Theft of the golden Leibniz biscuit

The stolen Leibniz biscuit on the facade of the Bahlsen company (2006)

The biscuit restored and hung up after the theft (2013)

The theft of the golden Leibniz biscuit , also referred to in the press as the Krümelmonster-Krimi or Krümelgate , is a theft that occurred in the Lower Saxony state capital Hanover in 2013 and caused a lot of media coverage at home and abroad.

Course of events

At the beginning of 2013 the “golden Leibnizkeks” on the facade of the company headquarters of the biscuit manufacturer Bahlsen was stolen by thieves unknown until today (2020). It is a gold-plated representation of a Leibniz biscuit made of brass , weighing around 20 kilograms , which the sculptor Georg Herting created around 1910 with the facade figures of Brezelmänner . Shortly thereafter, the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung and Bahlsen received a letter of confession with extortionate content. In the letter, which was accompanied by a photo of a stranger posing with the biscuit in a cookie monster costume, a chocolate biscuit donation to the children's hospital on the Bult and the donation of the reward amount of 1,000 € to an animal shelter in Langenhagen were requested. Otherwise, the golden biscuit will go "to Oskar in the garbage can".

In a press conference on January 30th, however, Bahlsen refused to respond to the blackmailer's demands. Instead, the company offered to donate 52,000 cookie packs to 52 social institutions if they were returned. Thereupon the perpetrator declared himself ready in a second letter dated February 4, naming the Bahlsen managing director Werner Michael Bahlsen , to return the biscuit. He was finally found on February 5th, attached with a red ribbon to the bronze statue of the Lower Saxony horse in front of the Leibniz University in Hanover. The police confirmed that it was the stolen cookie and are investigating the unknown perpetrators for theft and extortion. The Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office examined the biscuit found for finger , DNA and fiber traces.

In a third letter dated February 7, the cookie monster called on Bahlsen to keep their promise. On February 8, the company confirmed that it was sticking to its promise and called on all interested non-profit organizations to apply for a biscuit donation.

On February 14, 2013, the TV magazine RTL Explosiv broadcast an anonymous interview with three men and one woman who identified themselves as the perpetrators. After returning the biscuit, the Hanover public prosecutor's office converted the originally assumed facts of attempted extortion and theft into property damage . A day later, on March 14, gave the Bahlsen by Los specific recipient of Keksspenden known and began shipping. In May 2013, the Hanover public prosecutor dropped the proceedings because the identity of the perpetrators could not be determined.

Reactions

The incident received a lot of attention in the national and international press. According to the business magazine Markt und Mittelstand , the company was featured 595 times in the German daily and weekly press between January 24, 2013 and February 11, 2013, not including online reporting and social networks. In comparison, the company was included in the reporting just 22 times in the previous year. The magazine calculated a necessary advertising budget of around 1.7 million euros for a similar reach through advertising, while it estimated the actual costs of the biscuit donation campaign to be in the range of less than 40,000 euros. The media attention also prompted the producers of Sesame Street to publish a denial via the Twitter account of the "real" Cookie Monster, in which it firmly denied any involvement in the case.

The action led to speculation that it was merely a cleverly engineered marketing campaign ( guerrilla marketing ). Among other things, it was noticeable that Sesame Street celebrated its 40th anniversary in the same year. Both perpetrators and companies also used a conspicuous symbolism related to Bahlsen: based on the 52 teeth of the biscuit, 52,000 biscuit packs were given away at 52 institutions, the biscuits were returned on February 5 (February 5) on the premises the university named after the Hanoverian court librarian and patron of biscuits, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz . However, the stolen biscuit only has 34 teeth compared to today's biscuit shape with 52 teeth.

Before the biscuit was returned, a Wiesbaden advertising agency offered the perpetrators employment as a PR consultant using large-format job advertisements in several media . Corresponding allegations were denied by Bahlsen. The police confirmed to the marketing magazine horizont.net that Bahlsen had filed charges of theft and extortion. In the magazine's interview with the communications agency working for Bahlsen, Stephan Rebbe confirmed that the theft could not have been used for advertising purposes. On the one hand it is a justiciable act, on the other hand there is a risk of attracting imitators for similar attempts at extortion. However, whether the perpetrators made themselves a criminal offense is controversial among lawyers.

The biscuit that was hung and restored in July 2013 on the facade figures of the pretzel men

The case was several times with the theft of the plastic figure Bernd the Bread of the television KI.KA compared. The head of the Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute , Christian Pfeiffer , suspected that the theft was a bet or a test of courage. In an interview with RTL Television , the alleged perpetrators described the theft as a joke. The incident sparked a huge popularity of cookie monster costumes during the 2013 Mardi Gras season.

From April 26, 2013, the biscuit was exhibited as an exhibit for four weeks in the exhibition Fascination Nefertiti: Hoetger and Egypt in the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hanover , since Bahlsen founder and inventor of the Leibniz biscuit Hermann Bahlsen was the patron of the artist Bernhard Hoetger and in the exhibition multiple references to this connection have been made. In a humorous allusion to the theft of the biscuit, the "cookie monster" was forbidden to approach the exhibit. The biscuit, the symbol of the Bahlsen company, returned to its location on July 11, 2013 and has been under technical surveillance ever since.

reception

The ZDF series “ Dr. Klein " alluded to the case of the Leibniz biscuit in the episode" Dicke Luft ", which was portrayed in the series as the stolen gold pretzel of the" Pretzel King ", which was also stolen.

The event was also referred to in the episode “ Wedding Day ” in the RTL series “ Schmidt - Chaos on Prescription ” . In order to impress his beloved, a young man disguised as a hamster steals the symbol and figurehead of the Hegel company, a ten kilo gold-plated biscuit. However, no biscuit ransom is required, nor are the company's social benefits - the biscuit is returned without consideration.

Web links

Commons : Pretzel Men - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Trigger Crime Report: Cookie Monster Blackmailed Bahlsen , Update & Update # 2 (summary case description). In: Trigger.tv. UFA Film & TV Production . Last accessed February 15, 2013.
Who was it? Cookie theft remains unresolved at ndr.de. from January 31, 2018
Tobias Morchner: When the cookie monster stole the golden Leibniz biscuit in Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung on January 31, 2018

Individual evidence

↑ bim / dapd: Bahlsen headquarters: thieves steal golden biscuits. Spiegel Online, January 24, 2013, accessed January 29, 2013 .

^ Leibniz biscuit: Police are examining attempted blackmail. Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, January 29, 2013, accessed on January 29, 2013 .

↑ Stolen Leibniz-Keks Zeitung receives letters of confession from the "Cookie Monster". Spiegel Online, January 29, 2013, accessed January 29, 2013 .

↑ http://www.haz.de/Hannover/Aus-der-Stadt/Uebersicht/Bahlsen-Chef-Wir- Lassen-uns-nicht- erpressen

^ "Cookie Monster" wants to return golden Leibniz biscuits From the city of Hanover / HAZ - Hannoversche Allgemeine

↑ Case Bahlsen: The biscuit is apparently back. In: Spiegel Online . February 5, 2013, accessed February 5, 2013 .

↑ Police confirm the authenticity of the Bahlsen biscuit from the city of Hanover / HAZ - Hannoversche Allgemeine

↑ Police confirm the authenticity of the gold biscuit. In: NDR.de . February 5, 2013, archived from the original on January 4, 2014 ; Retrieved February 5, 2013 .

↑ Police investigate Leibniz biscuits for traces of the cookie monster in: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung from February 6, 2013

^ "Cookie Monster" demands compliance with the donation offer From the city of Hanover / HAZ - Hannoversche Allgemeine

↑ ^a ^b Bahlsen wants to keep his biscuit promise From the city of Hanover / HAZ - Hannoversche Allgemeine

↑ ^a ^b biscuit theft: thieves of the Golden Bahlsen biscuit give an interview - SPIEGEL ONLINE

↑ ^a ^b Police check confessor film from the cookie monster in: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung from February 16, 2013

^ Accusation of blackmail from the table. Bahlsen announces winners list for biscuit donation in: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung from March 14, 2013

↑ Police give up the hunt for cookie monsters on ndr.de from May 7, 2013 ( Memento from August 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )

^ "Ransom note" from the Cookie Monster moves the world From the city of Hanover / HAZ - Hannoversche Allgemeine

↑ "Krümelgate" causes media hype From the city of Hanover / HAZ - Hannoversche Allgemeine

↑ Cookie Monster gives Bahlsen millions - market and medium-sized businesses

↑ Leibniz biscuit: Theft of biscuits is worthwhile for Bahlsen | Economy - Berliner Zeitung

↑ Leibniz biscuit theft: Cookie monster announces biscuit return | Panorama - Berliner Zeitung