The reality of Elizabeth's ordeal may bring hope to many sufferers of abuse as she showed you can defy your upbringing. Elizabeth survived 24 years and was able to show love to others.

Natalie Stachon, Leeds/London, UK

1 we cant judge why they never did anything to this old man, maybe they were scared? how do we know how it must feel to be raised in that horror? abused women cant leave their husbands and find it hard to say something, can we expect more from elizabeth? secondly how many more elizabeths are there ?

joanne, limassol, cyprus

This situation is a new one for medicine and society in general. How can medicine successfully treat the oldest daughter when nutritional,environmental,social and nutritional deprevation have been so complete? The idea that the children and Elizabeth should have overpowered the father-sad naivete!

Lizbeth, Orillia,

A really frightening thought! What if Fritzl had died through an illness or heart attack? No one would ever have known of the existence of this family in the cellar. They would have suffered a terrible fate of starvation!!
The thought sends a shiver down my spine!
I hope they put him in solitary

Lorraine, Swindon, UK

Elisabeth and her children are ultimately symbols of the nuclear age. In his twisted mind, her father may have thought that he was preserving (some) of his seed in the event of nuclear holocaust.
Psychopaths always have some sort of justification for what they do. To them, it makes perfect sense.

irina, Fairbanks AK, USA

I understand, on an intellectual level, arguments about evil on a larger scale, by governments, nations & others. But what makes this case so tragic is almost cellular. Intimacy that should exist between parent & child, the trust - so twisted, so very wronged, for 25 entire years. It is stupefying.

Ariel, Atlanta, USA

900,000 women and children are "trafficked" every year, suffering a similar fate. Modern day sex slavery is more pervasive than any of us want to know about or acknowledge. This subject is psychologically painful but we must do more to eliminate human trafficking.

Oliver, Arizona, US

why on earth, did Elisebeth & kids NEVER EVER try to escape or harm him when he entered into the dungeon...the last case of 8yrs, that girl planned daily to escape...and makes no sense...

Teri Turek, Glen Ellyn, IL, usa

Very well said!

Looking back at the Natascha Kampusch case, there was so much false information written in the British press and so many so-called facts and insinuations were just not true. I can now see the same thing happening again.

But please leave the Nazis out of this.

Jacqueline, Innsbruck, Austria

They say that the father 'may' get up to 15 years in prison? That doesn't come anywhere near the time he took away from his daughter and children, nevermind what he did to them.

This story is 'News' because it is new, but let's not forget everything else that is happening. Well written, thank you

Jenny Lomas-Clarke, Redhill, UK

Somebody told me once that life is much stranger than a Stephen King or James Herbert novel !!!!

Ian Payne, WALSALL,

If we appreciate the wickedness in the world , then hold closer to the ones we love, we better understand our part.

robert everitt, wolverhampton,

There should be no surprise that such abuse has taken place when society has long been built around protecting the parent and not protecting the child.
Jennie McKenzie is right. Abuse of the child is the root of evil. See http://www.alice-miller.com/flyers_en.php?page=3

Adam Kosterski, Konstancin, Poland

This is a fantastic piece - good point well made.

Anne, Bath,

"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Albert Einstein

Sadly no-one knew anything about it to try to do something. But I think the world would be a better place if we took heed of it more.

Susan, Glasgow, Scotland

"frankly, i still can not believe this is true, i would rather to believe that is a lie that the daughter"

It is attitudes like yours that allow this sort of evil to continue to occur. Accuse the victim of lying. Brush under the carpet. It simply cannot be. If we ignore it, it goes away. Really?

fenya, UK,

Rhona Ottolina's comments are rubbish. All research shows that castrated sex offenders just find other ways of abusing their victims. And control freaks like Fritzl value conformity, not individuality. If Elisabeth had learned to be individual, she would have denounced her father as a child.

Sash Lewis, Mons, Belgium

This is a very improbable story but I don t think it compares with the evil that is regularly expressed in this country on much more mundane occasions, and through its general threat provides a greater cause for concern.

Henry Percy, London, UK

I cannot comprehend what it must have been like growing up in that situation. However, i would like to know 3 of the captives that were fully grown couldn't overpower a 70 year old.

adam, Bristol, uk

Congratulations for your column. I think this Josef is a psychotic and there must be plenty of detalis that the police (when the case first appeared saying Elizabeth had disappeared) should have put Josef and his wife under psychological treatment to see if they were lying or if they actually knewit

Leticia, La Plata, Argentina

all evil is relative, the sadam, polpot, etc, those we sell( yes we the taxpayer) sell guns and armies to keep evil in power, so when a man keeps his daugter as a sex slave for over twenty years we gasp in horror but we all have paid to keep whole countries, and whole generations as slaves to evil

michael , cahersiveen-adams town, madness

My Mother taught me about the 'northern way' i.e. neighbours will check in on you - ask you if you need anything from the shop...remembering this when I heard a neighbour being beaten by her partner - I befrended her, spent hours talking and she eventually left. ALL: Relearn to how be a neighbour.

Nicci, Swindon, Wiltshire

'And maybe then try to affect the lives, especially of vulnerable children, that we have got it in our power to change.' A potent and timely thought on the day before our Goverment increases the cost to Local Authorities of starting care proceedings to protect children by 3500%.

Paul Foster, Bristol, England

Very good piece Ms Miles. Acts of such profound evil are probably beyond our scope as citizens - though plenty of novelists from John Fowles to Ian McEwen have imagined similar situations. I've rung up police to report a neighbour beating his wife in the past... it didn't do much good.

Amanda, London, UK

To Jennie - Parenting classes? Are you serious? Do you mean you need a class to tell you that it is wrong to rape your daughter and imprison her and her children?

Vikki, London, England

Chris, I would have thought that blaming such acts on the fact that "There are evil people" is a little simplistic in itself. I would be interested to hear your explanation of that concept ...

Mark, London, UK

well said.

Roger Angove, Penzance,

Jennie - There are evil people. It might be comforting to think that "evil" can be blamed on childhood abuse and hence can be solved with a few courses (and there's a whole industry of experts and psychiatrists who make a healthy living from promoting such ideas), but it's much too simplistic.

Chris K, Cheltenham, UK

The System MUST change! CHILD ABUSE must be cause for CASTRATION.

Humans also should start an "I do care how my neighbor is doing" kind of attitude ... Present life's "individuality" allows too broad a space for hidden hideous situations to develop unseen.

Let's all care!

Rhona Ottolina, Caracas, Venezuela

A refreshingly insightful and balanced piece of journalism. To Jennie McKenzie who suggests there are no evil people, only "formerly abused children" - well let me say, I am one of those children yet I do not perform atrocities on others. The evil is in the choices we make regardless of our past.

Jaclyn, Tasmania, Australia

frankly, i still can not believe this is true, i would rather to believe that is a lie that the daughter and father made to pursuit of some kinda aim. because it is beyond all the evil that i can image. that man not just raped his daughter, also raped the great name of father!

cty, zhejiang, china

I agree, well said. I cannot stop thinking about this horror. I too weep in silence, that's all I can do as well.

Jackie, Indianapolis, USA

First and foremost, a wonderful article. You are absolutely right about Elisabeth. Remarkable woman. But my heart just goes out for the children. One cannot even fathom the horrors- the scars! That had been their world since their birth. One just wonders- have we truly evolved as human beings or....

BD, NewYork,

Very very well put. This incident is on a differant level than most of the others you have mentioned purely because of the time scale that is involved. One can only hope that the children manage to salvage some sort of normal life.

This is responsible journalism at its best.

Russell Carver, Gosport, UK

Really good commentary. We can all too easily revel in the horror, which then serves to reassure us that everything in the world WE know is OK.

Jinny Fisher, London,

I've been thinking much the same way. Very well said.

Chris, Seattle, US

There are no "evil people" - there are only formerly abused children. Why are we not hearing about Mr. Fritzl own childhood? Why is not everyone demanding parenting classes in every school, e.g. http://www.empathicparenting.org/course/ ?

Jennie McKenzie, Minneapolis, USA

I am struggling to imagine life without daylight for those many years. Life without space, sky, people, fresh air. How on earth did they pass the days? When did they go to bed and when did they wake up? Was there "morning" or "evening" for them"? I'm weeping for them in silence. That's all I can do

Mike, Washington, DC, USA

Thank you for bringing the public back to reality. You are absolutely right. The reason this appalled me so is the stark truth that there is evil in the world that we cannot control and cannot always shield ourselves or our children from. Thank you for reminding us of the issues that we can affect.

Briana Cerezo, Portland, OR, USA