Natascha Kampusch

Heike Gronemeier

Corinna Milborn

On 2 March 1998 ten-year-old Natascha Kampusch was snatched off a street in Vienna by a stranger and bundled into a white van. Hours later she was lying on a cold cellar floor, rolled up in a blanket. When she emerged from captivity in 2006, having endured one of the longest abductions in recent history, her childhood had gone. In 3,096 Days Natascha tells her amazing story for the first time: her difficult childhood, what exactly happened on that fateful morning when she was on her way to school, her long imprisonment in a five-square-metre dungeon, and the physical and mental abuse she suffered from her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil - who committed suicide by throwing himself under a train on the day she managed to make her escape. 3,096 Days is ultimately a story about the triumph of the human spirit. It describes how, in a situation of almost unbearable hopeless, she learned how to manipulate her captor. And how, against inconceivable odds, she managed to escape with her spirit intact. 'Kampusch's mix of resilience, self-belief and teenage rebelliousness frequently reminds me of Anne Frank. Like Anne, she refuses to be defined by her traumatic experience. And again, like Anne, she seems extraordinary in her own right...(her book) demands to be read...Somewhere in this young woman's courageous and creative response to a randonly brutal act, it is possible to glimpse all that is best and most exhilarating about being human.' New Statesman '3,096 Days is thoughtful, unflinching and remarkably devoid of self-pity...Remarkable...as a testament to her indomitable spirit.' Sunday Times '3,096 Days is an excellent book...Kampusch takes us coolly through her extraordinary experience without piling on grisly details or emotional pressure. She doesn't ask for our sympathy...Instead she insists on being free to do and speak as she pleases. She was deprived of this most basic right for eight years, she explains and has no intention of letting it happen again.' Mail on Sunday 'The power of Kampusch's narrative lies in her insistence on the emotionally complex nature of her relationship with her kidnapper, and her refusal to see herself purely as a victim, and him as evil.' Sunday Telegraph 'Her autobiography is testament to the power of the imagination in the face of a most terrifying predicament... Kampusch's grim tale would be compelling whatever the skill of the writer, but her memoir manages to be both a brave attempt to get across a message and a sad song about the bleakness of many lives.' Observer

3,096 Days

ÄIch fühle mich nun stark genug, die ganze Geschichte meiner Entführung zu erzählen.ä Natascha Kampusch erlitt das schrecklichste Schicksal, das einem Kind zustossen kann: Am 2. März 1998 wurde sie im Alter von zehn Jahren auf dem Schulweg entführt. Ihr Peiniger, der Nachrichtentechniker Wolfgang Priklopil, hielt sie in einem Kellerverlies gefangen - 3096 Tage lang. Am 23. August 2006 gelang ihr aus eigener Kraft die Flucht. Priklopil nahm sich noch am selben Tag das Leben. Jetzt spricht Natascha Kampusch zum ersten Mal offen über die Entführung, die Zeit der Gefangenschaft, ihre Beziehung zum Täter und darüber, wie es ihr gelang, der Hölle zu entkommen.

3096 Tage

On 2 March 1998 ten-year-old Natascha Kampusch was snatched off the street by a stranger and bundled into a white van. Hours later she found herself in a dark cellar. When she emerged eight years later, her childhood had gone. In 3,096 Days Natascha tells her incredible story for the first time: her difficult childhood, what exactly happened on the day of her abduction, her imprisonment and the mental and physical abuse she suffered from her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil. 3,096 Days is a story about the triumph of the human spirit and how, against inconceivable odds, Natascha managed to escape unbroken.

In late October 2006, one of the most spectacular kidnapping cases of the younger past had come to end, when Natascha Kampusch freed herself after being held captive in a hidden cellar (near Vienna, Austria) for more than eight years. Media companies from all over the world came to cover her life story, which has taken quite some twists since then. The result: two autobiographies, a feature film, several documentaries and hundreds of interviews – all within a decade. "10 Years of Freedom" offers us an insight into the impact such a nightmarish captivity has on a young woman's life. It tells the story of a naive victim, that had to learn to cope with the real world after being locked away for her whole youth. The author spans a wide range of themes from her first days in freedom and the turbulent times after gaining it again to a never-ending trauma, which she will have to deal with for the rest of her life. Natascha declares that she wasn't prepared to be a public figure after all, but was suddenly confronted with a heavy and controversial media coverage (including speculations by reporters regarding Stockholm syndrome and roleplaying, along with being labelled "cellar girl" and "sex slave"). Also, wild conspiracy theories gained popularity, resulting in several trials and review boards (including police and FBI investigations). Despite everything, she found certain ways to reconnect with her family and even founded/initiated several charity projects (e.g. the creation of a children's ward in Sri Lanka or the support of PETA, an organisation for animal rights). "Your book is remarkable. 10 Years of Freedom, I urge everyone to read it." - Piers Morgan, ITV "It's a very powerful read." - Huw Edwards, BBC "Very brave." - Emma Barnett, BBC

Heike Gronemeier

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