Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
One of the most famous matricides was Orestes from Greek mythology. Another man who committed matricide – the technical term for when a child kills their mother – was Kalistros Max Thielicke. Kalistros’s murder of his mother in early August 1930 shocked the whole of Berlin and dominated the front pages of the tabloid newspapers for weeks. But why had Kalistros killed his mother in such a brutal manner, stabbing her 17 times? Kalistros was born on 4 October 1905 in Berlin as the illegitimate son of Camilla Thielicke, a seamstress, and a wealthy tobacco manufacturer. He was named after a brand of cigarettes that his father, as a tobacco manufacturer, stocked in his range. Until the age of six, Kalistros was isolated from the outside world by his domineering mother in her dressmaking workshop not far from Kurfürstendamm, and had no contact whatsoever with other children. Kalistros was a highly gifted and exceptionally eloquent boy who was taught at home by a private tutor. Kalistros’s passion lay in North American Native American culture and its languages. He was so eager to learn that he even mastered Native American dialects. By chance, the famous author Gerhart Hauptmann met Kalistros and enabled him to attend the Wickersdorf reform boarding school in the Thuringian Forest. This was regarded as an elite school for the upper classes. However, Kalistros’s jealous mother could not bear to see her son stay there, and at her insistence, he was forced to leave. Living together became increasingly difficult, as Kalistros himself soon became the object of his nymphomaniac mother’s desire. To escape her, Kalistros undertook journeys to Paris and to Native American territories in North America. The good contacts he’d made during his time at the boarding school financed these trips. When he returned home, the mother-son conflict escalated further, reaching its climax when Kalistros got married. Kalistros’s mother raged with fury, and he saw no other way out than to kill her. In total, he stabbed his overpowering mother 17 times, channelling all his pent-up anger into the attack. Then, on 7 August 1930, the 26-year-old Kalistros went to Police Station 157 in Berlin’s Wilmersdorf district, where he turned himself in. He confessed to having killed his mother in self-defence and then, following an indigenous ritual, having wrapped her in a cloth and tied her up into a bundle. Indeed, the police officers found the woman’s body exactly as he had described. Kalistros was then interrogated by Detective Inspector Arthur Nebe, in whom the young man quickly placed his trust. The murder caused public outrage, particularly as Kalistros, with his long hair, black velvet suit, white ruffled collar and a knife in his belt, epitomised the classic image of a bohemian. For the cold-blooded murder of his mother, the sensitive Kalistros was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in 1931. After his release from prison in 1940, Kalistros did not know whom to turn to. Everyone had turned their backs on him. Then he remembered Detective Superintendent Arthur Nebe, who had since become Director of the Reich Criminal Police. The SS Sturmanführer was thus the highest-ranking criminal investigator in the ‘Third Reich’, working in the ‘Reich Security Main Office’ for SS Chief Heinrich Himmler. On his recommendation, Kalistros was assigned to the ‘Dirlewanger Special Unit’, which was regarded as one of the most brutal penal and special units. The Special Unit was led by the SS officer Dirlewanger and consisted of serious criminals. Dirlewanger had once been a respected man: he held a doctorate in business administration, was a chartered accountant and a member of the NSDAP, until he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in 1934 for child abuse. He had sexually abused a 13-year-old girl. This cost him his professional and political career. However, he had a powerful advocate. This was Gottlob Berger, who advised him to enlist as a volunteer in the Spanish Foreign Legion. Dirlewanger fought in the Spanish Civil War alongside General Franco and was awarded the Spanish Cross for his services. He then returned to Germany, where he was readmitted to the NSDAP and had his doctorate reinstated. Following discussions with Heinrich Himmler in June 1940, he was admitted to the SS. From 1 September 1940, he was commander of the SS Special Battalion Dirlewanger, which Kalistros also joined. Under Dirlewanger’s command, the once-sensitive Kalistros became a cold-blooded mass murderer. The Dirlewanger Special Commando was notorious for its brutal executions in the Eastern Territories. Kalistros was eventually shot on the road between Blonie and Sochaczew. He died on 21 August 1944 in Field Hospital 29 as a result of a graze wound to the head causing brain damage. He was buried in the Seroki Heroes’ Cemetery north of Łódź.
