Friedrich Schumann (serial killer)

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Friedrich Schumann (born  February 1, 1893 in Spandau , †  August 27, 1921 in Plötzensee prison ) was a German serial killer . Schumann, also known as the “mass murderer from Falkenhagener See”, was convicted of six murders, although he probably killed far more people, as he confessed to his lawyer Erich Frey the evening before the execution .

overview

Schumann was born on February 1, 1893 in the city hospital in Spandau. His father Hermann Schumann, a previously convicted petty criminal, was an alcoholic and at the time of his birth lived in Groß Bademeusel near Forst (Lausitz). His mother Emilie geb. Rickert lived at Staakener Strasse 3 in Spandau. At the age of 16, Schumann shot his cousin on a trip to the Spandau Forest . Since he described this act as an accident in court, he was not punished, but given a welfare education. In 1911 Schumann shot a woman on Spandauer Chaussee and stole a large amount of money. Since he described an accident in this act, he was sentenced to only 9 months in prison. Schumann then worked as a locksmith in the repair shop and was awarded the Iron Cross in the First World War . On March 12, 1919, he married the worker Erna Meta Minna Schmeling in Spandau. The marriage was divorced on January 14, 1921.

In September 1916 Schumann fired eight shots at Hegemeister Köpke in Damsbrück , but did not hit. In May 1917 Schumann killed a night watchman in Falkenhagen, and in July 1917 two Falkenhagen gendarmes . Schumann observed couples in love in the Falkenhagener Forst several times, first killing the men and then raping and then killing the women. He also killed rangers, maids, hikers, hunting parties, locomotive drivers and local residents at random.

On August 18, 1919 around 8:00 p.m., the 52-year-old forest ranger Wilhelm Nielbock from Spandau met Schumann in the forest and spoke to him. Schumann then shot Nielbock twice in the chest with his parabellum pistol . Nielbock managed to fire his shotgun at the fugitive, whom he wounded in the process. Nielbock, who died of his injuries that same night in the hospital, was able to describe the perpetrator: slim, medium-sized, blond, in field-gray clothing, shot in his shoulder.

Schumann was arrested on August 20, 1919 in Georg Tepling's medical practice in Spandau.

The trial against Schumann took place from July 5th to 13th, 1920 before the jury chamber of District Court III in Berlin-Moabit , chaired by District Court Director Georg Pioletti. The Berlin newspapers described Schumann as “a case that has hardly ever been seen in criminal law history”. Only part of Schumann's crimes were tried in the process. He was sentenced to death six times , to life imprisonment and to numerous secondary sentences.

“Schumann demands his death. A few days ago you finally heard a masculine word in Prussia. A man wants his destiny! He would rather die immediately than not know what is happening to him. He demands his quick death. It goes without saying that he is not a citizen, but a criminal: the mass murderer Schumann, who was sentenced to death by the ax by a German jury almost ten months ago. He has been sitting in Plötzensee since July 1920, waiting for the promised death sentence to be carried out. He never asked for mercy. He only reminded from time to time that he had a right to his death. "

- Das Tag-Buch : Issue 18 (May 7, 1921)

Due to the reluctance of the Prussian Minister of Justice Hugo on Zehnhoff , which the right of pardon condition, Friedrich Schumann was only on 27 August 1921 at 6am by the Prussian executioner Carl Gröpler beheaded . The evening before the execution , he confessed to his lawyer Erich Frey that he had murdered a total of 25 people.

literature

  • Anna Marie B: Authentic criminal cases - A collection of fates and crimes from 1800 to 1950, Volume 1: 1st case - Friedrich Schumann (1921). eBook, 2015.
  • Matthias Blazek : Carl Großmann and Friedrich Schumann - Two serial killers in the twenties . Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-8382-0027-9 .
  • Erich Hobusch: Poaching and Förstermorde - Original version of his books from 1928–31 by Otto Busdorf . Volume I-III, Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen 2003, ISBN 3-7888-0725-3 .
  • Martin Lücke (Ed.): Heroes in the Crisis, Didactic Views on the History of Masculinity Vol. 2 , LIT Verlag, Berlin – Münster – Vienna – Zurich 2013, ISBN 978-3-8258-1760-2 , p. 172.
  • Daniel Siemens: Metropolis and Crime. The court report in Berlin, Paris and Chicago 1919–1933 . Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-515-09008-7 .
  • Emil Utitz: Yearbook for Characterology . Pan-Verlag, Berlin 1926.
  • Helmut Barz: White blood . Fantastic novel, Gryphon-Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-937800-64-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frey, Erich : I request acquittal. From the memories of defense attorney Prof. Dr. Dr. Erich Frey. Blüchert Verlag, Hamburg 1959.
  2. ↑ StA Spandau - Birth Register No. 238/1893 .
  3. ↑ The mass murderer from Falkenhagener See. (PDF) In: Falkenseer Kurier. Dipl. Psych. Karin Grusdat, September 2009, p. 11 , accessed on July 13, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e Märkische Allgemeine, February 1, 2013 The mass murderer from Falkenhagener See
  5. ↑ StA Spandau marriage register no. 149/1919 .
  6. ^ Siemens, Daniel: Metropolis und Verbrechen - The court report in Berlin, Paris and Chicago 1919–1933, Stuttgart 2007, p. 137.
personal data
SURNAME Schumann, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin-Spandau
DATE OF DEATH August 27, 1921
Place of death Plötzensee