Mannefriedrich

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Mannefriedrich (born December 6, 1780 in Denmark , † July 31, 1812 in Heidelberg ), whose real name was Philipp Friedrich Schütz , was a German robber . After the robbery and murder of a Swiss merchant on Bergstrasse near Hemsbach , which he and other robbers committed , an unprecedented hunt for vagabonds in the Odenwald began . He was publicly executed for the crime in 1812.

Meaning of the name

The Hölzerlipsbande after their arrest in 1811. Mannefriedrich is the second from the right in the bottom row

For a while Mannefriedrich made his living by weaving baskets. These baskets or tubs were also called “Mahne” or “Manne” in the Wetterau , where he did his trade. From when Philipp Friedrich Schütz was called "Mannefriedrich" cannot be precisely dated.

The spelling “Manne Friedrich” and “Mahne Friedrich” can also be found in books and captions of that time.

Life

Philipp Friedrich Schütz was the son of Anna Maria and Johann Valentin Schütz. They were law-abiding farmers, living in Frücht near Koblenz . They grew tobacco and were able to live a modest life from the income. The land belonged to Freiherr Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom Stein ; He decided that the Schütz family and a few others should be sent to Denmark in order to introduce tobacco cultivation under Count von Schimmelpfennig . The family did not leave their home in Frücht free of debt. Anna Maria Philipp gave birth to Friedrich Schütz in Denmark. When he was two years old, his father died and his mother moved back to Frücht with him. She had the hope of being able to lease the few fields in order to feed herself and her children with this financial aid. However, the courtyard and fields had been auctioned by the creditors. With the proceeds the debts were paid off. Anna Maria only got three guilders and 32 ½ kreuzers . Since the small family no longer had a place to stay, they were expelled from the village.

She was able to feed herself for a while by begging. The family was allowed to stay in Breubach near Gießen for a while until the boy was confirmed . This and the strictly Christian upbringing of the mother also explain the deep faith in God, which Philipp Friedrich Schütz later expressed in his poems . Since the small family did not have a permanent residence , Philipp Friedrich Schütz could not learn a proper craft. He learned a little about whitewashing from a wandering painter and the basket weaving that gave him his name.

Youth and vagueness

His sister later married a trader who also took Anna Maria in with him. From then on, the still young Schütz moved on alone. Through the homeless life he got to know many vagabonds and other people known as Kochemer and was tempted to commit the first criminal acts.

Since no passports were issued to travelers at the time, they were often arrested, including Mannefriedrich, who was imprisoned in Arnsberg for three years . He later met a woman named Anna Catharina, who lived on the street with her young son, as she was looking for the father of her child. They shared their suffering, and from then on Anna Catharina moved on as a co- sleeper with Mannefriedrich. In order to get married, he was enlisted as a soldier. In Mannefriedrich's time, the traveling people were forbidden to marry. The government thus tried to prevent the vagabonds from multiplying. Anyone who nevertheless had a lover, lived with her or had sexual intercourse, was punished with up to a year at work. However, the government's efforts failed to serve their purpose. Mannefriedrich and Anna Catharina married and he deserted after just four days.

They could not feed themselves by selling straps and baskets. Mannefriedrich spoke more and more to the brandy . For a while he went from fair to fair, cheating some citizens there. Through his long life on the street, he met many robbers and thieves. So he learned the crooks tines , slang and some thieves skills.

crime

Road robbery near Heubach

Mannefriedrich carried out the road robbery near Heubach with Veit Krämer as well as Tall Andres and two other robbers. After a break-in in Wüstmillerroth and the dispersal in Lüßelhausen, Veit Krämer, Mannefriedrich and Stephan Heuss moved up Bergstrasse. They carried Johan Adam Treber and long-legged Steffen and carried out the robbery on April 3rd in the evening between seven and eight o'clock on the road between Heubach and Amorbach . The victim was the Roth tanner Thomas Höflein. The Mannefriedrich grabbed the tanner by the neck and jokingly asked: “Stop! Give what you have, what others keep ”. Although the robber was obedient and gave everything, as the Mannefriedrich later said, the other robbers still mistreated him. Even the simple skirt was taken from him. They left him unconscious on the street. Höflein dragged himself back to Heubach with difficulty. The value of the loot: 77 cruisers.

Burglary at a woman in Kleestadt

Immediately after the robbery of a pedestrian in Gellenhausen, the tall Andres told the other robbers that he knew a woman from whom 500 to 600 cruisers and some clothes could be stolen. Andres had already slept with the woman, so he knew the circumstances. On the night of April 8th to 9th, 1811, the gang broke into the house of the 75-year-old widow. The old woman was tied to the bed and beaten bloody. It is not known who exactly committed the brutality. However, the woman resisted bravely and was able to startle the neighbor who drove away the robbers by the noise caused. They couldn't steal much, only one pillow and ten cruisers were stolen.

Robbery between Hemsbach and Laudenbach

On the common commercially used mountain road between Hemsbach and Laudenbach raided on the night of May 1, 1811 at 1:30 AM husband Frederick, Hölzerlips the gang Veit Chandler, Chandler Mathes and Sebastian Lutz and other members of a stagecoach . In the carriage sat Jakob Rieder , a businessman from Winterthur , and Rudolf Hanhart from Zurich , who were on their way back from a trade fair in Frankfurt. When a carriage came, Mannefriedrich and Hölzerlips stopped the horses. Jakob Rieder was immediately hit on the head and passed out. Rudolf Hanhart suffered a similar fate. Despite appeasing shouts that he would give them everything, the young robbers Veit Kramer and Kramer Mathes continued to beat him until he lost consciousness. He only regained it through the efforts of his traveling companion. The coachman was immediately after the horses were brought under control, beaten by the driver's seat and robbed. Just like his passengers, he was unable to describe the attackers later.

Strips from Hemsbach chased Mannefriedrich and his comrades as soon as the postilion reached the village. The farmers found a fresh fireplace on a small path near the crime scene, but lost the trail in the forest. The merchant Jakob Rieder succumbed to his injuries a few days after the attack, despite the medical measures that were costly for that time. The Grand Ducal Baden City Director Dr. Ludwig Pfister in Heidelberg on the reason to lead a campaign against traveling people in the Odenwald between Main and Neckar .

Arrest and imprisonment

After the robbery between Hemsbach and Laudenbach, the gang fled through the Odenwald to the area of Strümpfelbrunn and Eberbach . More by accident than criminal work, the gang was picked up by some peasants on patrol. Veit Krämer was caught, who made a comprehensive confession after being transferred to Heidelberg. Furthermore, he described the appearance and names of his accomplices and other robbers and named some places of retreat, which were mostly hostels or inns, also outside of the Odenwald. The personal descriptions and a list of the places of retreat were immediately sent to all neighboring states and led to the arrest and identification of many vagabonds.

A little later, Philipp Friedrich Schütz and his comrades caught the eye of the residents in a tavern. They were able to hold him and he was locked in Zwingenberg prison while the others fled. Mannefriedrich was not immediately identified as one of the perpetrators in the Hemsbach robbery murder. That gave him enough time to bribe the prison guard with three talers, who then let him flee. After Peter Petry, alias Schwarzer Peter, had also been arrested, he made a confession in Heidelberg and betrayed Mannefriedrich as his accomplice, who was meanwhile in prison in Hanau under the name Goldmann. He was then immediately transferred to Heidelberg with his wife and seven-year-old son. During the interrogation he denied everything and continued to invoke his false identity as Mr. Goldmann, although the Zwingenberg officer who had supervised him in the dungeon clearly identified him as Philipp Friedrich Schütz. Even after further identifications by several Zwingenberg prison guards and fellow prisoners such as Veit Krämer, Mannefriedrich remained steadfast and continued to deny.

In a further interrogation, in which his son was also brought before him, he further denied his true identity. In a later interrogation he admitted to being the Mannefriedrich and admitted complicity in the robbery murder between Hemsbach and Laudenbach as well as several other offenses. Mannefriedrich spent some time of his imprisonment in Heidelberg in the Mannheimer Tor and in the Mannheim prison, where he not only wrote poems and songs, but also blamed Veit Krämer for having plunged him and his comrades "into misfortune".

The heads of the executed Mannefriedrich, Hölzerlips, Veit Krämer and Krämer Mathes

Because of Veit Kramer's extensive confessions, the prisoners were granted some requests. Mannefriedrich was allowed to spend a few hours with his son. In this way a knife ended up in the dungeon, which was quickly converted into a saw. This was supposed to break through the window bars of the prison. The plan was discovered a little later during a search of the cell and Mannefriedrich was put in heavy chains. Despite these severe disability he carved in Gothic type a poem into the dungeon wall, which was much appreciated by his fellow prisoners that they all learned it by heart. In the “card player song” he tells the story of the process.

On April 8th and 9th, 1812, the investigation was read out at the Grand Ducal Court and a vote was taken on it. Mannefriedrich was brought back to Heidelberg and locked in the Mannheimer Tor. Although he was already certain that he would receive a death sentence, he was still “in a good mood”, as City Manager Pfister stated, and continued to deny every crime accused of him. He was still hoping for a pardon. The records of the proceedings show that Mannefriedrich, in particular von Hölzerlips, was accused of some crimes that he was officially charged with. A confession from Mannefriedrich happened in the rarest of cases, and when confronted directly with the allegations by his fellow prisoners, he became rude and insulting. On July 24, 1812, the verdict was passed on him. Mannefriedrich was "known to be guilty of the same street robbery with murder and another [r] 4 street robberies and 22 burglaries and thefts" and was therefore "to be brought from life to death" with the sword.

The judgments were to be announced on July 28, 1812 and carried out on July 31, 1812. When the verdict was announced in the Heidelberg town hall , Mannefriedrich contradicted the verdict that it was wrong to have been forced to steal. All prisoners were given some privileges, so they could ask for a clergyman; Mannefriedrich declined, however, because he didn't need a “priest”. However, he asked to have the sacrament and to see his wife and children. This wish has already been initiated. After he had spent the following days visiting his wife and child and the pastor Dittenberger, whom he had in the meantime asked for, he and the other prisoners were taken to Heidelberg City Hall on July 31, 1812 at five o'clock in the morning. There he was prepared for the execution of the sentence. At 10 a.m. sharp the blood court began on the Heidelberg market square , at which the pardon of Andreas Petry and Sebastian Lutz was announced. Mannefriedrich, who hugged the two of them, was particularly pleased. After the blood judgment, they were taken to the place of execution at the gates of Heidelberg. The record says: “Mannefriedrich went cheerfully and constantly with the person next to him on the seat, talking to the chair; sat down, and 15 minutes after noon his head flew off his torso. "

In the reports of the city director, Mannefriedrich is finally described as a person who “was extremely devoted to brandy, but by the way not nearly as malicious as Holzlips. He is the most educated, well-mannered and cleverest of all. ”The investigations caused by the robbery murder in Hemsbach resulted in over 50 robbers and vagabonds being arrested in the Odenwald region. In the neighboring small states, the investigations led to numerous other arrests and convictions. As a result, the Odenwald was almost free of vagabonds and the offices gained further experience in the prosecution of criminals, also through the books of City Director Pfister.

Works

While Mannefriedrich waited in the dungeon for his execution, he had some time to devote himself to poetry. These poems were recorded and published by the then city director Ludwig Pfister . He himself wrote: "I am putting these songs here, not because I believe that they have any poetic value, but as a strange evidence for the empirical soul of the coexistence of contrasting attitudes and feelings in the chest of a robbery."

For example, in one poem he tries to excuse his offenses:

The poverty was certainly to blame
because they are no longer patient.
Most gentlemen are to blame
that some do what they otherwise do not.

He dedicated his last work to his wife, "dear Kathrinchen". Here it becomes clear what an intimate bond there was between them and how god-fearing Mannefriedrich was.

May my heart break
yes, I have to admit that
because I am not allowed to speak to you
not even allowed to see you.
Who knows what else will blossom
what filled our god,
where one sees the other
here or in that world.
[...]
In the end let's think
of Jesus' martyrdom
our soul will sink
red in fine wounds;
That's why I have his suffering
already thought often.
Now I must part with Jesus; -
Good night my bitch!

Others

Mannefriedrich and his comrades invented the famous Black Peter card game in prison . He named the game after his fellow prisoner Peter Petri alias Schwarzer Peter.

A folk band active in Germany in the late 1970s was called HölzerLips. Her long-playing record Jenischer Schall, published in 1978, contains songs from Mannefriedrich such as the farewell song to his “Liebes Kathrinchen” and other Kochemer songs (Kochemer Schall) that can be found in Pfister's files.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde , page 53f.
  2. ↑ The history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde , page 14.
  3. ↑ Addendum to the record-based history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde , page 81.
  4. ↑ From the history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde , page 209.
  5. ↑ The complete poem on http://kochemer-blog.de/?p=74
  6. ↑ Addendum to the record-based history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde , page 316.
  7. ↑ N DDENDUM to the files even history of bandits on both banks of the River Main, in the Spessart and Odenwald , page 342nd
  8. ↑ From the record-based history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde , page 54.
  9. ↑ List of the arrested criminals and their deeds in The history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde , page 142ff.
  10. ↑ The complete poem on http://kochemer-blog.de/?p=73
  11. ↑ The whole song on http://kochemer-blog.de/?p=80

literature

  • Werner Becker: My cousin, the robber: The life of Friedrich Philipp Schütz, called Mannefriedrich 1780-1812 , Heidelberg: Kurpfälzischer Verlag 2018 ISBN 978-3-924566-59-3 .
  • Michail Krausnick : Profession: Robber. About the terrible Mannefriedrich and the misdeeds of the Hölzerlips gang . Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1978 and Beltz & Gelberg Verlag, Weinheim 1990, ISBN 3-407-78089-3 - in another special edition of edition durchblick, bod, Norderstedt, with an extended appendix, including songs by Mannefriedrich (The robber reality around 1800 in comparison on Friedrich Schiller The Robbers or The Criminal of Lost Honor ).
  • Michail Krausnick : From robbers and gendarmes Arena-Verlag Würzburg, 1978.
  • Ludwig Pfister: The history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde . published in 1811, Heidelberg City Archives.
  • Ludwig Pfister: Addendum to the record-based history of the robber gangs on the two banks of the Main, in the Spessart and in the Odenwalde . published in 1811, Heidelberg City Archives.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mannefriedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schütz, Philipp Friedrich (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German basket weaver and robber
DATE OF BIRTH 18th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Denmark
DATE OF DEATH July 31, 1812
Place of death Heidelberg