The calls of terror

Berlin-Marzahn, a district in eastern Berlin, was terrorized by a series of shocking phone calls between 1985 and 1987. These calls came from an anonymous perpetrator who incited children to commit deadly acts and sexually harassed women. The case attracted little public attention at the time because the GDR authorities suppressed reporting on it. It was only after reunification that the shocking details became known through media reports. This article sheds light on the frightening story of the so-called “Marzahn phone predator” and how the police finally caught the perpetrator. At the end of 1985, an unimaginable series of phone calls began, causing panic among the residents of Berlin-Marzahn. An anonymous caller, later identified as 20-year-old construction machine operator Thomas S., specifically targeted young women and children as victims. Initially, his calls were limited to sexual harassment, in which he pretended to be an employee of the popular science television program Fernseh-Urania and elicited intimate information from his female victims. But the situation soon escalated as the caller began hunting down innocent children and instructing them to harm themselves or others. One of the most horrific stories to emerge from this period is that of a 13-year-old schoolboy from Marzahn. One evening, the phone rang and the boy answered it. On the other end of the line was a male voice that threatened him and ordered him to fetch a pot of water. Confused but obedient, Tobias complied. The caller then instructed him to fetch a razor, plug it into the socket, and place the exposed cable in the pot of water. Tobias was to touch the water when it started to hum. Fortunately, Tobias hesitated and never put his hand in the water. This eerie scene was later included in the 1991 Polizeiruf episode “Mit dem Anruf kommt der Tod” (Death Comes with the Call), whose script was based on real events. The calls did not stop. The perpetrator repeatedly called families while the parents were not at home. He forced children aged six to 13 to perform dangerous experiments that could easily have been fatal. A nine-year-old boy was threatened by the perpetrator that he would hang his sister or he would kill her. The confused boy followed the instructions but failed because the rope broke. The caller then told him to drown his sister in the bathtub or throw her out of the window. Fortunately, the boy did not comply with the demands. The population of Marzahn was on high alert. Families notified the police after their children reported the sinister calls. Investigators determined that the calls were probably coming from phone booths, based on the background noise. From mid-February 1987, police monitored almost all phone booths in the district and set up wiretaps. They worked closely with the Ministry for State Security to catch the perpetrator. On April 27, 1987, investigators finally made a breakthrough. They were able to catch Thomas S. in the act in a phone booth and arrest him. During questioning, Thomas S. confessed to having made approximately 150 harassing calls within a year and a half, putting both women and children in mortal danger. Voice analysis clearly confirmed that he was the perpetrator they were looking for. In the spring of 1988, the trial against Thomas S. took place. The defendant appeared remorseful and confessed in court. Nevertheless, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for multiple attempted murders, sexual harassment, and other serious crimes. The severity of the sentence reflected the gravity of his actions and the tremendous fear he had spread in the community. Interestingly, the case was not made public during the GDR era. The media did not report on the shocking calls, which meant that the case became known mainly through word of mouth and rumors among the population. After reunification, this changed, and the details of the case found their way into various newspaper articles and television documentaries. The “Marzahn telephone perpetrator” thus became well known, but the memories of the terrible experiences remained vivid for those affected. The case of the anonymous caller from Berlin-Marzahn is a dark chapter in the city’s history. It shows how a single perpetrator can terrorize an entire community by abusing modern communication technologies. The determined work of the police and the support of the community ultimately led to the arrest of the perpetrator and the end of his reign of terror. Today, we remember these events not only as a warning, but also as a testament to the resilience and courage of the families affected and the investigators who put an end to this nightmare. The fact that this issue is still relevant today is demonstrated by the “White Tiger” case. This acronym was used by a 20-year-old man who is a member of the pedocriminal online group 764, which pressured young people on the internet to commit suicide and perform sexual acts. The founder of this online community is B. Cadenhead, who was only 15 years old at the time and built this sadistic network from his bedroom, which sexually abused children virtually and even drove a boy to suicide. Cadenhead, now 19, is serving an 80-year prison sentence in the US. Nevertheless, the network, which operates worldwide, continues to function.