A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin, Scott Andrew Selby
A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin, Scott Andrew Selby
4 Rating(s)
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A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin
The Chilling True Story of the S-Bahn Murderer

Author: Scott Andrew Selby

Narrator: Don Hagen

Unabridged: 7 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 02/01/2014


Synopsis

As the Nazi war machine caused death and destruction throughout Europe, one man in the Fatherland began his own reign of terror.

This is the true story of the pursuit and capture of a serial killer in the heart of the Third Reich.

For all appearances, Paul Ogorzow was a model German. An employed family man, party member, and sergeant in the infamous Brownshirts, he had worked his way up in the Berlin railroad from a manual laborer laying track to assistant signalman. But he also had a secret need to harass and frighten women. Then he was given a gift from the Nazi high command.

Due to Allied bombing raids, a total blackout was instituted throughout Berlin, including on the commuter trains—trains often used by women riding home alone from the factories.

Under cover of darkness and with a helpless flock of victims to choose from, Ogorzow’s depredations grew more and more horrific. He escalated from simply frightening women to physically attacking them, eventually raping and murdering them. Beginning in September 1940, he started casually tossing their bodies off the moving train. Though the Nazi party tried to censor news of the attacks, the women of Berlin soon lived in a state of constant fear.

It was up to Wilhelm Lüdtke, head of the Berlin police’s serious crimes division, to hunt down the madman in their midst. For the first time, the gripping full story of Ogorzow’s killing spree and Lüdtke’s relentless pursuit is told in dramatic detail.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Clark on November 16, 2023

The writing is very simple--probably early high-school level. This makes the text quite accessible. However, the book repeats nearly every single observation, fact, or point multiple times, often stating the same minor thing every few pages of a chapter. This constant repetition of facts gets... rep......more

Goodreads review by Kirsten on April 28, 2014

This is a really interesting case, and I really enjoyed the amount of historical detail; I loved learning more about what life was like in Berlin during the blackout. However, the writing here was just incredibly pedestrian. Sections almost read like they were written for an elementary school readin......more

Goodreads review by Jann on March 08, 2014

Paul Ogorzow was able to commit the crimes he did because during the years of his crimes, Germany was under blackout conditions at night, the government didn't alert the populace due to strong censorship (if word got out that a serial killer was still loose, it would make the Nazi party appear weak)......more

Goodreads review by Cold War Conversations Podcast on January 19, 2014

You sort of forget that during wartime the crimes of peacetime still carry on. Using the original police files the author pieces together the story of this killer and the subsequent police investigation. I'm not normally a fan of "true crime" and at times I felt the book was padded out, particularly......more

Goodreads review by Timothy on January 31, 2025

A serial killer in Germany…and the start of World War II… A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin: The Chilling True Story of the S-Bahn Murderer by Scott Andrew Selby is a fascinating book on an early 20th century serial killer… The book follows the story of Paul Ogorzow, a railroad employee who attacked wome......more