Theodor Harster

Karl Theodor Harster (born April 13, 1876 in Speyer , † November 1, 1914 in Wytschaete in Flanders ) was a German lawyer and police officer of the Bavarian and Württemberg state police.

Life

He was best known as a practitioner of the fingerprint method , about which he wrote some writings. In 1909 he helped set up the state identification service in the Kingdom of Bavaria ; the Württemberg government appointed him to the state service in April 1914. The Wuerttemberg Identification Service included, through a joint decree of the Imperial Ministries of Justice and the Interior of May 11, 1914, a special paragraph according to which “fingerprints are to be taken by all gypsies and people wandering in the gypsy manner regardless of criminal responsibility ”.

Harster was also present at the German " Gypsy Conference " in Munich in 1911 , where he presented the fingerprint process.

At the beginning of the First World War, Harster volunteered for the Imperial Armed Forces ( First Lieutenant of the Landwehr / Company Leader in the 17th Bavarian Reserve Inf. -Reg. ). It fell in the early stages of the war, on November 1, 1914 near Wijtschate (Wytschaete) in Flanders , Belgium ( First Battle of Flanders or Battle of Ypres ). His grave is in the Langemark military cemetery .

Theodor Harster was the father of Wilhelm Harster .

Street naming

The Dr.-Harster-Straße in Kelheim was named after Theodor Harster. The risk of confusion with his son Wilhelm, who also has a doctorate, a convicted war criminal, was not a problem for the city administration for a long time. In 2015 there were repeated public discussions as to whether the street should be renamed or not. At the end of April 2015, the Kelheim city council decided to keep the name of the street. However, an additional sign should be attached to highlight Theodor Harster's merits in order to avoid confusion. The city council expressly distanced itself from Wilhelm Harster's crimes.

Fonts

The criminal law of the free imperial city Speier in theory and practice. Investigations into German state and legal history . Wroclaw 1900;
with Josef Cassimir: Commentary on the Bavarian Water Act of March 23, 1907 . Munich 1908
The identification service of the Kgl Police Directorate Munich , AK 40 (1911)
The general introduction of the fingerprint procedure in the Kingdom of Bavaria , AK 43 (1911)
Three and a half years of fingerprint procedures in Bavaria , AK 51 (1913)
The detection service of the Munich Police Department in the new home , AK 58 (1914)

literature

Rainer Hehemann: The "Fight against the Gypsy Fault" in Wilhelminian Germany and in the Weimar Republic, 1871-1933 , Frankfurt am Main 1987.
Manfred Teufel: The (Royal) Württemberg State Police Office 1914–1923 . In: Die Kriminalpolizei September 2004, pp. 6–22.

Web links

kriminalpolizei.de (PDF; 349 kB)

References and comments

^ Speyer registry office : birth register . No. 190/1876.

↑ "Fallen when Wytschaete was first stormed" in autumn 1914, writes Klaiber: The Reich Criminal Police. (Lecture at the Association of Detective Officers in Stuttgart in June 1920) Berlin 1920. p. 5. According to: Teufel 2004, p. 6–22. According to the First Battle of Flanders , that would be around October 31, 1914.

↑ 17. Bavarian Reserve Inf.-Reg. : Name list of all officers who are listed in the Kr.R. list. No. 93, Augsburg October 21, 1919.

↑ Teufel 2004, pp. 6–22.

↑ Hehemann 1987, p. 344.

^ Theodor Harster in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved January 12, 2015.

^ Bitter truth about a street , in: Kreisanzeiger Wochenblatt, April 1, 2015

↑ Elfriede Bachmeier-Fausten: Kelheim: Name Dr.-Harster-Straße remains. The city council decides unanimously. The committee distances itself from Theodor Harster's son, a war criminal. In: www.mittelbayerische.de. April 28, 2015, accessed April 28, 2015 .

personal data
SURNAME	Harster, Theodore
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Harster, Karl Theodor (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH	April 13, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH	Speyer
DATE OF DEATH	November 1, 1914
Place of death	Wytschaete , Flanders

[1] Speyer registry office : birth register . No. 190/1876.

[2] "Fallen when Wytschaete was first stormed" in autumn 1914, writes Klaiber: The Reich Criminal Police. (Lecture at the Association of Detective Officers in Stuttgart in June 1920) Berlin 1920. p. 5. According to: Teufel 2004, p. 6–22. According to the First Battle of Flanders , that would be around October 31, 1914.

[3] 17. Bavarian Reserve Inf.-Reg. : Name list of all officers who are listed in the Kr.R. list. No. 93, Augsburg October 21, 1919.

[4] Teufel 2004, pp. 6–22.

[5] Hehemann 1987, p. 344.

[6] Theodor Harster in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved January 12, 2015.

[7] Bitter truth about a street , in: Kreisanzeiger Wochenblatt, April 1, 2015

[8] Elfriede Bachmeier-Fausten: Kelheim: Name Dr.-Harster-Straße remains. The city council decides unanimously. The committee distances itself from Theodor Harster's son, a war criminal. In: www.mittelbayerische.de. April 28, 2015, accessed April 28, 2015 .