Survivor Stories: Elisabeth Fritzl

Photo Credits: The Guardian

In Austria in 1984, an 18-year-old girl was lured down to her basement by her father, who held an ether-soaked cloth to her face until she was unconscious before trapping her in the basement cellar for 24 years. Her name is Elisabeth Fritzl, and her bravery and harrowing story inspired the movie “The Girl in the Basement.”

Her father, Josef, began planning out and building an extended cellar in their basement in 1981. He added electricity, soundproof walls, and a bed. Starting on the second day of Elisabeth’s captivity, he used this cellar to secretly physically, mentally, and sexually abuse her almost daily. To cover up her disappearance to the public and to Elisabeth’s mother, Rosemarie, Josef told everyone that she had run away to join a cult and forced her to write letters to support his story. For five years, Elisabeth was isolated from anyone else except for her father.

Throughout her 24 years of imprisonment, as a result of sexual abuse from her father, Elisabeth gave birth to seven children. Three of the children were moved up to live with him and Rosemarie, one of the children passed away quickly after birth, with Josef incinerating the corpse, and the remaining three children, named Kerstin, Stefan, and Felix, remained locked in the cellar with Elisabeth. He staged three incidents in which a baby would be left on their doorstep with notes from Elisabeth asking for Josef and Rosemarie to care for them.

When Kerstin turned 19, she fell ill, leading a 42-year-old Elisabeth to convince Josef to take her to the hospital. Once there, Josef gave Kerstin’s care team a note to explain that Elisabeth was away in a cult. Doctors made a televised appeal to Elisabeth to come forward and provide information about Kerstin’s medical history. Elisabeth, who had a television in the cellar, saw the TV report and convinced Josef to release her and the two other children, sons Felix and Stefan, who were still imprisoned in the cellar with her.

On April 26, 2008, Elisabeth visited Kerstin at the hospital with Josef after she was freed, at which point Josef was arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse. When police questioned her, Elisabeth refused to cooperate until they promised her that she’d never have to see her father again. Josef was ultimately charged with coercion, deprivation of liberty, incest, rape and enslavement of Elisabeth, as well as the murder of newborn Michael by negligence for not getting him medical attention.

After pleading guilty to all charges, a 73-year-old Josef was sentenced to life in prison on March 19, 2009. Following this decision, Elisabeth changed her name.

Now, she, her six surviving children, and her partner, Thomas Wagner, a bodyguard hired to protect the family, live in a rural Austrian town known only to the public as “Village X.” A member of her care team explained that she is working toward moving past her trauma and have some semblance of normalcy.

“With the approval of her doctors, she has ceased psychiatric therapies while she gets on with her life — learning to drive, helping her children with their homework, making friends with people in her locality,” they said. “She lost the best years of her life in that cellar; she is determined that every day remaining to her will be filled with activity.”

Elisabeth’s story is one without a necessarily satisfying ending. With much of her life stripped from her and her father having been arrested at a very old age, it seems that justice could not truly be served. However, Elisabeth’s willingness to move past her trauma and live a normal life with her loved ones serves as a true inspiration to those enduring difficult memories or pasts, as, like Elisabeth, one should never give up on reclaiming their life and voice.

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Jurisview Journal is a student-led blog that publishes biweekly articles about interesting criminal cases. Our aim is to shed light on cases that require justice or further exploration and provide input on controversial legal events. We also publish infographics to help victims or those who wish to educate themselves on legal issues. 

In this series, Survivor Stories, we explore and share the stories of survivors of violence and crime. Through this, we advocate for justice and more attention to victims such as the survivors we feature.