Unimaginable
Can you think of a significant event in your life that happened between April 1984 and April 2008?
I keep thinking of Olli's first day at school, for some reason - - but of course, in that twenty-four year period there were lots of significant events, and I expect there have been in your life too.
During all the time that these significant events happened, Elisabeth Fritzl, of Amstetten, Austria, was a prisoner of her father and living in the cellar under their house. For twenty-four years.
I have just been reading the book Monster by the journalist Allan Hall, about these horrifying events.
Josef Fritzl had been sexually abusing his daughter Elisabeth from when she was eleven, and, knowing that, at eighteen, she was about to flee his home for good, he took her into the cellar of the house where he had spent some time building a dungeon in which to keep her. He was an expert in the use of concrete and the dungeon was behind a number of remote-controlled doors, and totally soundproof.
She lived there for twenty-four years, seeing nobody but him initially. From numerous rapes she bore him seven children - totally unaided, of course, but he did helpfully bring her some medical books. One child died as a baby.
Her father Josef explained her disappearance by saying that she had gone off to join a cult. He took three of the children upstairs, out of the cellar, to live with his wife and other children. He explained this away by saying that the children had suddenly been left on the doorstep. Nobody in the authorities enquired further - even though Josef Fritzl had a previous conviction and prison sentence for rape.
The other three children remained in the cellar with their mother. The oldest, Kerstin, was nineteen when they finally escaped, and had spent her whole life in the cellar.
Towards the end of the time the air in the cellar was so bad that they had to spend most of the time lolling around on their beds as there was so little oxygen. There were three connected rooms, each three metres square: two rooms for sleeping and one with a toilet, a washing area and a kitchen. Yes, the toilet and the kitchen together in one three-metres-square room.
Elisabeth taught the children to read and they learned as much as possible from watching television - though she always told them that the outside world shown on the television was "not for them" as she believed that they would never escape.
Finally, in April last year, Kerstin became so ill that Elisabeth persuaded her father to take her to hospital - and then, miraculously, persuaded him to let her visit the hospital.
And then she managed to tell her story. Many of Elisabeth's teeth had fallen out - they were never brought fresh food, only frozen, and apparently she spent many years suffering with agonising toothache. Her hair was white. She was forty-two.
Now Josef Fritzl is awaiting trial and the whole of the rest of his family - including his poor crushed wife, Rosemarie, who, it seems certain, knew nothing of the family in the cellar - are living together and trying to reclaim some kind of life. His trial will begin in March this year. What will happen to him? I would guess he'll have to spend his time in prison in solitary confinement, in a neat mirroring of what he did to his daughter - but it won't give her the last twenty-four years back again, whatever they do.
I often try to think myself into other people's situations but I cannot, simply cannot imagine living in that cellar as she did, and bringing up her children there.
And where did all this horror come from? Apparently Josef Fritzl, who is seventy-three now, was a great admirer of the Nazis - he saw them march into Amstetten when he was a very small child. And - perhaps because of its Nazi past - apparently there is a great cultural tradition in Austria of not looking into things that may seem not to be your business. So lots of the neighbours, and Fritzl's friends, are now saying - - yes, well - - he did seem to be working a lot in the cellar - - and his behaviour was a bit strange - - and there were clues - - but we didn't like to interfere.
This story, to me, is best summed up by the phrase "unimaginable horror". I think there are lessons we can all learn, though. Here in Britain too, we're reluctant to stick our heads above the parapet and say "Hey, there's something not quite right here." Could such a thing happen in Britain? I wouldn't be able to say with certainty "Oh, no, never."
Sometimes, if we are suspicious, it can be good to interfere.
I keep thinking of Olli's first day at school, for some reason - - but of course, in that twenty-four year period there were lots of significant events, and I expect there have been in your life too.
During all the time that these significant events happened, Elisabeth Fritzl, of Amstetten, Austria, was a prisoner of her father and living in the cellar under their house. For twenty-four years.
I have just been reading the book Monster by the journalist Allan Hall, about these horrifying events.
Josef Fritzl had been sexually abusing his daughter Elisabeth from when she was eleven, and, knowing that, at eighteen, she was about to flee his home for good, he took her into the cellar of the house where he had spent some time building a dungeon in which to keep her. He was an expert in the use of concrete and the dungeon was behind a number of remote-controlled doors, and totally soundproof.
She lived there for twenty-four years, seeing nobody but him initially. From numerous rapes she bore him seven children - totally unaided, of course, but he did helpfully bring her some medical books. One child died as a baby.
Her father Josef explained her disappearance by saying that she had gone off to join a cult. He took three of the children upstairs, out of the cellar, to live with his wife and other children. He explained this away by saying that the children had suddenly been left on the doorstep. Nobody in the authorities enquired further - even though Josef Fritzl had a previous conviction and prison sentence for rape.
The other three children remained in the cellar with their mother. The oldest, Kerstin, was nineteen when they finally escaped, and had spent her whole life in the cellar.
Towards the end of the time the air in the cellar was so bad that they had to spend most of the time lolling around on their beds as there was so little oxygen. There were three connected rooms, each three metres square: two rooms for sleeping and one with a toilet, a washing area and a kitchen. Yes, the toilet and the kitchen together in one three-metres-square room.
Elisabeth taught the children to read and they learned as much as possible from watching television - though she always told them that the outside world shown on the television was "not for them" as she believed that they would never escape.
Finally, in April last year, Kerstin became so ill that Elisabeth persuaded her father to take her to hospital - and then, miraculously, persuaded him to let her visit the hospital.
And then she managed to tell her story. Many of Elisabeth's teeth had fallen out - they were never brought fresh food, only frozen, and apparently she spent many years suffering with agonising toothache. Her hair was white. She was forty-two.
Now Josef Fritzl is awaiting trial and the whole of the rest of his family - including his poor crushed wife, Rosemarie, who, it seems certain, knew nothing of the family in the cellar - are living together and trying to reclaim some kind of life. His trial will begin in March this year. What will happen to him? I would guess he'll have to spend his time in prison in solitary confinement, in a neat mirroring of what he did to his daughter - but it won't give her the last twenty-four years back again, whatever they do.
I often try to think myself into other people's situations but I cannot, simply cannot imagine living in that cellar as she did, and bringing up her children there.
And where did all this horror come from? Apparently Josef Fritzl, who is seventy-three now, was a great admirer of the Nazis - he saw them march into Amstetten when he was a very small child. And - perhaps because of its Nazi past - apparently there is a great cultural tradition in Austria of not looking into things that may seem not to be your business. So lots of the neighbours, and Fritzl's friends, are now saying - - yes, well - - he did seem to be working a lot in the cellar - - and his behaviour was a bit strange - - and there were clues - - but we didn't like to interfere.
This story, to me, is best summed up by the phrase "unimaginable horror". I think there are lessons we can all learn, though. Here in Britain too, we're reluctant to stick our heads above the parapet and say "Hey, there's something not quite right here." Could such a thing happen in Britain? I wouldn't be able to say with certainty "Oh, no, never."
Sometimes, if we are suspicious, it can be good to interfere.
posted by Daphne at 6:10 pm
2 Comments:
But something similar did happen over here - in Yorkshire? I'm fuzzy on the details but I am talking about that girl who was repeatedly raped by her father and had numerous children, some of whom died. The problem is lack of communication between GP, social services, schools etc and I think it is compounded by the Data Protection Act. A teacher was telling me recently about a child in her class who has severe behavioural and emotional problems. When she mentioned him being on the at-risk register to the Ed Psych (who refused to discuss the case with her as he was 'acting for the parents') there was a sharp intake of breath and he said, "I'll pretend you didn't say that." Obviously things don't change - there were concerns about this lack of communication when I was at college!
Of course the same sort of thing could happen here in the UK. Mankind's capacity for wickedness is enormous. And in the impersonality of modern life, it's easiest to turn a blind eye to what is going on around you. Those who intervene - like one of my personal heroes - Tony Martin -are likely to be criminalised.
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