Das Kriminal-Magazin

The monthly Das Kriminal-Magazin published crime fiction between 1929 and1931. The magazine was distributed by the Leipzig publishing house Wilhelm Goldmann, selling about 100,000 copies per issue. The publisher was the English writer Edgar Wallace, whose photo was seen on each cover on the bottom left. The magazine was relatively cheap, as it was financed largely through advertising.
In addition to stories from well-known writers of the Weimar Republic (for example Otto Eis, Alma Karlin or Jo Hanns Rösler) it also published pieces on the subject of criminology. The magazine was published with black and white photos, drawings and cartoons by renowned artists such as Elli Marcus or Hans Friedrich.

« Düsseldorf is at a fever-pitch! The Rhineland is trembling with excitement ! Let’s put it calmly : all of Germany is tumbling these days from one sensation to another. » Thus begins an issue of Das Kriminal-Magazin from 1930 devoted to the serial killer who had terrorized Düsseldorf since February 1929. The best criminalists from Germany were called in to investigate the case, including the famous Ernst Gennat, from the Berlin police. Edgar Wallace himself was rumored to be in Düsseldorf in an attempt to crack the case. The serial killer, Peter Kürten, was finally arrested, mostly by chance. This is btw the theme of Fritz Lang’s film « M » from 1931, starring Peter Lorre. 

"The fight against pornography" is the title of this article from September 1930. But, "for understandable reasons, we are unable to print the most relevant pictures to illustrate this text", explain the publishers...