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| “ | I think the war criminals will leave you in peace here. | „ |
| ~ Emmenberger during his introduction |
Dr. Fritz Emmenberger also known as Dr. Nehle is the main antagonist of the Inspector Barlach Mysteries novel "Suspicion". Nehle is a Schutzstaffel medical officer hiding in Switzerland, Inspector Hans Barlach checking himself into Nehle's clinic to expose him.
Biography[]
Little is revealed about Dr. Emmenberger's past. What's known about him is he was at the Stuthoff concentration camp to perform torture on the prisoners for experimentation. He was best remembered for his vivisection on countless victims without anesthesia, usually when they were gravely injured or at risk of death so they at their most vulnerable and hopeless, which Emmenberger used to create his false sense of power over and terrorize the prisoners. He was assisted by a dwarf at the camp, and Edith Marlok, a Soviet Communist imprisoned at the camp, used Emmenberger raping her as a sex slave to stay alive. When Emmenberger fled the camp through the ratlines, he eventually came across the real Dr. Nehle, who he made a doppelganger by scarring him just like Emmenberger was. Nehle was to take the blame as the real war criminal and spent time in Chile, before he returned and Emmenberger killed him in Hamburg by forcing him to take a cyanide pill.
Emmenberger opened the Sonnenstein clinic in Zurichberg, where his human experimentation tortures continued. He tricked the richest and mostly medical compromised of clients to end up at his facility, where he would break their spirits, operate on them without anesthesia, and slowly kill them overtime while they clung to false hope and were forced to give up all they believed. They were mentally terrorized as well, including by being placed in rooms with mirrors and bars on the windows, as well as hanging macabre classic art pieces on the walls. The inheritances of the victims would all go to the clinic. Marlok was Emmenberger's closest accomplice. Emmenberger also conducted operations without anesthesia for life-saving procedures, from scheduled to emergency response, and his sadist pleasure from the circumstances would show, but no one dared to challenge him as a doctor.
Inspector Barlach's primary doctor, Dr. Samuel Hungertobel, recognized Emmenberger from a picture in a magazine and was afraid to make the connetion. But Barlach was eager to find out the truth, and as he was dying of cancer, he was in a perfect position to infiltrate the clinic. After Barlach got more information for Gulliver, a Jewish friend who was one of Emmenberger's surviving camp victims, Barlach went to his friend Ulrich Fortschig, who ran a newspaper Barlach wanted to run an article on Emmenberger through. Barlach gave him money for printing hundreds of copies and traveling to Paris for his safety. Hungertobel drove Barlach to the clinic and was told to leave immediately to not draw suspicion.
It didn't matter, as both Barlach and Emmenberger made each other aware of the other's identity. Barlach was placed in the Ward Three room with mirrors, and a procession of employees came to terrorize him. Marlok introduced herself and told her history, as well as a gave a copy of the paper that revealed actions Emmenberger took: he ordered the dwarf to kill Fortschig before the papers published information on Emmenberger and his crimes. Emmenberger met Barlach to tell him he planned to vivisect on Barlach, went on about his personal philisophies, and demanded Barlach admit his Christian faith so Emmenberger could steal it. Barlach refused, and Emmenberger said he planned to have the dwarf kill Hungertobel as well. Gulliver, however, intervened, killing Emmenberger by a cyanide pill just like Emmenberger had killed Nehle. Gulliver also caught the dwarf to stop him from killing Hungertobel. Barlach was transferred back to Hungertobel's care, and Emmenberger's history was buried.
Quotes[]
| “ | Barlach: Dear doctor, surely you wouldn't claim that in a certain country there's no such thing as cancer. Emmenberger: Surely you're not implying that there are war criminals in Switzerland! |
„ |
| ~ Emmenberger's tit-for-tat with Barlach |
| “ | You're a shrewd psychologist. It's true, I wanted to impress you a bit with this room. Fear is a necessary tool. But before I exercise my art, let's hear the rest of yours. How will you proceed? I'm curious. The hunted man doesn't know you're hunting him, at least those are your own words. | „ |
| ~ Emmenberger threatening Barlach |
| “ | It's amazing to find someone still as hopeful as you are, and as optimistic, in these times. Your way of thinking is bold; let's hope you don't find yourself duped by reality one of these days. It would be too bad if you came to disheartening results. | „ |
| ~ Emmenberger voicing his intentions to Barlach |
| “ | You will admit, Inspector, that I have found myself an executioner the like of which is not easily found. | „ |
| ~ Emmenberger admitting his identity and crimes |
| “ | Your faith! SHOW ME YOUR FAITH!!! YOUR FAITH, YOUR FAITH!!!'' | „ |
| ~ Emmenberger's breakdown |
Trivia[]
- Emmenberger is inspired by John Bodkin Adams, a British suspected serial killer prosecuted for and acquitted of the murders of his patients, whose inheritances and valuables he posthumously stole. Adams is suspected of hundreds of murders of patients.