Der Goldene Handschuh

The Golden Glove

Adaptation of Heinz Strunk's eponymous novel about Hamburg serial killer Fritz Honka (1935-1998), which is set in the first half of the 1970s.

Fritz Honka spends his time in the seedy parts of St. Pauli's red light district. His regular hangout is the bar "Zum Goldenen Handschuh", a meeting point for society's dropouts. It's the place where Honka gets drunk and develops destructive fantasies and where he eventually meets his victims, including homeless Gerda. She lives with Honka for a while and prostitutes herself for him, until he kills her in a drunken furor.

Some time later, his life seems to take a turn for the better when he meets married cleaning lady Helga. Yet when she rejects him, Honka returns to his old habits, and as he starts to drink uncontrollably, his hatred of women grows.