THE suicides of three teenagers who leapt together to their death from a bridge, their bodies daubed with pentangle symbols, have increased concern among officials in Germany about the spread of Devil-worship among disaffected, often unemployed, young people.
Kurt Biedenkopf, Premier of the state of Saxony, where they died, has called for an investigation into Devil- worshipping. There have now been 15 occult-linked suicides in eastern Germany in less than two years.
The boys have been identified only by their first names — Mike, 17, Michael, 14, and René, 18. One left a note at the base of the 78-metre high Göltzschtalbrücke, connecting Reichenbach and Plauen, saying: “We are unhappy with this life and seek a better one.”
Dietmar Kipry, the public prosecutor, said: “They were known as being involved in Satanism. They went to parties in cemeteries and listened to the music of the scene.” The boys were found with pentangle symbols on their bodies. The oldest and youngest were manacled together before they jumped at the weekend.
The police investigation centres mostly on an occult group called Blue Rose. Police and social workers say that the cult has made suicide glamorous among bored teenagers in small towns.
Internet sites help to spread a message that satanic rituals are in some way “cool”. Computers and mobile phones are being confiscated in an attempt to halt the trend.
Last summer two 17-year-olds sent text messages over their mobile phones to friends in Berlin reading: “Today is a good day to die.” That night they drove at 90mph into a tree on the outskirts of the village of Klietz, killing themselves.
On October 27 their friend Marko Schmidt, also 17, killed himself in the same way three miles away. In December Peter Müren, 17, was seriously injured when his copycat suicide attempt failed.
That same month two other teenagers killed themselves in separate villages, one of them leaving a suicide note reading: “I give myself to Satan.”
Police say that there have been seven other deaths and at least four more suicide attempts.
A meeting earlier this year of the youth authorities in Stendal concluded that 15 to 20 young people in and around Klietz were at serious risk of committing suicide. Some were offered immediate psychiatric help. The worried parents of others sent their children to stay with friends and relatives far away.
Many youngsters have had Internet memberships and mobile phones confiscated to stop them from contacting the suicide promoters.
The Blue Rose group encourages youngsters to talk in Internet chat rooms about the uselessness of their lives, the pointlessness of their existence and the glamour of death. In a region of high unemployment, where many towns have no cinemas or discotheques, the group has hit a deep nerve with disillusioned youth.
Teachers have told police and youth authorities about a “depressed atmosphere” hanging over classes. “It is very troubling what is happening to our youth,” one headmaster said.
Black mass candles have been found in graveyards. Andreas Breit, a local vicar, said: “The occult scene is thriving in this region. They have held black masses in the ruins of buildings and in the open. They have rituals and swear oaths.”
Police say that they have also found the remains of slaughtered animals. In nearby Havelberg, police said Blue Rose followers regularly cut each other to drink their blood. In Salzwedel, 43 miles away, police found a number of severed goats’ heads earlier this year. The animals were sacrificed by a group known as the Thelema Order.
This upsurge in the occult and satanic worship culminated in the region at Whitsun last year when 30,000 youths gathered near Leipzig to hear bands like Wolfsheim and Elegia sing morbid songs of suicide and depression.
Herr Biedenkopf has promised a full investigation “to determine what forces are driving our children to these desperate acts”.