What is Karl Denke?
{{Infobox Serial Killer | name= Karl Denke | image=Karl Denke.jpg | caption=The only known photograph of Karl Denke. It was taken after his suicide. | birthname= | alias= | birth_date={{Birth date|1870|8|12}} | birth_place= [[Oberkunzendorf]], [[Ziębice|Münsterberg]], [[Silesia]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]] (now [[Ziębice]], [[Poland]]) | death_date={{Death date and age|1924|12|22|1870|8|12}} | death_place = Münsterberg, [[Poland]] | cause= [[Suicide]] | penalty= | victims= 31 | beginyear= 21 February 1903 | endyear= 20 April 1924 | country= [[Poland]] | states= | motive = [[cannibalism]] | apprehended= 22 December 1924 }} '''Karl Denke ''' (August 12, 1870 – December 22, 1924) was a [[serial killer]] from Germany. He is one of the most well-known serial killers in Germany in the 1920s. Denke was born in [[Ziębice|Münsterberg]], [[Silesia]] in the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] (now [[Ziębice]] in [[Poland]].) There is not a great deal of information about his early life. As an adult he was well liked in his community. He worked as an [[Organ (music)|organ]] player at the local church. On December 20, 1924, Denke was arrested after attacking a man at his house with an axe. Police searched Denke's home and found human [[flesh]] in huge jars of [[Curing (food preservation)|curing]] [[salt]]s. A ledger (record book) contained the details of 30 people Denke had murdered and [[cannibalism|cannibalized]] (eaten) over the years. Police thought he sold the flesh of his victims at the [[Breslau]] (today's [[Wrocław]]) market. The day after his arrest, Denke hanged himself in his cell. His exact [[motive]]s are unknown and can only be guessed at. == Bibliography == * Matthias Blazek: ''Karl Denke'', in: ''Carl Großmann und Friedrich Schumann – Zwei Serienmörder in den zwanziger Jahren'', ibidem: Stuttgart 2009, p.&nbsp;133 f. {{ISBN|978-3-8382-0027-9}} == Other websites == * [http://www.denke.org/karldenke.htm Short biography], other short articles: [http://www.denke.org/stowoe.htm] and [http://www.denke.org/stowoe.htm] * [http