Large Franconian band of thieves and robbers

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The great Franconian thieves and robbers gang , also known as the Fürth thieves and robbers gang or Meusel gang , is a largely unknown band of robbers, which in the late 18th century mainly took place in Franconia , but also in the Upper Palatinate and other surrounding areas Areas. The total number of gang members was estimated at around 180 people.

history

The beginnings of the band of robbers are still in the dark. The structures are likely to have formed around 1790 at the latest. Under this large band of robbers , however, one should not imagine a jointly operating band of robbers that listened to a single robber chief. The break-ins, thefts and robberies were only ever carried out in small groups. There were, however, individual ringleaders who led the gang. One of these ringleaders was Franz Troglauer , who later founded his own band of robbers. The members of the gang were thrown together. They came mainly from Franconia, partly from the Upper Palatinate, but partly also from other parts of Germany or from the neighboring states of France and Poland . It can be assumed that many members did not even know each other. So it is understandable that this gang was not given an exact name, as was the case with other contemporary band of robbers. The group is also called "Meusel gang" (after one of the ringleaders named Jakob Meusel) or "Fürth thieves and robber gang" in the contemporary files. One of the main bases is said to have been in Fürth. However, these two names are becoming rarer on the record as time goes on.

The gang was well organized. They had their own book printer, to whom they owed the production of false passports, letters of nobility and other papers. Due to the many innkeepers in the thieves' gang, there were hiding spots in many places in Franconia and the Upper Palatinate, and many of the innkeepers also served as stolen goods to move the stolen goods. Specifying the area of ​​distribution of the band of robbers is somewhat difficult, as the individual members often acted independently of one another. According to the statements of a gang member, however, this can be defined as follows: From Swabia via Augsburg , Nuremberg , Fürth to Römhild in Thuringia. In addition there is the northern Upper Palatinate .

The number of thefts, burglaries and robberies of such a large organization is likely to be in the hundreds, whereby most of the crimes were probably trivialities such as food theft by today's standards. However, the gang members were also out for larger prey, as shown by a few documented thefts. In 1797 a group committed a theft from the Bamberg auxiliary bishop . Loot worth 12,000 guilders was made. Among other things, even the bishop's staff was taken away.

In August 1798 a gang member named Philipp Schreier was arrested in the Franconian town of Markt Dachsbach . To avoid punishment, he offered to reveal everything he knew about the band of robbers. The interrogation protocol was printed out and today offers a unique insight into the workings of a gang of robbers in the 18th century. The betrayal of Schreier ultimately led to the complete breaking of the gang. By sending out printed profiles, it was possible to arrest large numbers of members in various locations. Most of the prisoners were transported to the Wülzburg fortress near Weißenburg in Bavaria for examination . Here the Prussian commissioner Stadelmann carried out the further interviews. In October 1798 it was reported that over 104 gang members were already on the Wülzburg for investigation. The gang member Wolfgang Troglauer (a brother of the aforementioned Franz Troglauer) was able to escape from the Wülzburg, but was captured again in Bamberg and transported back. Some suspects (mostly women) were released from prison after a while, others were sentenced to prison terms. Franz Troglauer , described as one of the ringleaders, was only caught in December 1800 and executed on the gallows in Amberg on May 6, 1801.

literature

  • Bernhard Weigl: The gallows is my grave. On the trail of the band of robbers of Franz Troglauer through Upper Palatinate and Franconia . Bodner, Pressath / Oberpfalz 2005, ISBN 3-937117-22-9 , (A profile of the gang members of the Franconian thieves and robbers from the year 1798 is attached to this book).
  • Carsten Küther: Robbers and crooks in Germany. The organized gang system in the 18th and early 19th centuries (= critical studies on historical science . Volume 20). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1976, ISBN 3-525-35971-3 .