Theo Berger

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Theo Maximilian Berger (born January 25, 1941 in Ludwigsmoos ; † November 20, 2003 in Straubing , Bavaria ) was a German violent criminal who was also known as "Beautiful Theo", " Al Capone vom Donaumoos" or " Escape King" in Bavaria was known.

Berger spent 39 years in prison or in prison , making him one of the longest imprisoned people in German judicial history.

Life

Adolescent years

Theo Berger was born in 1941 as the second son of a poor farming family in Ludwigsmoos in the Donaumoos . He had a total of eight brothers. Berger characterized his youth in that he grew up practically without any education from his parents. At best, the father had given him never to put up with anything and always confidently insist on his own point of view. As an adolescent, he offended village authorities. Teachers and pastors felt the boy's reluctance to set rules (he refused to go to church), which prompted attempts at education. When the young Berger physically defended himself against the pastor and later also the teacher, that earned him an ambiguous reputation. Some almost admired him, others already prophesied the future "convict". Berger described himself as a rather daydreaming type, with the farm work and the usual village diversions such as football, shooting club, etc. he could do little or nothing. However, it has always been very popular with girls and women, and so Berger established intimate relationships with the opposite sex early on. He did not learn a trade; the planned training as a baker with a relative did not take place. However, during the West German economic miracle , Berger found work without any problems even as an unskilled worker and earned quite well for a while. B. as a driver. This was reflected in the purchase of a heavy motorcycle (500) for which he did not even have a license. In his eventful and “wild” youth he had many girlfriends and changed jobs a few times, he was in hospital several times, for example after two serious motorcycle accidents and a fight. Relations with the police were already tense; He liked to provoke officials even when they were not on duty. At the age of 19 he became the father of an illegitimate daughter.

The break in life

After various minor offenses since 1956 (damage to property, minor traffic offenses, fights), initially with warnings and leisure arrest, Theo Berger was arrested shortly after his 20th birthday and by the Augsburg Regional Court in April 1961 for fighting, driving without a license and the alleged deliberate behavior Driving around a scooter driver with the car sentenced to a relatively harsh youth penalty of three years even by the standards of the time . In addition, his driving license was withdrawn for life (this measure was reduced to a 5-year ban for re-issuance a few months later. Berger was never to get his driver's license back. During the time he was at large he therefore played hide-and-seek with the police , resorted to chauffeurs or used cars not under police surveillance). During the first prison sentence, Berger got to know several Bavarian prisons. The punishment was intended to break the will of the juvenile delinquent, but it was the prelude to a criminal career. In the spring of 1961 he had become the father of the second illegitimate daughter from another relationship. After his release at the end of March 1963, Berger was arrested just four months later while on probation for car theft and theft.

Relapses

In October 1965 he was released from Kaisheim prison. Berger's decision to start over and lead a life free from punishment soon evaporated due to the constant shortage of money due to payment obligations for debts and alimony as well as ongoing garnishment of wages . In May 1966 he and his younger brother Alfons committed the first of five bank robberies during that year in Ludwigsmoos - still armed with toy guns. When Theo Berger found himself in the custody of the Schrobenhausen police in the autumn of 1966 after a family dispute without consequences, he escaped with handcuffs after jumping out of the window, an episode which, in his own estimation, contributed a lot to his later reputation as the so-called "escape king". During the intense criminal phase of 1966/67, Berger, as a very skilful and ruthless motorist, was able to escape the police, which at the time was still relatively poorly equipped and little prepared for this type of crime, even if only just barely. At the beginning of 1967, according to Berger's own assessment, the risk was no longer in proportion to the success. An attack in Berg im Gau , which he committed alone, failed: the bankers and married couple resisted. Berger had to leave the crime scene without having achieved anything. He wrote in his memoirs: “It was now clear to me that I am simply not able to shoot a person down so easily. In this situation, and with the crimes I'd already committed, I should have shot them both to achieve my goal. I had to ponder my failure now. I wasn't who I thought I was. I was able to practically end my career as a criminal. ”Shortly thereafter, Berger was arrested in Munich. When the so-called "Berger gang" was stopped by the police in February 1967 - seven other men were arrested in addition to Berger - they were responsible for seven robberies in three federal states (besides Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse), 40 car thefts, 25 thefts from cars, one car theft, two cases of fraud and a series of machine break-ins. In addition to Alfons, two other Bergers brothers had occasionally been involved in crimes. In March 1968 Theo Berger received a 15-year prison sentence with subsequent preventive detention . He was imprisoned in Straubing prison, the largest institution in Bavaria, which was considered to be particularly escape-proof. The most dangerous violent criminals in Bavaria with the longest prison sentences were concentrated there. In December 1968, Berger and a friend managed to escape from the Munich deportation prison on Leonrodstrasse. Another bank robbery soon followed, which he carried out alone.

"Fame" and anger

It is rumored that Theo Berger called the police at the height of his criminal career and gave them the address of the dealership where he was about to steal a car, and stated at which intersection he would be waiting for her. Berger had many admirers and sympathizers among the population. During the manhunt in 1968/69, many wanted posters were torn down. Theo Berger often found refuge with relatives and friends in his native Donaumoos. Some of his victims called Berger a gentleman gangster. In his autobiography, he himself rejected the tabloid labeling as “gang boss” or “Al Capone vom Donaumoos” ; there was actually no such thing as a “Berger gang”, his accomplices, friends and brothers, could have participated as they wanted or just left it alone. Berger made no secret of his bitterness and hatred of the police and the judiciary. Although he took credit for having never killed a person during his raids, not much was missing in March 1969. On the run again, he was caught by a police patrol in the snow-covered Donaumoos not far from his parents' house. Berger shot twice with a Colt at a police chief who fell injured to the ground. The shots at the policeman caused a certain change in public mood to the disadvantage of Berger. In mid-April 1969 he was arrested again after a former inmate had given the police a hint about Berger's route from Munich to Donaumoos.

A life behind bars

In autumn 1969, Berger was sentenced by the Munich I jury court for attempted murder by the police to two times 15 plus 12 years with subsequent preventive detention and came back to Straubing. In 1970 the prison sentence was abolished due to the reform of the criminal law and is now referred to as a prison sentence . In 1973 an attempt to escape from Straubing failed after a few minutes. He injured his heel bone while jumping off the prison wall. Permanent damage remained. Soon he was plagued by pain and walking difficulties. For years, Berger struggled in vain to obtain treatment or an operation outside the institution from the judicial authorities. While in prison he began training as an electrician. Berger spent several years of his imprisonment in solitary confinement ; the secretion led to his gradual severe language disorders.

Between 1980 and 1989 Berger wrote a two-part life report entitled “Outbreak”. This should also be used to treat his speech disorders. He described the shots at the police officers as follows: “The cops have followed me for years with an almost uncanny hatred. And now one of them was lying there in the snow. ”In the memories there is hardly any mention of remorse, Berger saw himself from the start as a victim of an unjust judicial system. All his thoughts and endeavors were directed towards ever renewed attempts to escape. The escapes no. 3 and 4 in the case of external work and an execution in 1980 and 1983 were, however, already ended after three weeks and one week respectively.

In June 1981 Berger's brother Alfons was shot by the police in Ludwigsmoos. Together with his younger brother Peter, he is said to have carried out an attack on two police officers with a car bomb in Weissenburg in revenge for the imprisonment of Theo Berger . The officers survived the attack unharmed. Peter Berger received a seven-year prison sentence.

Because of his leukemia illness , Theo Berger's sentence was suspended in 1985. Back in freedom, he took part in Oliver Herbrich's documentary " Der Al Capone vom Donaumoos ". However, he could not see the film launch in the cinema himself; he had been back in custody since March 1986. A manhunt was initiated after bank employees and an accomplice observed him scouting a bank. Berger's stolen Mercedes was seen and followed by police officers in Ismaning. After a chase, the car got stuck in a field near Aschheim. Theo Berger and his accomplice Otto H. immediately shot at the police officers. The two fled on foot, Otto H. hid in a farm. Berger pretended to be a policeman across from the farmer's wife and ran through the house to an open field. Berger was later caught by a police dog near the Aschheim drive-in cinema. His accomplice was hiding in a shed on the farm and was also tracked down by the police dog. By the time he was arrested, Berger had carried out several bank robberies again. Because of the shooting at the police officers and the bank robberies, Berger received a further 12 years imprisonment plus 10 years preventive detention.

Of the 62 years of his life, Berger spent a total of more than 39 years behind bars. He would not have been released until 2036 and had a total sentence of around 137 years. However, shortly before his suicide, for humanitarian reasons, one day “execution” per week was planned, which Berger could have spent with his daughter's family. Before that could happen, Berger was found hanged on November 21, 2003 in his cell in the Straubing correctional facility.

Play Theo Berger - Fragments

His life is also shown in the play "Theo Berger - Fragments". Winfried Frey wrote the play . The piece shows in fragments Theo Berger's relationship to family, environment, women - and his life in prison. The play was played in 2006 in the city theater Neuburg an der Donau , very close to his place of birth and sphere of activity. Critical voices turned against the idea of ​​glorifying a criminal as a stage hero. The play was performed again in 2012 in the Stadttheater Neuburg.

Effect of a repressive criminal law

In the public discussion about tightening youth criminal law, Berger's story served as an example of how a criminal career can only be manifested through severe punishment. Through the introduction of a differentiated youth criminal law , z. B. the perpetrator-victim compensation , i.e. attempts to repair the damage, social work, penalties in the sense of reparation to society as well as measures such as arrest on probation, deprivation of leisure time and the like, the recidivism rate of the convicted could be significantly improved.

literature

Web link

Individual evidence

  1. a b Last escape from life on vabanque.twoday.net
  2. Servus Theo, all the best . In: Der Spiegel . No. 41 , 1989 ( online ).
  3. Extra sheet - Theo Berger on theo-berger-bruchstuecke.de
  4. ^ "Der Al Capone vom Donaumoos" on filmportal.de (accessed on January 27, 2020).
  5. a b Compensation for pain and suffering for a serious criminal on merkur-online.de
  6. The Al Capone from Donaumoos . (PDF; 3.0 MB) Press release film documentation. Retrieved June 7, 2020 .
  7. ^ Theo Berger - Fragments ( Memento of December 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on werner-rom.de
  8. Theo Berger comes back to augsburger-allgemeine.de in 2012