Johann Eichhorn: The “Beast of Aubing” Serial Killer in Nazi Germany

Johann Eichhorn became one of the most brutal serial killers in German history, committing a series of murders in Munich during the rise of Nazi Germany and the early years of World War II.Johann Eichhorn’s story unfolds against the backdrop of a world descending into war and brutality. As Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and unleashed the Second World War, Munich—far from the front lines—became the setting for a different kind of horror. While the world focused on armies and occupations, Eichhorn, a sexual predator and sadistic murderer, left behind one of the most disturbing criminal legacies in German history. Born in 1906 in the village of Aubing, Eichhorn grew up in a poor but stable family, yet from a young age he harbored violent impulses that remained hidden from those around him. Behind a façade of reliability at his job with the Deutsche Reichsbahn, he attacked, raped, and terrorized young women across Munich. His crimes escalated rapidly: in 1931 he committed his first murder, and over the following years he killed repeatedly, often mutilating his victims in remote forests and parks. By 1933, Eichhorn had joined the Nazi Party, a regime that used strict censorship to suppress anything that could damage its public image. His crimes, therefore, were intentionally kept out of the press. Meanwhile, he continued his assaults and murders undisturbed, even marrying and having children while maintaining a carefully constructed image of a respectable family man. His reign of terror came to an end in 1939, when he was caught attempting to molest a 12-year-old girl. Arrested and interrogated, he confessed to numerous crimes. A Munich court sentenced him to death, and on 1 December 1939, he was executed by guillotine at Stadelheim Prison. Today, Eichhorn is remembered as “The Beast of Aubing,” one of Germany’s most brutal serial killers—his story a chilling reminder of the evil that can hide behind ordinary faces.This episode is part of the series Serial Killers of the 20th Century.Watch the full documentary and explore hundreds of historical films at:WorldHistory.tv