Inside Josef Fritzl’s Cellar
By Aaron Love
1 year ago
Josef Fritzl
Image Source: The Mirror
Josef Fritzl, if you didn't already know was and still is an abhorrent man. He was found to have kidnapped and abused his daughter and the subsequent children he fathered with her. He was finally caught in in 2008 when Elizabeth, his daughter, escaped and informed the police what had happened.Elisabeth Fritzl
Image Source: Tuko News
Elisabeth Fritzl was the unfortunate soul who was trapped in her father's cellar for 24 years! I'm sure no one can imagine the horrors at being unable to escape your father, someone who's supposed to love and cherish you. Her Mother believed that she had ran away, little did she know she was under her nose the whole time.Rosemarie Fritzl
Image Source: GVA
Rosemarie Fritzl was the poor unknowing mother in the Fritzl case, she never knew that her daughter was being held captive beneath her for over 24 years; in fact she believed her daughter had ran away the whole time. She looked after Elizabeth's children which kept appearing at their door.Unbearable Heat
Image Source: The Mirror
As I'm sure you can imagine, being trapped in a cellar often meant that there was little in the way of a draught or air running through through it. In the summer months particularly, the cellar became especially warm to the point where it could be unbearable.Freezing Temperatures
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Just as in the summer months the cellar got unbearably hot, in the winter months the temperature wasn't any better. Elizabeth, and the children who were forced to remain in the cellar with her would have been freezing during those absolutely dreadful Austrian winters; full of snow.The Broken Door
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You might wonder how Elizabeth was tricked in to the basement in the first place; but Josef Fritzl actually managed to trap her by requesting her help in fixing the broken cellar door. You can see the door here with a lock on the outside showing how she was unable to escape.The Seven Children
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One of the horrendous things Elizabeth was forced in to during the 24 years she was imprisoned by her father, was giving birth to seven children. Two of these were forced to stay in the cellar with their mother, one died, and the other four were upstairs with Josef and the unsuspecting Rosemarie.It Was Basically A Chamber
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Some people might think that the cellar hadn't been renovated before Fritzl enslaved Elizabeth in to it, but the truth is that he had actually been converting the basement into a chamber for months. In fact the door he lured her in to helping him with was the finishing touch.The Front Door
Image Source: Huff Post
This is obviously not part of the cellar, but it is the unassuming front door of the Fritzl's. You would never have guessed the unimaginable things that were going on behind this door. This is also the door where Josef would 'plant' Elizabeth's children which the social services then allowed Josef and Rosemarie to foster.Soundproofed Room
Image Source: Metro UK
You might wonder how no one was able to hear Elizabeth beneath the Fritzl home, especially when she was giving birth and there was also children in the cellar with her. But Josef Fritzl had actually thought about this and soundproofed the building in order to block her sound out.The Large Home
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As you can see here, the home and the land surrounding it were actually quite large; and the cellar was actually much bigger than you would first expect. There were actually six different rooms as part of the cellar, so maybe Josef had this idea long before he put his plan into action.Chains On The Walls
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Thankfully, Josef Fritzl is now in a sense chained up, and locked away from the public in jail. But during Elizabeth's time trapped in the cellar she was actually chained up for periods of time. Her arms would be trapped behind her back only allowing for less than a metre of movement.Threatened With Gas
Image Source: Sky News
As Josef grew older and older, he obviously became weaker and needed to find more ways to threaten Elizabeth. He actually began to threaten Elizabeth with the fear of pumping poisonous gas in to the dungeon, meaning her and her children would be killed instantly, with no remorse.There Was No Pain Relief
Image Source: The Mirror
For those of you who have given birth before, you know the excruciating pain that it causes; and in a hospital you can be offered numerous types of pain relief. Elizabeth, wasn't offered this option and she instead gave birth without any form of pain relief (SEVEN TIMES!).The Tiny Bath
Image Source: HuffPost
Within this image you can see the absolutely tiny bath that Elizabeth was given by her father in order to cleanse herself and her children. This is obviously no way to keep yourself clean and at the same time you can also see that the room appears to be quite unsanitary at the same time.The Small Corridors
Image Source: HuffPost
As I mentioned before, there were actually a number of rooms within the cellar, but this doesn't mean that the ways in to the rooms were particularly large. This image shows one of the mini corridors between the bedrooms that Elizabeth and her children slept in during their imprisonment.An Incinerator
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This one is actually quite disgusting, but one of the children Elizabeth birthed during her time in the cellar unfortunately died in her arms at less than 4 days old. Josef removed the poor child from the cellar and cremated them in order to remove any evidence that would unravel his crime.There Was No Light
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During Elizabeth's time trapped within the cellar she was removed from all forms of the outside world and this meant for 24 years she was unable to receive any form of fresh air or natural daylight. This is obviously a horrific thing to go through as well as very unhealthy for the body.The Old Pregnancy Book
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Unsurprisingly, Josef Fritzl wasn't a trained in the art of giving birth and had no idea how to help Elizabeth during her many ordeals (not that he wanted to help her at all). In fact when they investigated the cellar they found an old tattered book on pregnancy that they believe he used to guide her.Elizabeth Was Attacked
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This is quite a horrific topic to have to discuss, but during her time within the cellar, Elizabeth was occasionally beaten in order for Josef to assert his dominance. This was even done in front of the children that were also trapped and so their childhood was even worse than you might have originally feared.Threatened With Electrocution
Image Source: Reddit
Elizabeth, and the children who were forced to live imprisoned within the cellar were all threatened with electrocution if they attempted to escape through the cellar door. It's unknown whether this was a real threat or as a way for Josef to prevent any escape attempts. You wouldn't put anything past him at this point.The Kids Decorations
Image Source: ABC
What does come across as strange within the cellar is that there seems to be quite a lot of decoration aimed at the kids that were being kept captive. I'm unsure as to whether this was Josef or if Elizabeth tried her best to make the cellar as good a home as it could be for her kids.The Small Television
Image Source: Reddit
One of Elizabeth and the children's only window to the world was a small television set they were allowed in order to pass the time and keep the kids entertained (and quiet). It seems like a miniscule piece of equipment but this probably helped keep Elizabeth sane during her imprisonment.The Food Options
Image Source: Reddit
Elizabeth was given food on a regular basis (everyday or every other day) and had a refrigerator to store her food, although she never had the option to cook her food using an oven. Instead, any hot food she had could only be heated on hot plates. Unsurprisingly, Elizabeth was discovered to be deficient in almost all nutrients.The Fake Letters
Image Source: BBC News
In order to make Elizabeth's fake running away story seemed realistic, Josef forced her to write some letters that cemented her story as 'the truth'. These letters were 'sent by Elizabeth' to both the Fritzl home and the police in order to keep the police off of Josef's scent. The above letter is actually one Elizabeth wrote to everyone following her escape.8,642 Days In Captivity
Image Source: The Mirror
It's hard to put 24 full years into your mind, some of you reading this probably haven't even turned 24 yet! But yes, in terms of days, Elizabeth was forced to stay in the hellhole for 8,642 days until she finally escaped. That can be a lifetime for some people, and I'm sure it felt that way.Unsanitary Conditions
Image Source: The Mirror
Josef Fritzl used to spend hours at a time in the basement under the precept that he was doing work for his actual paid job. Instead he was overlooking the imprisonment of his daughter and her children in unsanitary and dirty conditions that even animals shouldn't have been kept in.Storage Space
Image Source: The Mirror
It seems bizarre to say this, but after a period of time, Elizabeth was given the opportunity to have slightly more freedom; this came in the choice of her clothes and the clothes her children wore. This isn't to say that she was able to go out and by her own stuff, but the storage space shows where the clothes were held.Newly Turned In To Flats
Image Source: The Mirror
In the years since Elizabeth escaped there was a lot of talk surrounding what would be done with the building. Some people suggested turning it into a museum, however they ultimately decided to turn it in to a new block of flats. I'm not sure I'd want to live there however.The New Roof Terrace
Image Source: The Mirror
I suppose they've had to completely alter the building that the Fritzl's owned in order to remove the horrific aura that surrounded it. These days there is a roof terrace above the walls in which Elizabeth was surrounded for 24 years. I wonder if the people that live here always run that through their minds.Did Fritzl Have Help?
image source: skynews.com
Some people have questioned how Josef Fritzl managed to do this, for so many years, in his own home - and even keep it a secret from his wife who lived in the same house. Especially with so many children being a result of the horrific situation, too, it leads you to think that he must have had help, at least at some point, or at least known about what was going on. Fritzl told police that he had no accomplices. But one of Fritzl's neighbors later said they saw another man going into the cellar, who was claimed to be a 'plumber'.Questions Over The Heavy Door
image source: bbcnews.com
Another reason some people - including the authorities - believe that Fritzl might have had help is because of the huge, reinforced cellar door that kept Elisabeth in the cellar for so many years, and hid Fritzl's dark secret. We know that Fritzl tricked Elisabeth into the cellar by asking for help with a door down there - but that was a ruse, and she never help him actually fit any door. The sheer weight of the reinforced door - at 660 pounds - led people to wonder how he managed to lift it and hinge it onto the frame all by himself.Accomplices Were Officially Ruled Out
image source: the-sun.com
While it sounds very likely that he had help by at least one person, even just at the beginning of his evil scheme, official tests eventually ruled any accomplices out. The man claiming to be a plumber could well have been that - either to fix the plumbing in the main house, or to help with the shower and bathroom that was down in the cellar (he wouldn't have questioned it at the time if Elisabeth wasn't down there yet, especially if Fritzl said he was doing renovations). DNA tests officially ruled out any outside help.How Did Nobody Know What Was Going On?
image source: theguardian.com
When something terrible happens like this and you find out about it, it's easy to wonder 'how did nobody know what was going on?'. Or, if you were very close to the Fritzl property, or even if you knew them, 'how did I not know something was going on?' Fritzl was sharing the building of flats with eight other neighbors, which begs the question how not a single one of them knew during a 24 year stint. But Fritzl had "forbidden" them from going into the cellar - and they obeyed. In that situation, at the time, you probably wouldn't question it either.Did They Hear Cries?
image source: theguardian.com
During times like this when the shocking news comes out, it's understandable why the neighbors might also have begun to question themselves, or their memory of events. After the truth came out about what Fritzl had done, and who had been in the cellar for 24 years, some neighbors claimed that they remembered sometimes hearing cries from children, or knocking sounds. This is entirely possible, but you have to wonder whether they only think they heard that after finding out the truth. In a building of flats, you might not question a few knocking sounds at the time, either.Fritzl's 4-Week Trip To Thailand
image source: aftenposten.no
To make the situation even worse, there was a time when Elisabeth was in the cellar, with her children, when Fritzl was away in a completely different country - a time when she could have been rescued but tragically wasn't. He wasn't away for only a few days, either - Fritzl went on a month long vacation to Thailand, leaving Elisabeth and her children trapped in the cellar for all that time. This is another reason people at first thought he might have an accomplice - to keep an eye on her while he was gone - but police later said the basement had enough supplies and food storage to cover this time.But Could They Have Actually Escaped Earlier?
image source: mirror.co.uk
The huge reinforced door could only be opened by a keypad controlled by Fritzl himself, which he made sure to keep on him at all times. But he later told police the mechanism on the door could automatically unlock if there had been a significant amount of time without him using it. This means that there's a possibility that during his long, 4 week trip to Thailand, the door could have automatically opened. This means, if it did, Elisabeth and the children could have escaped. But we don't know what Elisabeth must have been thinking after all those years of torture... it could have been that she was to scared to even try to, or maybe the door didn't open at all.How Could Rosemarie Fritzl Not Have Known?
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