Beelitz-Heilstätten Photography - M1key - Michal Huniewicz
[Infrared] Welcome to Beelitz
[Infrared] Welcome to Beelitz
This is one the first buildings I saw. Beelitz-Heilstätten consists of four parts, divided so by a road and rail tracks. This is in the North-East part.
[Infrared] Pulmonology
[Infrared] Pulmonology
This and the first picture show the pulmonology building. [2]
[Infrared] Lounge
Women's Pulmonology
Women's Pulmonology
Inside women's pulmonology. The sanatorium was created as a response to skyrocketing tuberculosis rates, caused by
urbanisation. [3]
West side of the sanatorium was for women, East for men. [4]
Fridge
[Infrared] Anja P.
[Infrared] Anja P.
The sanatorium feels very peaceful now, but it has witnessed quite a lot of violence.
In 2008 a photographer named Michael F. brought a young model, Anja P., to the complex to take pictures of her.
Afterwards, he beat her to death with a frying pan, and then had sex with her dead body. [3] He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. [6]
But it was not the only Beelitz murder... The area in this picture is stained with blood of the victims of another sadistic killer (more below).
[Infrared] Trespass
[Infrared] Trespass
...
When the tomb-stone, oppressing thy timorous breast,
And thy hips drooping sweetly with listless decay,
The pulse and desires of mine heart shall arrest,
And thy feet from pursuing their adventurous way,
Then the grave, that dark friend of my limitless dreams
(For the grave ever readeth the poet aright),
Amid those long nights, which no slumber redeems
'Twill query—"What use to thee, incomplete spright
That thou ne'er hast unfathomed the tears of the dead"?—
Then the worms will gnaw deep at thy body, like Dread.
-- Charles Baudelaire, Posthumous Remorse [10]
Pink Giant
Pink Giant
Beelitz-Heilstätten is where a serial killer operated in 1989-1991.
His name was Wolfgang Schmidt, and he murdered 6 people (5 adult women, one 3-month-old baby) to become known as Die Bestie von Beelitz,
and after being caught while masturbating in the woods, he was found guilty of the murders, and sentenced to 15 years in a psychiatric hospital. [4]
His modus operandi was less than subtle, and involved strangling or stabbing to death, after which he would leave pink panties at the murder scene. [8]
Interestingly, he has since changed his gender and became known as Beate, as she now calls herself, or the Pink Giant, as others call her. [5]
Yoko
Yoko
And this is my friend Yoko, standing in a corridor. I brought her to Beelitz to take pictures of her.
BLA
BLA
Here's Yoko trying not to get cut in two by large pieces of glass.
Inside the surgery building
Inside the surgery building
This is inside the large surgery building.
[Infrared] Terrace
[Infrared] Terrace
Terrace on top of the surgery building. If you decide to go there, there are two small staircases on the top,
they are both rather dark, and the West-most staircase has a huge hole in the stairs (effectively two or three steps
are missing), so take the East-most staircase.
Terrace
Terrace
Same place, but now in black and white.
Lift shaft
Lift shaft
We waited a bit but the lift didn't come.
Balcony
Balcony
Balcony. These balconies were used for "air-baths". [3]
Yoko on the balcony
Yoko on the balcony
Yoko on the balcony.
Have a seat
Have a seat
Have a seat - or better not.
Women's Pulmonology 2
Women's Pulmonology 2
This is the second building of women's pulmonology (still in the North-West part, but South of the other one).
Nature prevails
[Infrared] Mutant spider
[Infrared] Mutant spider
This is not really a spider, just some roots, and the whole thing is actually on the roof.
[Infrared] On the roof
[Infrared] On the roof
On the roof. Apparently, the building was bombed. [9]
Underground
Underground
There are fairly long tunnels and cellars under this building. Every now and then it feels like potholing, you have to squeeze through narrow gaps in the walls.
Bed
Famous stairs
Famous stairs
Men's sanatorium, South-East part. This is, quite likely, where Hitler used to hang out while being a patient.
Men's sanatorium
Men's sanatorium
And here our trip ended - because we got caught!
We got caught by two women, and one of them was naked - true story. Unfortunately, there was a rather
uneasy man with them; he asked us to leave without delay. And so we did.
Now I hope it wasn't Michael F.