Strangler from the Lichtenmoor

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The Wolfstein in the Schotenheide near Ahlden (Aller). A wolf shot at this point is referred to as a "strangler from the Lichtenmoor".

As strangler from Lichtenmoor an initially unknown is predator referred to the 1948 in Lower Saxony numerous domestic and wild animals around the Lichtenmoor northeast of Nienburg / Weser to have cracked. The search for the strangler and speculation about which animal it might be were accompanied by a rapidly growing, meanwhile Germany-wide media interest and led to large-scale but unsuccessful driven hunts. A wolf shot by a hunter in August 1948 revived the story, which at the time was hardly noticed any more.

Reports on the number of prey animals killed , the killing wounds and other evidence make it clear that the vast majority of cases involved poaching and illegal slaughter, which was not uncommon in the post-war period due to the shortage of meat and food rationing . It is noticeable that the cases that were assigned to the strangler declined sharply after the currency reform on June 21, 1948 and the associated relaxation on the food market.

First reports

The hunting ground that was assigned to the "strangler" was an area of ​​around 30 square kilometers in the districts of Neustadt , Fallingbostel and Nienburg with the center in the barely populated Lichtenmoor . In the winter of 1947/48 numerous wild animals were killed there and a "big, gray dog" was spotted, which was later associated with the wolf. When the grazing animals were driven outside in the spring, the first sheep and cattle fell victim to the unknown hunter. The same, unusual pattern of injuries was noticeable in several of the cattle killed: the right hind leg was torn open, causing the respective animal to bleed to death. The edges of the wound were unusually smooth, more like being cut with a knife than being torn open by the prey of predators. Some sheep had even been completely knocked out of their fur in the pasture, which clearly indicated human hands.

Climax and hysteria

In May 1948 a broader public began to become aware of the increasing losses among herd animals. There were unsuccessful driven hunts , for which German hunters disarmed in 1945 were equipped with rifles by the British military administration. On June 13th, the largest driven hunt that has ever taken place in Lower Saxony took place, just as unsuccessfully . 1500 drivers and 70 hunters, including members of the British military, were involved. At first it was assumed that poaching dogs were guilty, but the theory that it was a wolf was soon discussed; more exotic theories about lions, pumas and even a werewolf were also put forward. Fear developed in the rural population in many places, which was intensified by reports in the media about the "Strangler vom Lichtenmoor". However, due to a significant decrease in the number of cunning herd animals in July and August, the rumors and reports about the "strangler" soon waned.

A wolf is supposed to be the strangler

Inscription of the wolf stone in the Schotenheide near Ahlden (Aller) The symbol under the inscription is supposed to represent a wolf tang .

On August 27, when the number of animal losses attributed to the "strangler" had already fallen sharply, the 61-year-old farmer Hermann Gaatz from Eilte shot a wolf from a high seat in the Schotenheide, which was stalking some deer. The following day he found the animal, a six year old male who was 1.70 meters in length, 85 centimeters at the shoulder and weighing 95 pounds.

Gaatz wanted to have the dead wolf prepared and donate it to the State Museum. However, two strangers posed as official agents and took the carcass to an unknown destination. Two days later he appeared in the trunk of a reporter's car in the parking lot of the Anzeiger high-rise in Hanover. In the hot summer weather, the carcass had deteriorated to such an extent that it could no longer be dissected. In the National Museum Hannover a reconstruction of the wolf head is issued, which was made using a plaster cast. At the point where the wolf was killed, the Lower Saxony Hunting Association had a “Wolfstein” erected in memory.

Today's rating

Today, a large proportion of domestic and wild animal killings are blamed on people who tried to circumvent food management by British and German authorities. This was possible because the animals officially torn from the "strangler" were not allowed to be processed into food and were therefore not recorded by the corresponding controls. This opened up the possibility of illegally exploiting the meat and selling it on the black market. This suspicion is supported not only by the cuts on the animals found, but also by the number of animals that were killed, which is incomprehensible for a single wolf: 58 cattle, 65 according to other sources, the statistics show for the summer of 1948 alone. The highest numbers were in May and June. There were also around a hundred "cracked" sheep and numerous wild animals. Shortly after the currency reform on June 21, 1948 and with it the beginning of an increasingly functioning market economy, the number of animals killed fell rapidly.

Literary processing

Der Würger vom Lichtenmoor is a home book by Hans Stuhlmacher from 1949, which reports on the events. Today the book is mainly read in Lower Saxony schools as a home-oriented non-fiction book. The editor of the book was the Flecken Ahlden .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frank G. Wörner: The Strangler vom Lichtenmoor - some notes on the heather wolves of the last two centuries
  2. ↑ Friends of Free-Living Wolves: The Strangler from Lichtenmoor
  3. ^ Workshop: The Strangler from the Lichtenmoor