization. It is a popular means of

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-74489702679800314672009-06-23T23:38:00.007+02:002009-06-23T23:53:56.189+02:00

This is the third post concerning eugenics on this blog. Take a look at the previous ones here and here and then enjoy the poem below (click to magnify):Source

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-20105555115216084412009-06-23T17:21:00.012+02:002009-06-24T00:07:47.503+02:00

The British version of the Cannibal Butcher urban legend turns Kebab style:Well, the infamous first ever winner of the Mr Gay UK contest also tried tried some Mediterranean flavouring (quoted from The Sun): "Having killed the victim Morley carved away a piece of flesh, took it downstairs to his kitchen where he seasoned it, fried it and tried to eat it. [...] From a chopping board on one of the

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-17255781867936986192009-06-22T20:24:00.008+02:002009-06-23T22:48:54.788+02:00

Alfred Hrdlicka, Stehender - Haarmann 1967 (red marble) 87 x 20 x 30 cm. sourceThe sculpture above is one of a series of Haarmann ispired statues proposed by Austrian artist Afred Hrdlicka to the city of Hanover. Maria Tatar notes in her book Lustmord:Much as collective cultural memory has excluded Fritz Haarmann from the historical record and preserved his deeds in the popular imagination as

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-46001052983748620772009-06-22T18:32:00.019+02:002009-06-23T22:46:22.411+02:00

Here comes another piece inspired by the notorious character (look here and here).This one was written by Erich Weinert, who regarded the case of Fritz Haarmann and the way society reacted to it, as the final proof of the Weimar Republic's degeneration. The text is a little obscure, I leave it in its original form without translation (taken from the book Serial Killers. Das Buch der blutigen

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-55898255517768337042009-05-28T23:24:00.012+02:002009-05-29T20:06:16.453+02:00

The case of Armin Meiwes has become famous over the years with movies, novels and songs to depict the story of the Metzgermeister. Many were fascinated by the fact that both the killer and the victim shared the first bites of the latter's penis as entrée (in culinary terms, it wasn't satisfying; most of the penis - chopped - was later served to Meiwes' dog).Now though, Meiwes has a follower (sui

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-27510101321841351102009-05-13T22:20:00.008+02:002009-05-29T20:07:16.851+02:00

The 1000 Swiss franc note might not be seen often (it's the equivalent of roughly $900), and the one beneath is no longer in circulation (replaced by a new note in 1998). It gives homage to Auguste Forel (1848-1931), famous Swiss myrmecologist and sexologist. And pioneer of eugenics in Switzerland and Europe. While directing Burghölzli asylum in the 1890's, he favored the sterilization of

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-1371634194715924932009-05-09T20:12:00.005+02:002009-05-09T20:41:41.950+02:00

The oginial version of the popular song by Walter Kollo Warte, warte nur ein Weilchen... (look here for the alternative versions) is on YouTube at last (thanks to RetroMarkD):Unfortunately I couldn't find any information about the singers Ina Broscow & Rudolf Scherfling on internet.

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-3303121465453690082009-05-07T15:45:00.010+02:002009-05-28T22:06:00.077+02:00

A comic entitled "Kiełbasy Harmanna" (Harmann's Sausages) by Sara Sapkowska & Bartek Biedrzycki has just been published in Kolektyw#4 magazine. The story has little to do with real Fritz Haarmann (except the name of the character and the city of Hannover). In general, it was based on a song by Polish rock band T-Love (take a look at my previous post). It seems a little odd, as the factual story

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-9953845556985372792009-05-05T23:58:00.013+02:002009-05-28T22:04:48.122+02:00

Just some links to other works inspired by Fritz Haarmann.Haarmann's Sausages: Hamburg based group Reel Banditos included this instrumental piece on their CD Raspberry Ripples. Listen here.Kiełbasy Harmanna (Polish for Haarmann's Sausages, although the killer's surname is a little misspelled): a song by Polish rock group T-Love. Listen here (hat tip to Maciej K. and Maciej Z. for this link).The

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-83004093216097139962008-12-31T18:52:00.006+01:002009-01-02T02:03:26.892+01:00

Students of Ziębice's high school made a movie about Karl Denke. Far from being a masterpiece of documentary cinema, it deserves attention for at least 3 reasons:- it has been made by very young people;- it relates an uneasy part of the history of the town- it was intended as mere practice in film editingSo here it is (Polish only; no subtitles - sorry): Cast:Agnieszka OrłowskaSara

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-25278828231999607772008-12-05T17:17:00.004+01:002008-12-05T19:30:34.034+01:00

It was exactly a year ago, when the Hanover tourist board issued this Advent calendar for children. Nothing really special about it, if not one figure depicted behind a tree at the left of the image.  Yes, it is Fritz Haarmann, the cannibal killer from Hanover, with a meat cleaver in his hand:Haarmann had already appeared in a similar calendar the year before, but nobody took notice. The 2007

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-78150256564289856432008-12-05T00:39:00.006+01:002008-12-05T19:30:11.351+01:00

Frischfleisch (Fresh Meat) is - according to its designer Friedemann Friese - a vicious game for 2 - 6 hungry players at age 18+sourceFrom the official note: Each player represents a group of 6 persons, who are stranded in a wilderness. The sun is burning - the stomach hurts - food must be found. The basic idea of the game: Before I die I better eat my neighbor...The game is out of print.It was

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-79039216096407419632008-12-03T02:20:00.007+01:002008-12-05T19:29:29.125+01:00

Hammer in the nails! Michael Struck used Karl Denke's image as inspiration for his oil on burlap painting (ca. 90x100 cm). sourceHe explains: the picture is partly a collage. The rusty nails at the bottom right corner of the image are mounted into the burlap.A major inspiration for this work was Dostoevsy's 'Crime and Punishment'. ...The implications of this statement are anyone's guess.

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-49048602393639850152008-11-18T00:47:00.014+01:002008-11-30T16:43:39.937+01:00

Karl Denke's case puzzles many historians and psychiatrists who try to answer the basic questions: why was he murdering people and making food out of their flesh? And why his neighbors didn't notice the human slaughterhouse in his flat for at least 15 years? Unlike Carl Großmann and Fritz Haarmann, Denke wasn't a sexual maniac, even if he was mentally retarded. His behavior seems rational to some

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-13478240137509271812008-11-02T20:55:00.012+01:002008-11-30T16:31:57.697+01:00

I owe this one to Petr Janeček, the Czech ethnologist and folklorist, author of the book Černá Sanitka about urban legends in Central Europe. The story was spread around 1987 or 1988 in Brno (Czech Republic):They say there was a soldier who came to town to meet his girlfriend. One day they went together for a walk, when she told him she has to go to the butcher to buy some meat. He was waiting

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-61509037697582242362008-11-02T00:20:00.008+01:002008-11-30T16:30:49.084+01:00

Janina Szczepańska occupies the apartment that once belonged to Karl Denke. She and her husband bought half of a small house in Ziębice in 1968, when the local authorities decided to sell this social building to particulars. The new owners came from a neighboring village and weren't familiar with the story of the Muensterberg (Ziębice) cannibal.However some peculiarities of the house attracted

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-9745836078751150462008-11-01T14:38:00.019+01:002008-11-30T16:07:18.176+01:00

Two things led me to a small forest about 2 km north of Karl Denke's house. First of all I was searching for the "Municipal Forest" mentioned by the forensic expert Friedrich Pietrusky in his report as the place of disposal of Denke's victims' bones. However there is no trace of such forest in the vicinity of the killer's house (this was also true in the 1920's as proves this old map). The

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-73568136673929259242008-10-31T01:00:00.025+01:002008-11-30T15:59:37.238+01:00

In search for Ziębice's Municipal Forest mentioned by Friedrich Pietrusky in his report.The question remained unanswered: where did Karl Denke burry the bones of his victims? Pietrusky speaks of a "municipal forest" but there is no forest close to Denke's house. However if you take a look at Ziębice's satellite picture, you'll probably spot a grove at the south-east end of town. It is labelled "

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-77017836532138736532008-09-29T11:38:00.032+02:002008-11-30T15:53:57.870+01:00

The neat picture of a saw, a pickaxe and some knives are part of a series of mysterious photographs found dumped at the Medical Academy of Wrocław in the mid 1980's. A total of 1200 pictures (medium format glass negatives and positives) were dumped during a renovation at the medical college of Wrocław. They belonged most probably to the German Institute of Forensic Medicine in Breslau until 1945,

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-69462043121359218962008-09-24T23:23:00.019+02:002008-11-30T15:48:33.305+01:00

Friedrich "Fritz" Haarmann (1879 - 1925) is the best known and most mythicized of the three most notorious German cannibal-killers of the 1920's: Georg Carl Grossmann and Karl Denke are the two others. His deeds were rather well described on many occasions, so we can refer here to an article in the New Criminologist: here. ...Just like Grossmann and Denke, Haarmann used to accost his potential

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-56154719572717688732008-09-08T00:51:00.015+02:002008-11-30T15:39:03.268+01:00

Georg Carl Großmann (known as Carl Großmann).His story is often considered to be very similar to that of Karl Denke. He lived and died in the same time, same country. Just as Denke, he committed suicide in jail awaiting trail. He murdered people and there are prerequisites to think that he was using his victims' flesh to make sausages, he was later selling at the Silesian Station. And, just as in

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-86103428544717096862008-08-31T15:00:00.018+02:002008-11-30T15:28:25.425+01:00

Although Karl Denke is considered a "forgotten cannibal" today, he had a moment of fame in the mid 1920's. Here come the lyrics of a Moritat (murder ballad) about him:Münsterberg, du schönes Städtchen, Münsterberg, du schöne Stadt, Drinnen wohnte Meister Denke, Der so viel geschlachtet hat. Schöne junge Handwerksburschen Lud er sich zum Schreiben ein Und in schöne neue Fässer Pökelte er sie alle

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-52588468222722417032008-08-16T21:59:00.036+02:002008-11-30T15:22:16.809+01:00

This one is called the "unusual case" or "the forgotten cannibal". He wasn't a paraphiliac, nor was he an alcoholic. Nothing spectacular about his childhood either.Karl Denke was born on August 10, 1870 in Oberkunzendorf (today Kalinowice Górne) in Lower Silesia and moved to Muensterberg (today Ziębice) ten years later. He was a somewhat dull, if not retarded child. He quit school and left home

foodfirstbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000635562361073751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316669863685455208.post-79647967924689677802008-08-06T14:09:00.024+02:002008-11-30T14:53:20.413+01:00

The blog's title is a quotation from Bertold Brecht's song "Denn wovon lebt der Mensch", here interpreted by William Burroughs:here's the original text (thanks to pretentious moi) Bertolt Brecht/ Kurt Weill: Denn wovon lebt der Mensch Ihr Herrn die uns lehrt wie man darf leben,und Sönd und Missetat vermeiden kann.Zuerst müst Ihr uns was zu fressen gebendann könt Ihr reden, damit fängt es an.Ihr

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