Death in the Rubble: The Elisabeth Kusian Murders in 1949 Berlin

In 1949, the year of the Berlin airlift and the founding of the two post-war German states, Elisabeth Kusian (nurse, black marketeer, morphine and methamphetamine addict, and pathological liar) garroted and dismembered two people in a mini crime spree. Her actions both fascinated and terrified the public - how could this woman, a nurse, commit such a violent act?

West Berlin detectives attempted to run an efficient investigation under new democratic rules. Their East Berlin counterparts, newly structured along Soviet lines, employed their restricted resources to solve the case and prove the advantages of their socialist system. Both tried to use the investigation to demonstrate their distance from the Third Reich and build a brighter future.

Based on the true story of Elisabeth Kusian, Death in the Rubble explores shifting identities, evolving gender expectations, post-fascist politics and norms, and the violence lurking beneath a city struggling to redefine itself.

Richard Bodek is a professor of history at the College of Charleston.