Martin Knaus

Martin Knaus , called mill doctor or potato miller (* around 1772 in Düdelsheim , † February 1813 in Gießen ) was a German carpenter and mill doctor. He came from the county of Isenburg-Büdingen . Knaus was also a robber and a member of the Wetterau gang .

Life

His profession was a carpenter and mill doctor. His father was allegedly the brick maker Johann Dillmuth from Hainchen . The mother Charlotte later married a tailor. After completing his apprenticeship, Knaus moved across the country and manufactured "coffee, fairy and potato mills." With this he belonged to a minority among the robbers, most of whom came from the traveling people . He practiced his craft on an outpatient basis in Vogelsberg and Wetterau .

There he joined the Wetterauer and Vogelsberger gang . His companions included "highly notorious robbers" such as Veit Krämer, Schoden-Heinrich Peter Görzel, Johannes Reitz, Hannes from Haarbach, Johannes Müller, known as the Birklarer Schneider and Ludwig Funk from Sellnrod .

His lover Christine Rumpf came from Allendorf in Nassau. He had three children with her.

“His main stay was ... especially the notorious place Beyernheim and the hazel hedge. "

When the pressure of persecution in Upper Hesse became too great, he withdrew to Brungershausen in the Werra department , Kingdom of Westphalia . Another member of the Wetterau gang, Ludwig Funk from Sellnrod, found shelter there for a certain time. The robber Jonas Hoos, who also belonged to the Wetterauer and Vogelsberger gang, came from this area. Knaus was arrested in Brungershausen and imprisoned in Marburg for almost a year . Since nothing could be proven, he was sent back to his hometown.

There he was arrested again and imprisoned in Giessen, where his friend Heiden-Peter identified him as a "mill doctor".

During the interrogations he confessed to eight crimes, including a theft in Södel , the theft of a cauldron in Allendorf, the hometown of his lover in 1806, an attack near Düdelsheim on the "Obermüller" on Ascension Day in 1808, the robbery of freight cars in Wolfshagen, an attempted street robbery at Munzenberg and a raid at Büdingen .

Knaus died in Giessen in February 1813, 41 years old, before a judgment was passed on him.

literature

• Friedrich Ludwig Adolph Grolman, Actual history of the Vogelsberg and Wetterau robber gangs and several criminals associated with them. In addition to personal description of many thieves and robbers scattered throughout the German dialect; With a copper plaque, which shows the faithful portraits of 16 main criminals. Giessen 1813.
• CPT Schwencken, reports in the form of files from the crooks and vagabonds, as well as from individual professional thieves in the countries between the Rhine and the Elbe, with a detailed description of their person. From a Kurhessischen Criminal = officials, Cassel 1822.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ CPT Schwencken, records of the crooks = and vagabonds = rabble, as well as of individual professional thieves, in the countries between the Rhine and the Elbe, together with a precise description of their person. From a Kurhessischer Criminal = officials, Cassel 1822, p. 563.
2. ↑ Biography with Friedrich Ludwig Adolph Grolman, history of the Vogelsberg and Wetterau robber gangs and several criminals associated with them. In addition to personal description of many thieves and robbers scattered throughout the German dialect; With a copper plaque, which shows the faithful portraits of 16 main criminals. Giessen 1813, p. 381 ff.
3. ↑ CPT Schwencken, News from the crooks = and vagabonds = rabble, p. 415 f.
4. ↑ Friedrich LA Grolman, History of Acts, p. 383.
5. ↑ Friedrich LA Grolman, Acts-like history, p. 388 f.
6. ↑ CPT Schwencken, News from the crooks = and vagabonds = rabble in files, p. 563.