Natasha Kampush is a girl who spent 8 long years in captivity of a maniac. She managed to save her life and sanity, and eventually escape from her prison. The story of Kampusch formed the basis of the biographical book and film.
Early childhood
Natasha's biography began in an ordinary way. She was born into the most ordinary family, in 1988. Together with her mother and father, the girl lived in one of the largest districts of Vienna. When Natasha was 5 years old, her parents divorced, the baby stayed with her mother.
In her memoirs, Natasha wrote that she never felt loved, although she could not complain about the cruel treatment. Life was simple and boring, the girl attended kindergarten and primary school. The baby felt lonely: she had no friends, and at home no one was interested in her interests. It was more important for the mother to observe the external rules of decency.
Abduction
Once Natasha, as usual, went to school. She was already 10 years old, the girl did the same path every day. She was in a good mood: in a few days, Kampusch was going on vacation to Hungary, to her father. However, she did not return home in the evening.
Finding the absence of her daughter, the mother went to the police. A quick investigation was carried out, during which a witness was found who claimed that two men had pushed Natasha into a white van and taken away in an unknown direction.
The detectives checked all the minibuses, interviewed the girl's classmates and their parents, neighbors from the nearest houses. Natasha's mother and father fell under suspicion. However, all searches were unsuccessful, the trail of the girl was lost.
Life in captivity
Once in the van, Natasha immediately realized that she had been kidnapped. She decided not to cry, maintaining her composure: this is exactly what the presenters advised in the programs about kidnapping. The girl did not even have time to get scared: the kidnapper was alone, he seemed to his victim pitiful and unhappy.
Wolfgang Priklopil was really weird. He was distinguished by a closed character, was subject to bouts of inexplicable cruelty. Later it turned out that the idea of kidnapping a child had been ripening for a maniac for a long time, and Natasha fully corresponded to the image of a future victim that was born in his imagination.
Priklopil brought Natasha to his house, which was only half an hour's drive from the abduction site. The girl was placed in a small windowless room in the basement. The thief took care of soundproofing in advance and carefully disguised the entrance. The room was simply furnished and resembled an ordinary nursery with a desk, bed, lockers and even a TV. The girl spent 8 long years in it.
The exact plans of the maniac regarding the fate of Kampusch remained unclear. At first, he treated her like a daughter, took care of her education, played classical music and brought books. Intuitively, the girl played along with Wolfgang, trying not to cry, to seem silly and naive. She realized that the main thing is to preserve her life and sanity at any cost.
In 2005, the kidnapper relaxed his vigilance a little and began to take the prisoner out for walks. The attitude towards Natasha also changed: Wolfgang began to beat her. The girl realized that it was time to run.
Escape and life after
One day the kidnapper was distracted by a telephone conversation while walking. Natasha climbed over the fence, ran into the neighbors' house and asked to call the police. The detectives arrived immediately, the girl was taken to the station. After the DNA test, it became clear that it was Kampusch in front of them, who disappeared 8 years ago. They did not have time to detain the maniac. Finding the escape of the captive, he left home and threw himself under the train.
After her rehabilitation, Natasha gave several interviews about the abduction. She decided to get serious about charity and animal rights. The girl transferred her fee for the interview to the victim of another maniac. Later, Kampusch wrote a biography detailing the abduction, which formed the basis of the film. A few years later, the girl bought the house, which was her prison for 8 years.
