To not believe Hans Fritzel's wife could not 'know' that her husband was imprisoning a whole family in the bloody cellar??

[mimimilk]

Sorry, I am willing to stand corrected on this and do not claim to have in depth knowledge of the case, but FFS, he kept a whole family of human beings locked in a cellar for over 20 years, and his wife and other kids really had no idea at all?? I find it beyond belief.

Just wanted to add about Elisabeth- what an amazing woman. The doctor who finally called the police and ended this evil described her as having "super human powers" and I don't think you could disagree. Most people would have gone insane.

Think about cult members as a comparison - they can firmly believe that next Wednesday, dancing pink elephants are going to come in a spaceship and take them to paradise. When it doesn't happen, they just change things a bit to still fit with the general delusion.

They aren't insane in the true sense. It's perfectly possible for someone who is isolated from the rest of the world, under extreme stress and the complete control of another individual, to believe something which seems incredible to the rest of us.

It's very hard to understand how on earth that might happen when you're not in that kind of situation.

She wasn't isolated from the world. She had a large extended family, including an intelligent sister, who was fully aware of what her husband was like (he already had a rape conviction). She was also an active member of the local community, involved in the children's schools etc. It seems to me that a lot of people chose to turn a blind eye.

Ok - so I'm talking out of my arse then.

bettany my aunt has a large extended family and goes to church.

Doesn't stop her being totally under the control of her husband.

But we don't know enough details about the dynamics of the Fritzl marriage, do we, so it is all speculation.

that quote about the mother says in her own house - not his house.

This answers some of the questions raised here.

'Ten-month-old Monika is found in a stroller outside the entrance of the house. Shortly afterwards, a phone call is made to Rosemarie, apparently, from Elisabeth. The caller asks Rosemarie to take care of the child. However, it is assumed that Fritzl was able to use a recording of Elisabeth's voice to make the call. Rosemarie reported the incident to the police, expressing her astonishment that Elisabeth knew of their new and unlisted phone number.'

'In late July 2008, it emerged that Elisabeth Fritzl had ordered her mother Rosemarie out of the villa they have been sharing in a secret location set up for them by a psychiatric clinic. Elisabeth Fritzl was upset about "the huge issue of Rosemarie's passiveness during Elisabeth's upbringing ? a tortured time when, she says, her brutal father Josef began abusing her when she was just 11 years old."'

It's not women hatred. Stoning women and slicing off their clitoris is women hatred. This is people just looking for explanations.

I think it is amazing that he has now admitted to all charges after watching his daughters testimony. The opportunity for the media to go over all the salacious details is forestalled thankfully. It's maybe the one honerable thing he's done in his life, to save his daughter and her kids the further humiliation of having to prove their case.

lucky we do not live in such a climate then.

It is odd though that he went on holiday several times[to Thailand]for a couple of weeks and Rosemarie didnt go to the cellar.However wasnt the door hidden?The whole story is desperately sad and I hope the survivors including R manage to find some sort of happiness now.

FAQ, I understood that the house was his mother's origianlly and he had moved into it and set up his family there (but I could be wrong).

monkeytrousers not sure you can really claim the driving force behind genital circumcision/mutilation hatred of women - for a gentle taster of a different perspective look at Maria Golia excerpt in this months New Internalionalist.

I find "Hider in the House" unbelievable enough.

Sorry, as you were.

lol

(I reckon she knew)

male circumcsion is just as widespread.

and before you think of stoning me I didn't say i approved, merely that hatred of women is not a driving force...

while female circumcision is brutal and barbaric, I'm not sure that "woman hating" is a driving force behind it. The cultural aspects run much deeper than a simple "woman hating"

faq thank you! someone who can read a post before reacting to it

I think she may well have known but been too scared and incapable of doing anything about it. People on here are saying 'if it was my daughter i would do x y and z ' but the point is it isn't you - it's his wife, who is in all probability a downtrodden bullied victim and like littlebella's aunt.

BTW the comparisons with Rosemary West are pointless - she was known to have actively colluded in both the sexual abuse and murder of the Wests' victims, including her own daughter Charmaine. She had previous for sexual abuse before she was tried.

Anyway whatever the truth is I am amazed that the daughter managed to stay relatively sane and cope with her situation so well. Just the thought of giving birth alone like that makes me freeze, let alone all the other harrowing stuff.

None of their many lodgers or neighbours knew. Nor did any of his children.

but they don't do it because they hate woman, they do it because of their (extremely mistaken) beliefs.

And I think you'll find that places where woman are stoned to death men are also stoned to death.