Editing Henri Désiré Landru (section)

== Historical context ==
The backdrop of World War I, both during and after the conflict, was crucial to Landru's success. The immense loss of life created a large pool of lonely, vulnerable widows desperate for security and companionship.{{sfn|Rēn|Gureggu|1995|pp=197-199}}

In the era when the horror of the war was still lingering, the prevailing social trend of women seeking partners who could promise a stable future worked in his favor. Every day during the war, many soldiers were killed on the battlefield, creating a continuous stream of new widows, and newspapers carried advertisements from these women seeking companions on a daily basis.{{sfn|Monesutie|1991|p=99}} Many women, especially war widows overflowing in Paris at the time, faced uncertain futures alone and potentially lacked experience in managing finances or making major decisions without male relatives struggling to make decisions on their own without husbands or male family members and fearing facing old age alone). Landru, presenting himself as a respectable man spared from the front, exploited this societal vulnerability. Despite his appearance, his skillful conversation and ability to behave in a seemingly serious manner made him appear as a trustworthy suitor.{{sfn|Rēn|1996|pp=58-59}}

Furthermore, wartime conditions strained police resources, diverting manpower to tracking deserters and managing wartime exigencies. After the first crime involving Jeanne Cuchet, the police were mostly occupied with tracking deserters during the war and had no capacity to investigate this case. This lack of investigation emboldened Landru, giving him "a taste" for it and leading him to continue his crimes undetected for longer.{{sfn|Monesutie|1991|pp=100-101}}

The trial's occurrence shortly after the war's devastating conclusion also played a role. The war had killed 1.5 million French people, and the trial provided the French public with a sensational, albeit grim, distraction from national trauma and the difficult political climate surrounding the peace negotiations. For ordinary citizens, Landru's trial was a rare opportunity for a change of pace or mood.{{sfn|Monesutie|1991|pp=100-101}}