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Intro
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, which is presented as a police report of sorts, opens on Sunday, February 24, with 27-year-old housekeeper Katharina Blum’s arrival at the home of Crime Commissioner Walter Moeding. There, Katharina confesses to a major crime: she has murdered Werner Tötges, a journalist with the News, a tabloid newspaper. Before flashing back to four days ago in order to explain what drove Katharina to murder, the reader is cautioned to take the “facts” of the report with a grain of salt, for not all the sources it draws from are equally reliable.
Four days prior, on Wednesday, February 20, 1974, Katharina Blum attends a party hosted by her friend and godmother, Else Woltersheim. There, she meets and dances with a charming young man, Ludwig Götten. After, she invites Götten back to her home and spends the night with him. Unbeknownst to Katharina, police have been tracking Götten, who is a robber, murderer, and suspected terrorist. Later that night, undercover officers follow Katharina and Ludwig back to Katharina’s apartment. After they grow tired of waiting, they break down Katharina’s door, only to discover that Götten is nowhere in sight.
Realizing that Katharina must have helped Götten evade capture by directing him toward some unknown back exit, a theory soon materializes that Katharina must be well acquainted with Götten, perhaps even having known him for years, and may even be a co-conspirator in his crimes. As a result, the police take her to headquarters to interrogate her about her supposed association with Götten. During the interrogation, investors led by Chief Commissioner Beizmenne, ask invasive questions about Katharina’s finances, family history, and sex life. Reserved, modest, and hardworking Katharina has innocent explanations for everything the investigators ask her, yet this does nothing to quell her accusers’ suspicions.
Over the next several days, the News publishes a series of cruel and invasive stories attacking Katharina’s character. Each time Katharina asks whether anything can be done about this, she’s reminded of the legal and ethical importance of a free press. The News, meanwhile, insists that Katharina has made herself a “public figure” by associating with Götten and has therefore forgone her right to privacy. As a result, she is fair game as far as the press is concerned.
The News’s character assassination of Katharina leads Katharina’s friends to distance themselves from her, harms her employment prospects, and effectively ruins her life. One story focuses on rumors about a mysterious “gentleman” visitor who has supposedly visited Katharina multiple times and gifted Katharina a valuable ruby ring. The press and investigators seize on this rumor, suggesting that the visitor may in fact be Götten, At the very least, the News insinuates, the mysterious visitor is evidence of Katharina’s loose morals.
Tötges also contacts Katharina’s employers, the lawyer Dr. Blorna and his wife, Mrs. Trude Blorna. Blorna is shocked to hear that Katharina has supposedly gotten involved in a crime, and he refuses to believe the rumors. When Blorna adamantly declines to comment on her character, Tötges twists Blorna’s words to portray Katharina in a negative light. He also runs stories attacking the Blornas, insinuating that they have communist sympathies and are conspiring with Katharina’s supposed terrorist activities.
It later comes to light that Katharina’s mysterious “gentleman” visitor is Alois Sträublader, a well-known conservative politician whom Blorna represents and whom Katharina met while working at one of the Blornas’ parties. In reality, it was Alois who tirelessly pursued Katharina despite her obvious disinterest in him, not the other way around. However, the News suggests that the opposite is true: that Katharina is an immoral, opportunistic woman bent on destroying a gracious and respected man’s good reputation.
In addition to gifting Katharina the ruby ring, Alois also gave Katharina a set of keys to his country estate, deludedly hoping that she might one day be interested in spending some time with him there. When investigators and the press become aware of this, they suspect—correctly—that Katharina may have given Götten the keys and directed him to use the estate as a hideout. Police indeed find Götten there, capture him, and take him into custody.
In custody, Götten confirms Katharina’s claim that he only met her for the first time at Miss Woltersheim’s party and that she is guilty of nothing other than helping him exit her apartment building undetected. Nevertheless, the media campaign against Katharina continues, with Tötges eventually going so far as to sneak into the hospital where Katharina’s mother, Mrs. Blum, is recovering from a serious operation despite her doctor’s warning that any stress could seriously harm her health. Tötges ignores the doctor’s warning and disguises himself to gain entry to the hospital. He locates Mrs. Blum and proceeds to hound her with questions about Katharina. Mrs. Blum dies shortly thereafter, apparently due to the stress of the invasive interview with Tötges.
Katharina blames Tötges for ruining her life and decides to seek revenge. On Sunday, February 24, Tötges arrives at her apartment for a scheduled interview. When he mocks and insults her, suggesting that she have sex with him, she finally loses what little composure she has left and shoots him. After aimlessly wandering around the city for several hours, trying but failing to feel any remorse for her actions, she turns herself in to Moeding, the only officer who treated her with any degree of kindness.
