Karl Denke (11 February 1860 – 22 December 1924) was a German serial killer and cannibal who killed and cannibalized dozens of homeless vagrants and travelers from 1903 to 1924. He is often regarded as The Forgotten Cannibal or The Cannibal of Münsterberg.

The major flood disaster on February 17, 1962 hit Hamburg completely unprepared. It left 315 dead and 10,000 people homeless. Almost a fifth of Hamburg's urban area was under water. In times of need, the people of Hamburg followed their young police and interior senator Helmut Schmidt, who later became Chancellor, who gained respect nationwide in those days.