Der Totmacher (The Death-Maker)

It is 1924, the year in which Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's "The Last Laugh" was made, Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain" was published and Adolf Hitler was accused of high treason in Munich. It is also the year in which one criminal case caused a huge sensation among the German public. Salesman Fritz Haarmann admitted to having killed and dismembered the bodies of 24 young men. He denied accusations of cannibalism. Professer Dr Ernst Schultze was commissioned to prepare a psychiatric report determining the soundness of the accused's mind. In August 1924 the six-week examination began at a clinic in Göttingen. The conversations which were documented in shorthand by a secretary form the basis of this film.