Dominic Kohl

A West German Poster for a film based on Kohl’s life.

Dominic Kohl was a male serial killer, active in Berlin, Germany and The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) between the years of 1946 and 1962.

Local police had great difficulty in both identifying and capturing Kohl, despite significant surveillance of him taking place. Kohl was said to have murdered more than 27 young men, who he deemed to be “undesirables, homosexuals and the like.”

During his capture he ruthlessly assaulted several officers of the Volkspolizei. He was recorded, during interrogations, stating “I am but a reflection of the violence around me. I am not an anomaly. I am the rule.” In his home were found the remains of at least 4 victims, including the head of a local preacher preserved in a “fish bowl” and dismembered body parts, all of which were unable to be identified, as forensic science at this time was yet undiscovered.

Kohl was found guilty of 15 of the 27 known murders and was sentenced to death by shooting. Kohl never faced the executioner, hanging himself in his cell prior to his execution taking place.

It is surmised that Kohl is responsible for many more than the 27 known murders, both before and after the end of World War 2. However, due to the chaos caused by the war, it is almost impossible to confirm this. During his interrogation, Kohl implied that there was many more victims. Whether or not he was telling the truth, is still unclear.

In the following decades Kohl was portrayed often, in West German cinema. Frequently depicted as an extremely cunning opponent for the inept East German police. The fact that Kohl lived in the west of Berlin, prior to the city’s partition, was omitted from Western propaganda of the time.