Danube moss robbers
As Donaumoos robbers committed Ferdinand Gump (* 1844) and Eduard Gänswürger (* 1843) 1871-1873 in the then Bavarian jurisdictions Ingolstadt , Neuburg , Oberpfaffenhofen , Mainburg , Rottenburg an der Laaber , Schrobenhausen and Aichach numerous crimes, with them Altbayerische Donaumoos as Served as a retreat. What had initially started with minor thefts and poaching ended with multiple robberies. In February 1873 Gump shot his accomplice and in June 1873 he was arrested. Gump died of tuberculosis while in custody .
Adolescent years
On October 3, 1843, Eduard Gänswürger was born in Grillheim near Karlskron, Josepha Strobl's second unmarried child. A short time later, the mother married the child's father Andreas Gänswürger, which was followed by seven more children. Despite the poorest conditions, the basket-making family was always anxious to enable the children to be raised well. With the three sons, however, the parental example hardly worked. The eldest son Andreas was sentenced to several years in prison for various offenses at a young age. In 1850 Eduard Gänswürger came to the elementary school in Karlskron. Throughout his entire school career, his academic performance was inadequate, with poor reading and writing as a result.
In neighboring Walding near Reichertshofen, the 26-year-old from Ingolstadt, Walburga Seitz, ran a small property together with the destitute moss colonist Martin Gump. On May 29, 1844 she gave birth to a son registered as “illegitimus” (single), whom she baptized Ferdinand. Even if the parents got married soon afterwards, the maternal maiden name remained unintentionally on Ferdinand's life. The locals called him "Fendi" for short, from which he became "Seitzfendi". In 1850 he also went to the elementary school in Karlskron, where he was soon feared as a big brawler by all his classmates and was therefore avoided by everyone. Already at that time it was said among the village children: "Wait a minute, Gump - you'll be a big scoundrel". As the only classmate, however, Eduard Gänswürger felt no fear of the "Seitzfendi", which is why both soon became friends. This in turn meant that Gump showed little interest in school lessons - of his other nine siblings, he was always the parents' greatest concern.
After finishing school in 1860, the two schoolmates Eduard and Ferdinand began an apprenticeship as a carpenter with master carpenter Paul Heckersmüller in Reichertshofen. Heckersmüller confirmed that at least the apprentice Gump “showed himself to be extremely busy”. Gump's fellow apprentice, on the other hand, always seemed to avoid work and preferred his poaching skills to honorable craft. Further crimes, such as theft and bodily harm, followed, for which both were sentenced to heavy prison terms. In November 1869 Gänswürger managed the adventurous escape from a Munich penitentiary .
Robbery near Meilenhofen
Goose strangler had not been free for 24 hours when he was planning a major crime with Gump. In Volkenschwand (Hallertau) they attacked the Einödhof "zum Oscheid" - but the courageous residents were able to put the two of them to flight after a wild shooting. In the following years, the two perpetrated countless robberies and burglaries. Then on December 11, 1872, the first robbery and murder occurred. With the “Advent market”, the annual cattle market took place on this day in the Hallertau hop metropolis Mainburg. Farmers from all over the area flocked to this market at dawn with their pockets full. So did the two small farmers Franz-Xaver Gruber and Josef Ettmüller from Elsendorf . On the district road from Abensberg to Mainburg they met the farmer Franz Ullinger from Irnsing. About 500 meters from Meilenhofen they met three strange men with hunting satchels and rifles that looked like hunters. The three strangers seemed to be in a good mood, because minutes beforehand they also addressed a market trader in broken German: “wo aus, compatriot”. He replied "to Mainburg" and asked the other question about their destination. The three whistled some incomprehensible words such as “Monsieur” or other French words, which gave the impression that they were released French prisoners of war, which was not unusual in the period after the war of 1870/71. As the three small farmers passed the men, suddenly one of them held out his rifle to Gütler Gruber and called out: "Put it down". Gruber, who believed in a joke, replied cheerfully: "It won't press like that". At the same moment the shot rang out, whereupon Gruber sank down fatally. Ettmuller jumped up to stand by his comrades, but at the same moment the stranger fired his rifle again - Ettmuller was dead on the spot. The third small farmer, Franz Ullinger, stood on the street, scared to death, and dared not call for help or one Attempt to escape. One of the robbers held the rifle in front of his face and asked for cash. Pleading for his life, Ullinger handed over his entire cash amount of 450 guilders , whereupon the muggers knocked him down with the butt of a rifle. The three strangers then robbed the two murdered victims and fled to the nearby forest. Several shots were heard there; the robbers had shot one of their cronies in the thicket. His body could be identified weeks later as that of the well-known Johann Faltermeier from Reichertshofen, he had demonstrably committed numerous crimes with Gump and Goose Strangler.
At the Advent market, the news of the double robbery murder spread like wildfire. For fear of being attacked on the way home too, a real storm began on what is probably the only arms shop in Mainburg. Within a very short time, all rifles and revolvers in stock were sold out, including ammunition. The government of Lower Bavaria offered a reward of 50 guilders for information that led to the arrest of the perpetrators.
Murder of the grocer's wife Kufer from Karlskron
Despite the large-scale searches in the Donaumoos and the Hallertau , the balance of the two robbery murderers recorded twenty-eight different offenses in January 1873 alone. In order to guarantee general security, more night watches have been put together in most towns. On the night of February 4 to 5, 1873, however, another murder caused a stir. Gänswürger had had an intimate relationship with the married grocer Margarethe Kufer from Karlskron (Donaumoos) for a long time. She constantly provided him with clothing, food and ammunition and always gave him shelter if he was on the run from the gendarmes . That night Gump accompanied his friend Gänswürger to the shopkeeper in Karlskron. They made themselves felt in front of the grocer's house, whereupon the scantily clad woman came out with wine and food a short time later. The three of them sat down on a litter pile away from the house and ate the food together. After a while, the shopkeeper left the men to get warmer clothes in the house. The two waited for a while; however, since the shopkeeper never returned, they decided to leave again. After about 100 yards, Gump realized he'd forgotten his revolver on the litter pile and returned. At the same time, however, the buyer came out of the house and spoke to Gump. Goose strangler, who was still waiting for Gump, suddenly shouted through the darkness: "Stop who there?" Gump replied: "It's Gretl (Margarethe)." At the same moment, a shot went off that seriously injured the shopkeeper. Gump called over to Goose Strangler: "Damian guy, that's Gretl". At the same moment Goose Strangler fired another shot from his shotgun , whereupon the shopkeeper collapsed, fatally hit. At least that is how Ferdinand Gump described the course of events later during his interrogation. An initial autopsy of the corpse revealed, however, that Margarethe Kufer was killed by a shot fired at close range from a shotgun cartridge from a hunting rifle. In addition, it was noted: "... that the deceased lay bared up to the pubic parts, leads to the assumption that the buyer was sexually used ...". At that time, there was still complete uncertainty about the motive and the perpetrator.
Gump murders goslings
After the grocer's murder, Gump and Gänswürger left Karlskron and went to Manching via Reichertshofen . According to Gumps later testimony, they needed about 24 hours for this 15 km long distance. They rarely spoke to each other, and when they did, they only made mutual accusations about the grocer's death. On the banks of the Sandrach between Manching and Niederfeld, Gump had mentally decided to “free mankind from this horror”. Gump walked about three paces behind Goose Stranglers and mumbled the prayer: "Lord, give him eternal rest ...", then he fired his twin rifle from the hip at Goose Stranglers. This fell to the ground, but since he still gave a sign of life, Gump shot down a second time. He then fled to his shelter in Reichertshofen.
In the early morning of February 7, 1873, Alois Donaubauer, a railway laborer from Ingolstadt, found the body and notified the gendarmerie. The commission of inquiry that was called up stated that the dead person had been shot at close range and that no robbery had occurred. However, who could be the culprit remained in the dark, despite the suspicion that Gump had had a hand in it. Gänswürger's corpse was brought to Manching by order of the authorities, where the summoned photographer, the button maker Franz-Xaver Sölch from Ingolstadt, took one of the first Bavarian criminal cases. The news of the goose strangler's death spread at lightning speed and bystanders made a pilgrimage to Manching from near and far. The robbery was on public display for nearly five days before his inquest took place.
Even if the vernacular was always of a different opinion, a Manchinger fish pond owner was initially considered as an urgent suspect, as the watch was found by goose stranglers. The investigative commission, which had suspected Gump from the start, now also examined a consideration according to which goose stranglers could have been caught blackfish by the pond owner and then shot as a fleeing thief by the latter. However, this version was denied again on February 21.
Murder of the station commander Anton Bauer from Hohenwart
In the most varied of disguises, such as a soldier, a craftsman or a peddler , even in women's clothing, the "Seitzfendi" now carried on his mischief on his own. For the capture of Gumps 500 guilders had meanwhile been exposed. Since Gump had numerous helpers and accomplices in the Donaumoos, a major manhunt was planned in this area for the night of March 21-22, 1873. So that night Gump went into hiding with Therese Pleiner in Karlskron. Therese lived with her two single children in a completely run-down property on the outskirts. At around 1 a.m., 15 gendarmes holed up on the nearby edge of the forest . The station commanders Anton Bauer from Hohenwart and August Leopold from Reichertshofen stalked up to the small colonist house. Bauer knocked on the shutter and shouted: "Open up, the gendarmes are here". Inside the house, the commanders heard a soft male voice whispering: “Say, there is a window in your room”, whereupon Therese Pleiner called out that she had a lover with her. Suddenly a shutter opened next to Bauer, then a shot rang out, followed a little later by two more. Bauer, who immediately returned the gunfire, suddenly shouted after the second shot: "Gustl, I'm hit". Leopold rushed to the aid of his badly injured colleague, but Gump used this moment only in shirt and trousers to flee unnoticed. Bauer was immediately transported by horse and cart to the garrison hospital in Ingolstadt, where he succumbed to his serious injuries three weeks later. The station commander was buried in Ingolstadt on April 14th, and Ferdinand Gump, disguised as a soldier, mingled with the many mourners.
Gumps arrested in Wolnzach
On June 4, 1873, around 9 p.m., Gump entered the small Fröhler shop in Wolnzach (Hallertau) and ordered a large amount of cheese and a sackcloth. Since the shopkeeper did not have a sackcloth in her range, she sent the neighbor child who happened to be present to see the shopkeeper Therese Ecker. After the girl asked about the sackcloth in the Eckerschen shop at this late hour, the shopkeeper became suspicious and listened to the child. She then notified the gendarmerie. Since the girl with the sackcloth still did not come back after a while, Gump became suspicious and fled the shop. Outside in the alley he saw two gendarmes approaching about 100 meters away, whereupon he immediately fled in the direction of the market square. The two gendarmes Voit and Löffler immediately took up the pursuit. By firing several warning shots, the street passers-by also became aware of the fugitive. A day laborer wanted to stand in the way of the robber at the market square, but Gump threw him to the ground with such force that he suffered several bruises. The desperate Gump saw the only way out was to flee to Herrengasse, but in front of Georg Glück's Schäfflerei the three people present also became aware of the fugitive. The Schäffler Glück, his journeyman Horn and the master brewer Josef Gall faced the robbery courageously, and after a hard scuffle they were able to overpower him and finally arrest him. Tied up and accompanied by the cheering crowd, Ferdinand Gump was brought to the Wolnzach gendarmerie station, where he spent the night under the strictest guard. All the district offices concerned took note of the telegram sent to them with relief: Gump was captured by the gendarmerie and civil in Wolnzach at 9 o'clock in the night ...
Death in custody
In the early morning of June 5, 1873, Gump was brought to the Reichertshofen train station, accompanied by eight heavily armed gendarmes, to be transported by train to the Munich regional court prison. At the small train station people crowded together - everyone wanted to see the dangerous robbery who had been considered the horror of the Donaumoos and the Hallertau for years. A chronicler described that despite this crowd it was so quiet that you could hear the dogs barking in the neighboring village of Ebenhausen.
Two days after Gumps arrest he was from the royal coroner heard in detail Zaska in the district court prison. The interrogation began at 8 a.m. and ended at 10 p.m. with no significant interruptions. Since Ferdinand Gump was aware that the death penalty would await him, he also gave the truth on record in most cases. Only with regard to the murder cases of Kufer and Goose Strangler did his statements seem hardly credible. He also refused to testify to the person of the third accomplice in the Meilenhofen murder. For the examining magistrate this was a reason to question the "Seitzfendi" again on July 21, 1873 for 12 hours, which, however, did not lead to a satisfactory result.
In September 1873, Gump was suddenly transferred to the prison's infirmary. His health deteriorated every day and eventually the doctors gave up any hope of improvement. On November 25, 1873, the notorious Danube moss robber died not from a guillotine or on the gallows , but from severe tuberculosis .
swell
- Original interrogation protocol of Ferdinand Gump dated June 6, 1873 - State Archives Munich
literature
- Hans Fegert: Ferdinand Gump and Eduard Gänswürger: two robbery murderers from the Donaumoos. 3K-Verlag, Kösching 1992, ISBN 3-924940-38-X .
- Christoph Bachmann: "Ferdinand Gump and Eduard Gänswürger: two robbery murderers from the Donaumoos" . In: Michael Farin (Ed.): Police report Munich 1799–1999. Catalog for the exhibition in the Munich City Museum from April 23 to August 22, 1999, Munich 1999. p. 40.
- Heinrich Vocke: "The robbers Gänswürger and Gump" . In: The Courtroom , Volume 25 (1873), p. 375 .
- " Ferdinand Gump and Eduard Gänswürger " , The new Pitaval .
Web links
- Christoph Bachmann: Section: “ Nothing going on without moss. Two robbery murderers from the Donaumoos ”in the article“ Criminal cases (19th / 20th century) ”in the Bavarian Historical Lexicon .