A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin by Scott Andrew Selby Read Free Book Online

Strangely, the S-Bahn had no first-class cars, only second-class, which made up a quarter of each train, and the rest of the train was third class.
    This system was in place because the S-Bahn was not a stand-alone entity, but was run by the National Railroad Company, so it employed their terminology for classes. As an S-Bahn enthusiast recently explained: “There used to be four classes with the Reichsbahn but not all of their trains had all classes. I believe only the long-distance trains had first class. Fourth class was introduced in 1852 to make traveling for the poor more affordable. It was abolished in 1928.” 7
    The second-class compartments on the Berlin S-Bahn had drastically fewer passengers than did the third-class compartments. It was for this reason that Ogorzow decided to attack women who rode in the second-class section.
    Gerda Kargoll again fell asleep for a short while. When she woke, she asked Ogorzow what station they were approaching. He told her—it was Wuhlheide station. When the train stopped there, Ogorzow watched the doors closely, hoping that no one else boarded their compartment. Given the late hour and the fact that they were in second class, it was unlikely that anyone would join them.
    No one did. The two of them were alone.
    There was not much time between S-Bahn stations. Along this line, it could vary from three to five minutes. Once Ogorzow saw his opportunity, he needed to move fast in order to attack Kargoll before they reached the next station.
    Just after 11:30 P.M. , as soon as the train left Wuhlheide station, Ogorzow made his move. He quickly strode to where Kargoll was seated. She did not try to run or otherwise panic, as he was wearing a uniform and he had been sympathetic before when she had told him about having ridden the train too far. He’d even allowed her to ride in second class with him.
    Without hesitating, he wrapped his large hands around her delicate neck. He started to manually strangle her using both his hands, hoping to knock her unconscious and then quickly rape her, before killing her. Ogorzow did not have any weapons with him, just his hands.
    Kargoll fought him much harder than he’d expected. She was fighting not just to draw breath, but also to make her way from her seat to the sliding door on the side of the train that could be opened even between stations.
    Somehow, drawing on adrenaline and the strength she had gained from working at a factory, Kargoll managed to make her way to the door before collapsing.
    Strangulation is a terrible thing to experience. The New York Prosecutors Training Institute recently explained what this feels like: “Clinically a victim who is being strangled first experiences severe pain, followed by unconsciousness, and then brain death. The victim will lose consciousness by any one or more of the following: blocking of the carotid arteries (depriving the brain of oxygen), blocking of the jugular veins (preventing deoxygenated blood from exiting the brain), and/or closing off the airway, causing the victim to be unable to breathe. Only eleven pounds of pressure placed upon both carotid arteries for ten seconds is necessary to cause unconsciousness. If pressure is released immediately, consciousness will be regained within ten seconds. After 50 seconds of continuous oxygen deprivation the victim rarely recovers.” 8
    While Kargoll was merely unconscious, Ogorzow mistakenly believed that he had killed her.
    He opened up the door she had fought so hard to get to. He could do it one-handed; the doors were designed to be easy to open and close. The doors had two door panels, each with its own metal handle. All Ogorzow had to use was one of these handles, and both panels opened sideways, disappearing into the frame of the train carriage.
    This attack had taken longer than he’d expected because his victim had fought against him. He wanted to get rid of what he thought was her dead body before he arrived at the next station.
    With