54 hours that gripped West Germany in fear | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support
please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show
notes for this episode on your app or on our website at 7 45 on the morning of tuesday august
16 1988 23 year old andrea blacker was preparing to start her day in the west german town of gladbach she worked as a
customer service representative at a branch of the deutsche bank which was housed in a rectangular
two-story brian brick building near the tion center glatbeck sat in the western state of north rhine
westphalia and had become a popular coal mining center in the previous century by the mid-1960s that industry was on
the decline and that the town had been battling high unemployment levels ever since as she approached the bank
andrea greeted a 34 year old colleague who worked as a teller and was also making his way towards the
building just as the two of them reached the bank's glass doors two masked men appeared out of nowhere
both were carrying revolvers the men forced both bank employees into the building at gunpoint
and threatened to shoot them inside the bank was quiet and empty it hadn't opened yet and there was no
one else around the gunman made it clear that this was an armed robbery and it demanded a large sum of money
having been trained to handle this exact situation the two clerks provided them with 120
000 german marks the holdup was going perfectly for the robbers they had their money
and the early hour made it likely that they'd escaped quickly and without detection but outside
a witness had spotted the crime in progress and called the police by am officers had been dispatched to
the scene and were lying in wait as the two offenders made their way to the bank's
front doors with their stolen loot they spotted the police car parked nearby hastily the two men retreated back
inside they needed a new plan to secure their exit without getting arrested they decided to take the two bank
employees [Music] hostage [Music] robbing a bank had been an impromptu plan for the two men
who were now hunkered down inside the deutsche bank the leader of the pair was a notorious
local criminal named hans jurgen rosner he'd had his first brush with the law at
the age of 14 and had a reputation for violent behavior and a domineering personality
after being convicted of robbery and assault he'd spent 11 years in prison during his incarceration
he stabbed a guard in the neck and had a couple more years added to his sentence
eventually he was released on parole but had disappeared after going on the run local law enforcement had been
keeping an eye out for him ever since to no avail rosner was now 31 years old with a
scruffy beard and messy brown hair that was longer in the back but receding at the front
a yellow tank top exposed his heavily tattooed arms and he wore baggy blue jeans he'd spent
the previous night drinking with his accomplice 32 year old adita dagovsky the two men had met at school
and were lifelong friends degovsky had a quieter more nervous personality but a similarly substantial rap shape
like rosner he had receding brown hair a beard and numerous tattoos though his were concealed by a long-sleeved
checked shirt at six that morning at the end of their all-night drinking session
the two friends had suddenly decided to try their luck at robbing a bank they'd made their way
into town on a moped and waited until they spotted the two deutsche bank employees
then they struck now caught off guard by the arrival of police rosner and dagovsky frantically
concocted a back-up plan they would let officers know they were holding people captive
and to negotiate a deal in exchange for their freedom the men made contact with the police via
the bank's telephone and informed them that they had guns and two hostages their victims would only be freed if
police supplied a bmw getaway car and an additional 300 000 to german marks in small denominations prove
that they had weapons and should be considered dangerous they fired their revolver through the
bank's windows shattering the glass to prevent officers storming the building and thwarting their plan
rosner and dagovsky forced their two hostages into the bank's bulletproof cash office
then followed them in the police responded by bringing in a psychologist to call the bank
and try to talk the men into revealing their identities rosner and dagovsky called on to the
ploy and refused to speak to the police any further instead they demanded to speak to the
bank's director and ordered that he organised the car and ran some money himself
despite the robbers refusal to name themselves police were able to id hans jurgen
rosner and deduced correctly that his accomplice was his longtime friend dieter degovsky mindful
that both men were known for being volatile and dangerous they decided their best course of action
was to go along with their demands it took them a while to organize the cash before handing it over police treated
the banknotes with a solution that would leave traces on whoever handled it that way they'd have evidence pointing
to the culprits when they managed to arrest them the process was a lengthy one adding to
the high stress of the urgent situation while police scrambled to get the funds ready the men continued to call the
bank's director demanding to know why it hadn't arrived yet tensions further increased when police
realised they couldn't source at bmw as the robbers getaway car the only vehicles available
were audis rosner and digovsky grew increasingly anxious as they waited and the police became nervous that they
might lash out against their hostages time continued to pass as law enforcement struggled to meet the
robbers demands by 2 pm the hostages had been holed up inside the bank with their captors
for more than six hours by now the press had caught wind of the story word had filtered out that there was an
ongoing standoff between two armed robbers and the police at the gladbach deutsche bank the journalists
didn't know the identity of the criminals and scrambled desperately for a scoop it was quickly discovered that the
police hadn't blocked the bank's phone number so anyone could dial in a journalist
phoned and his call was met by a male voice when the journalist asked who he was
speaking to the man on the other end of the line replied the bank robber when asked if they
wanted anything other than the money in the car the robber explained that they also
wanted two sets of handcuffs realizing that this likely meant the two men had no intention of freeing the bank
clerks the journalist asked what do you need handcuffs for that means you are not planning to let
the hostages go as soon as the demands are fulfilled the robber replied not initially
we want to take them with us when asked where they planned to go the robber responded sarcastically
i'm not going to tell you the journalist warned that they'd be followed wherever they went
the robber replied conversation is over then abruptly hung up a radio station was also able to get
through to the bank's phone and conducted an impromptu on-air interview with the robbers
one of them stated from here on i only want to speak through the media finally the money was ready it had been
wrapped up in three plastic bundles a police officer prepared to deliver it he stripped off his clothes and wore
nothing but swimming shorts to prove he was unarmed carrying only the bundle of cash he
moved towards the bank he placed the ransom money by the front entrance the robbers forced the mail hostage to
collect the parcel wearing a sling around his neck the hostage lay sprawled on the floor of the
bank's entrance and yanked the glass door open with one hand one by one he picked up the parcels of
money and threw them to his captors then he closed the door and crawled back inside multiple police officers
continued to monitor the situation as journalists and television news crews looked on
the hours continued to pass and there was still no sign of the getaway car [Music]
then at 8pm a white four-door audi 100 sedan pulled up outside the bank when it wasn't parked in the exact
way that the robbers had requested rosner demanded that it be moved closer to the building
then he digovsky and the two bank employees emerged from the bank and filed into the
car the intensity of the situation had captured the nation cameraman filmed every moment as the
police officers looked on by now officers from one of the state's tactical police units
known as the sc car had arrived at the scene with rosner behind the wheel the car
pulled away at 9 45 pm and drove off into the dark night the police officers had promised they
wouldn't follow but they immediately gave chase unbeknown to the bank robbers a gps
tracking unit had been installed on the audi so sa car officers were able to monitor their movements
plan was to follow inconspicuously hoping that the perpetrators would release their two hostages along the way
once they were freed the police officers could run down the felons more safely they weren't the only ones in hot
pursuit members of the press received tip-offs from their contacts in the police force
and also began chasing after the getaway car in earnest they were always a step or so behind
often arriving at a location where the car had last been seen just after it departed
wolfgang schoening the deutsche bank's director was worried ever since the robbers had
decided they no longer wanted to negotiate with police he had been acting as their mediator and
had spoken to rosner on the phone numerous times after receiving the ransom money
rosner had assured wolfgang they would be releasing his two employees as soon as it was safe to do so but now
wolfgang feared that as long as the robbers were being followed they would refuse to let
the hostages go wolfgang begged the police to give up their chase but they refused assuring him they were
following from a safe distance and there was no way that their targets had any idea
then at one stage the bank robbers pulled into a service station the police were close behind to their
surprise rosner walked straight up to an officer and stole his gun now he and his accomplice had a
total of three firearms after leaving the bank rosner and dagovsky weren't sure where to turn
they'd made a beeline for the autobahn a highway system that spanned across the entire country
but they could see that they were being followed by police and the media for a while they drove around aimlessly
with no destination in mind suddenly rosner was struck with an idea he would stop by the home of his
girlfriend 34 year old marianne lerblick and pick her up so she could accompany them
after getting in the car lerblick suggested that they go to bremen a city 238 kilometers northeast of
glatbeck where some of her relatives lived it was a significant journey that could
take up to three hours to complete rosner and d'agowski agreed and got back on the autobahn as they drove
they turned on the car radio stations were providing news updates about their escape
and police efforts to track them after a while the group stopped at another service station so that everyone
could get some food as rosner dargovski and ellerblick sat at one table eating the two hostages sat side by side at
another undercover officers watched from the very next table one at a time rosner and dygovsky got up
and went to the bathroom unwilling to provoke the armed men the police remained seated and made no attempt to follow
them eventually the group got up piled back into the wide audi and drove off once again
[Music] the police continued to follow the bank robbers as they made their way towards
bremen but it was members of the media who managed to stay right on their tail after making several stops along the way
the robbers and their hostages arrived at their destination on the morning of wednesday august 17.
still armed rosner and his girlfriend marion lerblick went shopping while dagovsky stayed with
the hostages rosner purchased a suit and unsuccessfully tried to hire a car in an attempt to switch to a vehicle
that law enforcement wouldn't recognize back at the car degoski had consumed a mix of alcohol and
pills and the combination caused him to doze off 23 year old hostage andrea blecker
noticed that he'd left his gun on a partition between the seats she and her colleague
contemplated snatching the weapon while dagovsky slept but were terrified of getting caught
they decided not to risk it rosner returned to the car after an hour and escorted andrea to a nearby green
grocer he instructed her to call the police from the store's phone and relay a message on his behalf
the press made no secret of the fact that they were following their every move a crowd of journalists photographers and
camera crews swarmed around the green grocer as andrea picked up the phone and did as she was told
speaking to a police officer she complained about law enforcement following them
saying that their unrelenting pursuit of the group was the reason she and her colleague were still being held
hostage andrea added that they both trusted their abductors more than law enforcement and warned
that if either of them were killed the police would be to blame rosner then snatched the phone from
andrea and demanded to speak with the task force's top brass the relevant officers weren't present at
the time and rosner's request was not met just as rosner was attempting to reach
out to them again he spotted a nearby car that he suspected held undercover officers he became enraged
and impulsively grabbed one of the green grocers customers taking them prisoner as well
he and dagovsky then marched their hostages across the road to a nearby bus stop
news crews filmed them and their movements were broadcast alive to viewers all over the country police remained
reluctant to intervene worried that if they attempted to make an arrest innocent people could end up
being killed now had it been almost 36 hours since rosner and degovsky had set out to rob a
bank the two men were sustaining themselves with amphetamines and pills they also drank beer constantly
they were growing increasingly desperate to escape and felt a faster getaway car was their only
chance to elude those pursuing them the two men decided they needed a bigger bargaining chip in
order to negotiate with the authorities idling at the bus stop across the road from the greengrocers
was a red public transit bus sitting inside was the driver and 25 passengers ranging from children to the
elderly at approximately 7 pm rosner and degovsky climbed aboard with the two bank hostages
and pointed their firearms at the passengers announcing that they were hijacking the bus
the people on board were confused as to what exactly was going on passenger stephanie hinspeter thought
that they must have been filming a crime show or a program where pranks were played on unsuspecting members of the
public rosner and dygovsky had ordered the bank hostages to sit in a pair of seats
behind them sat eighteen-year-old enis voitla and her friend silke bischoff enis was confused like stephanie
she wondered if the entire thing was part of a low-budget movie but when she took a closer look at the
hostages sitting in front of her she saw how distraught they looked after that she decided to stay quiet and
to lie low for her own protection officers from bremen's se car unit were still reluctant to directly intervene
they'd been ordered to avoid any actions that could place the hostages in danger
according to one responding officer that pretty much meant that we weren't able to do anything at all
in a bizarre twist of fate the unit had wanted to practice responding to a hostage situation on a bus
several weeks earlier unfortunately the drill hadn't gone ahead due to being too expensive to coordinate
while the police stood back and kept a close eye on things the many journalists who were present
descended on the bus stop for them the chance to cover a crime in real time with no interference from police was an
incredible once in a lifetime opportunity tagovsky stayed on the bus but rosner disembarked
seeming to relish the media attention journalists thrust microphones and cameras at his face
the startling update was broadcast to viewers at home camera crews and photographers boarded
the bus to get close-up angles of the situation on board passengers watched on as the
media documented their ordeal but made no attempt to assist them dagovsky posed for the cameras with a
smirk on his face as he casually held his pistol in one hand rosener's girlfriend marion lerblick was
carrying the third firearm in their frenzy to be the first to break the story some journalists mistakenly claimed that
a police officer was among the now 28 hostages bremen's mayor claus videmeister had
arrived at the increasingly chaotic scene and appeared on camera he criticized the
media's coverage of the dangerous situation stating i think you've crossed the line
as soon as his interview concluded reporters returned to their attention to the bank robbers
rosner gave an impromptu press conference just outside the bus he held a pistol in his right hand as he
spoke to reporters when asked why he had decided to rob the bank in the first place
he simply replied i don't have any morals there is no other work for me i want to
live my life his face was blank as he said my body is very dangerous this will be
the end i already sat 13 years in prison i don't give a [ __ ] for my whole life
then he mimed suicide by placing the nozzle of the gun in his mouth about 15 minutes after the bus was
hijacked some of the passengers had had enough they weren't sure what was happening but
the presence of the media gave the situation a surreal feel there was little sense of fear even
though they'd been threatened with guns four elderly passengers and one child disembarked the vehicle with one woman
pausing to ask some journalists if she was allowed to do so they gave her permission and she
continued on her way neither rosner nor digoski tried to stop any of them from leaving one of the elderly passengers
later told the press i simply stood up no one stopped me live footage of the ongoing crisis was
streamed throughout evening news programs the entire country was captivated a press photographer named peter meyer
took on the role of messenger acting as a go-between between the bank robbers and the police
rosner was now asking for a faster car free from tracking devices another three hundred thousand to four
hundred thousand marks an extra set of handcuffs and a police officer whose hands were bound
in exchange for these things he and dagovsky would release all of the hostages on the bus
if their demands were not met rosner said they would blow up the bus the photographer shared these demands
with the press before passing them on to police officers watched from a safe distance
they were reluctant to provide one of their own as a hostage given the perpetrators obvious dislike
of law enforcement by this time snipers had been dispatched to the scene and were hiding nearby
with a perfect view of the bus stop they were just waiting for the right moment to strike
and the permission to do so it was never granted although the bank robbers were often in
their sights while the hostages remained safely on the bus a local law prevented
so-called rescue shooting rosner continued chatting with the media who occasionally lit
cigarettes for him he appeared relaxed and seemed to enjoy his sudden celebrity status
at one stage he left his pistol lying across his lap as he spoke to reporters but eventually
he got tired of relaying his demands via a messenger and demanded that the police speak to
him directly peter meyer begged some officers to do so but they refused instead they gave him a
radio that rosner could use to speak to them rosner tried to use the radio but it
didn't work he became infuriated and his rage only increased when he spotted what he thought was a
police officer in the window of a nearby building rosner stormed onto the bus and grabbed
one of the hostages eighteen-year-old silke bischoff silke was a court stenographer and a
trainee at a law firm situated in bremen she'd finished work an hour early that day
but had waited for her friend and colleague enos voitla to finish so they could catch the bus home together
rosner pulled silke off the bus then dragged her in front of the police and media
as he pressed his gun to her head and shouted you [ __ ] [ __ ] off or it is going
to fire up in here rosner then shot in the direction of the window and added this is the last warning the next one is
going to fly out of the bus the commotion drew more onlookers to the scene by now daylight was fading and it was
growing dark rosner continued trying to use the police radio but it had very poor reception the
demands he barked into it were going ignored frustrated by the lack of response from police
rosner grabbed another hostage this time he chose an eight-year-old girl named tatiana de
georgie who had been riding the bus with her fifteen-year-old brother emmanuella their family was italian and
had migrated to western germany in the hopes of a better more prosperous life rosner used tatiana as a protective
shield holding the gun to her head as he screamed what is going on now you [ __ ]
you cowardly pigs the only other sound aside from his voice was the click of cameras as
photographers snapped shots of the disturbing scene news crews captured tatiana standing
there dressed in a dark coloured skirt a striped long sleeve top and a white headband in her long dark
hair she looked frightened as she clutched a red bag to her chest rosner handed the police radio to peter
meyer and gave him a new message to pass on he wanted a new radio and would drive
the bus around to the block until it was ready peter ran back to the police to update them
he explained that he'd tried to convince rosner to leave the hostages and use his car instead but he'd
declined at 10 pm rosner and dygovsky had finally had enough of waiting they took command of the bus and it
pulled away from the small shopping strip an investigator later reflected it was pretty much the turning point
with no peaceful ending to hope for peter meyer decided to get in his car and follow them
as he had a car phone he dialed a number some officers had given him that were supposed to connect him with the case's
operation controllers the call failed to go through peter wasn't sure whether the police had
made a mistake when giving him the number or if they deliberately provided the wrong one
the bus steered back on the autobahn and began heading north east tadiana de georgie sat on a lap of
her older brother emmanuella he did his best to keep her calm by whispering assurances
telling her don't be scared i'll protect you after travelling almost 40 kilometers
the bank robbers pulled over at a highway service station marion lerblick needed to use the
bathroom and rosner and degovsky decided it would be a good idea to also buy some food and
alcohol the journalists pursuing the vehicle quickly realised what was going on and stopped at the rest stop as well
while lerblick made her way to the bathroom dygovsky disembarked the bus for the first time
since he and his accomplice had commandeered it to protect himself he took hostage silke
bischoff with him holding a gun to her throat if silke feared for her life she refused
to show it she remained stoic as reporters gathered around her and digovsky and pointed microphones at her armed
captor while peppering him with questions when one journalist asked if he was really willing to kill people
degovsky simply replied yes silke was interviewed as well when a reporter asked how she felt she
responded actually pretty good considering the circumstances i don't really get it
she couldn't imagine that dagovsky would really shoot her despite his constant threats
they seemed empty and hollow he'd had his chance to harm others but had opted to avoid a bloodshed and
in some cases let hostages go a journalist even interviewed press photographer peter meyer
who had inadvertently become a part of the story since acting as the robbers messenger
peter was concerned that police were not handling the situation well first they'd refused to send an officer
in to communicate with the two culprits then they'd provided radios that didn't work well
and the phone number that failed to connect i really don't know what the police are
thinking peter worried aloud [Music] peter was also anxious about the two bank employees who'd been held captive
since the previous morning more than 38 hours earlier the length of their ordeal meant they
were battling stress and exhaustion he convinced rosner and dygovsky to release them in exchange for
him and a colleague taking their place both employees looked extremely relieved as they were freed from the bus
and permitted to leave andrea blecker later told the media that she'd kept hoping she would be let go
but had resigned herself to the possibility of being shot instead journalists weren't the only observers
who'd gathered at the scene some police officers had arrived too and were debating whether or not to finally
act hands jurgen rosner's girlfriend marianne lerblick had walked from the bus to a public
restroom she'd taken a female hostage with her and had made sure to carry her gun
two policemen thought they could overpower her they hadn't sought or received permission from their higher ups to
attempt an arrest but the opportunity seemed too good to resist another officer confirmed that they
should go ahead with the spontaneous plan telling his colleagues if it is possible
get her four officers stood outside the bathroom and waited when they saw the blick walk out
they pounced two policemen grappled with her as she started to scream one placed his
hand over her mouth to muffle her cries they successfully wrestled allerblick to
the ground and removed her weapon before slapping handcuffs on her wrists now they had one of the three wanted
individuals in their custody but some were baffled by their decision a reporter later asked the question
why would you catch the most harmless person out of the three while the other two idiots remained
armed in the bus with the hostages meanwhile rosner and dygovsky were waiting for leblic to return
minutes ticked by and still there was no sign of her a visit to the bathroom shouldn't have
taken this long then rosner heard what sounded like his girlfriend screaming it dawned on the two bank
robbers that she must have been apprehended rosner was furious he began ranting they shouldn't have done this these pigs
these goddamn pigs these bastards speaking through photographer peter meyer he issued an ultimatum
return his girlfriend in five minutes or he would shoot a hostage a fierce debate ensued between the
police officers present not wanting to risk the lives of the hostages one policeman
insisted that lerblig be released and sent back to her accomplices but the two who'd arrested her were
reluctant to send her back after some back and forth they eventually agreed that they couldn't
ignore rosener's demands time was running out and the risk was too great the key to lerplex handcuffs was fetched
into the police prepared to let her go just as one of the officers went to turn the key
it snapped and broke off inside the lock now broken the key was useless and the handcuffs couldn't be removed
the police would have to find another way to remove them but the five minutes rosner had allotted
were almost up peter meyer was quickly sent over to the bus to alert the bank robbers that
lerblick was on her way meanwhile the police scrambled to remove her handcarves back on the bus tensions were mounting
five minutes had passed since rosner demanded the return of his girlfriend peter meyer had shared the police
message that lerblick would be coming back soon but there was no sign of her in a rage
rosner turned to eight-year-old hostage tadiana de georgie grabbed her arm and dragged her away
from her brother he pointed his gun at her head emmanuella rushed over and tried to pull
his younger sister to safety data dygovsky turned around to face the two siblings
and aimed his gun then he pulled the trigger and fired three times [Music] all of the hostages began screaming
tatiana saw her brother crumple in front of her and fall to the floor he had been shot in the head
one minute later marion lerblick boarded the bus having been released by the police
officers having shot her hostage rosner and dygovsky were once again eager to hit
the road with a lublic returned to them there was nothing left to wait for the two men pulled emanuela de georgie's
body from the bus and dumped it at the highway rest stop before spinning away from the scene
with their hostages [Music] the journalists who were covering the unfolding story
found emmanuella's body he was clad in denim jeans and a white t-shirt soaked in blood he looked lifeless
but a check of his vital signs revealed he was still alive despite sustaining three shots to the
head two press photographers dragged his body to safety news crews filmed them doing so
broadcasting live footage of the wounded and unconscious 15 year old across the country
one of the photographers held up emmanuela's head so that the crew could get a better
angle of his face inside the service station an attendant phoned for an ambulance
it took 20 minutes to arrive during the wait emmanuela bled to death along with 24 other hostages his little
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order with door dash subject to change terms apply [Music] the bus careened along the autobahn as
the bank robbers headed south west rosner had decided they should leave northwest to germany and make
their way to the border with the netherlands he'd heard that police in the neighboring country were friendlier than
those in west germany and hoped that they might go easier on them some journalists were still
enthusiastically pursuing them following the bus in their cars and taxis driving in vehicles behind the media
were numerous police officers to their frustration they couldn't get close to the bus
due to the row of cars in front at one stage as many as four press vehicles were driving side by side along
the autobahn making it impossible for the police to overtake them despite the fact that law enforcement
was prevented from reaching the bus rosner and dygovsky made their hostages stand
throughout the journey just in case the police decided to shoot through the windows
at one point a taxi carrying a journalist veered slightly too close to the bus this enraged rosner he aimed his gun and
fired through a window shattering the glass when police officers attempted to overtake the reporters and hone in on
the bus they collided with a truck one policeman was killed and two others were injured in the
collision [Music] west the german police had caught on to the bank robbers plan to flee to the
netherlands and notified customs officials who closed the border while the bus would be permitted to
cross the journalists following it would not at about 2 30 a.m on thursday august 18 the bus
reached the border the two bank robbers crossed over into the netherlands and parked the bus in a
remote forest near the town of aldenzale dutch police officers were waiting for them
they quickly informed rosner and dygovsky that they would not enter into any negotiations with them as
long as they were holding children hostage a standoff ensued after almost three hours the two bank
robbers finally agreed to release the children at 5 15 a.m three children including tatiana de georgi and two
women were allowed to disembark the bus now the dutch police were willing to negotiate
rosner and degovsky wanted a new vehicle a high-powered bmw if they received that then they would free even more
hostages [Music] german police set about preparing a dark grey bmw 735i unbeknownst to the bank robbers
they arranged it so that the vehicle's engine could be stopped via a remote control in their possession
although customs officials had closed the border some journalists had been able to sneak
across via back roads and alternate routes hundreds of german and dutch reporters
had descended on the scene to report live and snap more photographs of the ongoing crisis
dutch police were keeping a close eye on the bus and had orders to apprehend if the perpetrators attempted violence
then rosner's gun accidentally went off and a lick was hid in the leg thinking he was purposely shooting
officers started firing back hostages flung themselves to the floor as bullets rained on the bus
rosner began screaming into the police radio he'd been given that was not against you had happened
accidentally eventually police ceased fire and the air fell silent the bus was now riddled with
bullets due to the damage and the fact they were getting a new getaway car rosner and dykovsky agreed to free
almost all of their 20 remaining hostages however they still wanted to hold on to
two of them as a precaution they selected eighteen-year-old friends silke bischoff
and enos voitla [Music] at 6 30 a.m the bmw was delivered the men forced silke and dinus inside
along with marion lerblick then they sped off once again initially they headed west towards
amsterdam the capital of the netherlands with the dutch investigators in hot pursuit
but then they suddenly turned and began making their way back towards west to germany
just after 7am they crossed over the german border they raced through the state of north
rhine westphalia until they reached the city of cologne cologne is the fourth most popular city
in germany due to heavy bombing during world war ii it required significant reconstruction
during the post-war years through to the late 20th century by the end of the 1980s the rebuilding
of cologne's most famous landmarks was almost complete when the bank robbers and their
hostages reached the city it was mid-morning on thursday august 18. once again they had been followed by an
entourage of journalists and police as soon as they parked their car in a popular shopping district at the city
center they were surrounded by reporters curious onlookers who'd heard reports that the country's most wanted felons
had arrived in town also congregated in the area to catch a glimpse the hostage situation and associated
media circus made for a strange sight on the busy city streets pedestrians were bustling about and
nearby a folk band was busking rosner got out of the car and walked to a nearby bakery where he purchased some
bread rolls then he headed back to the bmw and sat behind the wheel next to his girlfriend dozens and dozens
of journalists had swarmed around the bmw some leaning across its bonnet and pressing against its sides
the air inside the car grew stuffy as bodies crowded around it microphones and cameras were shoved
through the open windows the journalists surrounding the car inadvertently provided a protective
barrier and made it impossible for police to approach degovsky remained in the back of the
vehicle wedged between silke and dinus while chain smoking cigarettes and casually holding a pistol
in his right hand occasionally he used a pair of binoculars to peer out the rear
window keeping his eyes peeled for police when a reporter asked rosner what they
were doing in the city silke sarcastically quipped from the back seat visiting the cathedral of cologne
rosner explained that they had been thwarted at every turn by german police refusing to negotiate
marion lerblick expressed her regret that emmanuela de georgie had been killed but
blamed law enforcement for detaining her instead of the two men she insisted that they were looking
after silke and dinus adding we are not harming them and we don't want to harm them
[Music] rosnell was aware that he and dygovsky would be facing enormous ramifications
for murdering emmanuella he expressed his frustration at the now two day ordeal but said that if the police tried to
arrest them they would kill both hostages then take their own lives he placed the
barrel of the gun in his mouth to prove how serious he was dygovsky agreed with his accomplice
stating we aren't going to negotiate with police anymore because we know that leads to nothing i
want to say through the news media that the police should back off [Music] as he chatted with the journalists he
nonchalantly pressed his gun to silke's neck and head at one point a reporter complained that
he hadn't gotten the picture he wanted and demanded hold the gun to her temple again
i don't have a photograph yet silke still looked calm and occasionally even managed to give a small smile
only her white eyes occasionally betrayed a hint of alarm when a reporter asked silke how she was
holding up she said she was fine however she was worried that the police would ignore the bank robbers demands
which could lead to another person being killed she pleaded just do what they request
and don't try to interfere i'm scared of that the two bank robbers gave interview
after interview reporters helped them by supplying cups of coffee and attempting to negotiate on
their behalf suggesting they trade their hostages for police officers when plain clothes officers were sent
over in the hopes they might be able to get closer than their uniformed counterparts
some journalists pointed them out to the bank robbers rosner was queried as to what would
happen if the police attempted anything he simply answered then there's going to
be a bloodbath here earlier that morning udu robel the deputy editor of the cologne daily
express had headed to his local tennis club for a friendly game he'd taken some time off from work and
hadn't watched television or listened to the radio for a couple of days as rorbel headed into the club's
cafeteria his attention was drawn to a tv set showing the morning news for the first
time he learnt of the events that had gripped west to germany over the past two days
realising he was missing out on one of the country's biggest stories he raced to his car and headed downtown
soon he'd joined the enormous crowd of reporters gathered around the bank robbers bmw
robel managed to push his way to the car to speak with rosner handovsky directly
he soon established a rapport with the bank robbers he could tell that both men were growing
increasingly agitated and the situation was becoming more dangerous with every passing second
rouble tried to create some space around the vehicle he began waving his arms motioning to
the other journalists around him to move back when they were reluctant to do so he tried pushing them away
some of the undercover officers in the crowd began wondering if now was their moment to strike
one officer had succeeded in getting within touching distance of the bank robbers
and thought an arrest could be possible but they suspected the risk was still too great
all of a sudden rosner leapt from the car and aimed his gun at the crowd anxiously
he turned to udu robel and asked how to get to the autobahn adding we've got to get out of here now
my buddy is about to lose it completely robel began describing the fastest route
but rosner was impatient he asked the raw bell to get in the car and direct them there himself
robel was uncertain the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control and there was every possibility it could
end in disaster however he also realized that this was a unique opportunity to cover the story in
a way none of the other journalists could in a split second robel had made up his
mind he climbed into the back seat of the car and took a seat next to silke bischoff
rosner slowly pulled the car away from the crowd and left the crowded city streets following
roarbell's directions to the autobahn robel chatted openly as they drove he assumed the police had bugged the car
and hoped he might be able to coax some useful information out of the two felons but his attempts
at conversation annoyed degovsky he pointed his gun at the journalist and demanded that he shut
up after that the group travelled in silence the bank robbers had no particular destination in mind as they sped in a
southeast direction although driving along the autobahn left them exposed it also allowed them to monitor those
who were following them yet again the press and the police were hot on the bank robbers hills
between 20 and 30 vehicles were following the bmw law enforcement arranged for the
autobahn to be shut down in one direction so no one else could join the chase after about 40 minutes the bmw reached a
service station outside the city of ziegborg rosner and dykovsky pulled over and
kicked robel out of the car having got what they needed from him the journalist stood watching as the bmw
took off again when news crews arrived at the location shortly after they conducted a live interview with him
he described degovsky as completely on the edge exhausted and ready for anything
he said that he has nothing to lose he shot a 15 year old and he's not going to prison for a life sentence
there is going to be a bloodbath if the police don't leave them alone he asked me to pass this on to the
police and press as he spoke robel suddenly felt himself go weak at the knees the reality of what had happened and the
fact that he could have been killed suddenly sunk in he was notified that police officers were on their way to
obtain a statement from him but all he could think about was the article he planned to write in detailing
his experience the bmw continued along the autobahn rosner was driving south straight
towards the neighbouring state of rhineland-palatinate as they drove digovsky leaned over and
whispered in hostage enos's that they were sorry for having taken them especially given the girl's young
age he told her that he and rosner would pull over somewhere and release them once they were in the next state and the
night had fallen enes and silke felt a sense of relief they relaxed enough to sip on some cans
of beer as the car travelled along the highway with the two girls drinking a toast to
her happy ending law enforcement was still in hot pursued by now it had been 54 hours since the
bank hold up in gladbach and patience was wearing thin police had missed one opportunity after
another to apprehend the bank robbers the fact that they'd killed a 15 year old in cold blood
proved how dangerous they were an order had finally been sent from operational headquarters
dictating that they mustn't be allowed to flee to any more cities the perpetrators must be apprehended as
soon as possible the leader of cologne's se car unit objected believing that the risk to the hostages
was still too great but he was overruled several armored mercedes were dispatched
with the aim of intercepting the bmw and running it off the road an ambush site was set up several kilometers
from the state line and just across the border the rhineland paladinate sc car were
poised and ready to strike before the bmw had been given to rosner and degovsky police outfitted it with a device that
would allow them to cut the engine using a remote control however the remote had accidentally been left
behind with some other officers who were further back on the autobahn it wouldn't work from such a distance
and this meant that they'd had to quickly devise a backup plan by 1 45 pm the bmw was just a few
kilometers from the state border helicopters were flying overhead and hundreds of spectators had gathered on a
nearby bridge above the highway to observe the pursuit dozens of journalists were also at the
scene still following this story on the other side of the highway drivers had stopped their cars so they
could watch too suddenly officers were given the go-ahead to attack a grey mercedes zeroed in
on the bmw and rammed it from one side sending it skidding next police threw flash grenades to stun the
felons with blinding flashes of light the bmw came to a complete stop inside rosner and dygovsky began
shouting silke appeared to sense that something awful was about to happen her voice was gripped with fear as she
screamed at her friend jump out enos jump enos scrambled to find the handle on the
car door nearest to her and yanked it open she leapt out then scurried to a nearby ditch and
clambered inside as she lay there she heard the sound of gunshots ringing out rosner digovsky and the police were all
shooting at one another between 20 to 30 shots were fired then finally there was a heavy silence
police had managed to hit rosner and dygovsky subduing both men when they raced over to the bmw
they found the two felons had sustained significant injuries enos voitla had managed to escape the
vehicle and was lying in a ditch by the road she'd suffered minor injuries as had
marion lerblick silke bischoff was still in the back seat of the car there was a bullet wound in her chest
an officer frantically performed cpr on silke as medical assistants helicopters and
ambulances sped to the scene when they arrived they rushed to the car while shouting
at the police what have you guys done here they were unable to revive silke she had been shot directly in the heart
and had died her body was covered with a sheet rosner and degovsky were quickly handcuffed and forced to lie
face down on the road with their noses pressed against the bitumen marianne lerblick was also arrested
other officers made a beeline towards the many members of the press who were standing nearby
filming and photographing everything a photographer had his camera snatched from him with the officer
alleging that he was documenting a police investigation without permission the photographer was
warned that he would be arrested if he didn't leave he managed to hide a roll of film that
he'd already shot but lost the second roll that was still inside the camera a police spokesperson addressed the
press informing them that a hostage had been killed journalist udu robel had gone to a local
police station to file a report about his time with the bank robbers when he heard the news that silke
bischoff had died he felt a sense of shock wash over him having been seated in the car with both
girls not long earlier when he later went back to his office to finish his article for
the following day's paper he tried to write it from the point of view of silke imagining how the last moments of her
life played out silke bischoff's parents hadn't even known that their daughter had been taken
hostage until earlier that day although she hadn't returned home on wednesday august 17 they weren't
concerned as they believed she was staying at her boyfriend's house they'd only learnt the truth that
morning upon seeing the front page of their local newspaper it showed a photograph of silker sitting
in the back seat of a car with a gun held to her neck she was tilting her head back her
expression blank as dygovsky watched her with a cigarette hanging from his mouth
after that her devastated family had monitored every second of the situation when silke's mother karen found out her
daughter and anus were the last two remaining hostages she became utterly terrified at what
might happen next when the family saw footage of the collision and subsequent shootout on the
autobahn they sat together and prayed for silke to survive two hours later a police representative
dressed entirely in black knocked on their front door karen knew then that her daughter had been killed
she later despaired i would have helped her if only i knew i would have jumped on the bus together
with my husband to protect my daughter [Music] it was determined that silke had been
killed by a bullet from rosner's gun which he'd accidentally aimed at her while shooting at the police
but silke's family held the police equally responsible for their daughter's death
they couldn't understand why officers had opened fire on the bank robber's vehicle
when they knew that silke was inside her mother criticized their actions quote she could not survive that why did they
do that why that will always stay with me always the police maintained that rosner and
dygovsky had started shooting first leaving them with no option but to return fire
furthermore they claimed to have made every effort to protect those inside the vehicle
such as by waiting until the bmw was stationary before ramming it but their version of events was disputed by
survivor enos voitla in an interview with the magazine der spiegel enos said that before the
deadly confrontation the mood in the bmw had been upbeat she and silke had been assured by their
captors that they would be safely home soon the car had been traveling at 100 kilometers per hour when the police's
mercedes suddenly appeared from behind causing rosner and dygovsky to panic then the car hit ours our car had
stopped by the time the gangsters returned to the fire there was speculation that police from
north rhine westphalia had rushed the attack because they wanted to bring the crisis
to a conclusion on their own turf if the bank robbers had managed to flee across the state border
the case would have passed over to law enforcement in rhineland-palatinate on sunday august 21 three days after
silke's death her uncle gerald bischoff appeared at a press conference to announce his
family's plans to sue those who ordered the attack emmanuella the georgie's relatives joined them
arguing that the police had provoked the two bank robbers by arresting marian lerblick without permission
a week after the incident lawyers on behalf of the two families filed criminal negligence suits against police
in bremen and the state of north rhine westphalia they argued that police had numerous
opportunities when they could have intervened and placed the two perpetrators under
arrest but repeatedly failed to do so the families weren't the only ones who were angry
in the days immediately following the tragedy a poll was cast in which 1708 western germans were asked
for their opinions on the case 93 of respondents couldn't understand why police hadn't intervened earlier
one sc car senior official who'd been tasked with handling the crisis was reiner casting he was furious at the
unit's operations management for not allowing his team to strike against rosner and dygovsky earlier
management had continually stalled officers on the ground from taking action when the two men were stopped in cologne
for an extended period kesting was an experienced officer who'd successfully arrested notorious
terrorists in the past but his dismay at the bungling of the glatbeck hostage crisis
led to his resignation decades later he finally gave an interview to focus magazine
in which he stated i was a coward i am jointly responsible for the death of silke bischoff
[Music] a parliamentary inquiry was ordered into the events surrounding the 54-hour long
crisis it found that there had been several times when police missed opportunities
to take down the perpetrators prior to the bus hijack and the deaths of emmanuella
silke and the police officer who was killed during the car chase there was the time
when they stopped at a roadside cafeteria with the two bank employees and sat at a
separate table then there was the occasion when rosner and olerblick went shopping for an hour
leaving dygovsky behind with the two hostages tagovsky had dozed off but the police
surveilling the scene neglected to notice martin thomas who was part of the investigation committee
later stated it was very hard to understand the actions of the police you ask yourself
why they didn't do anything earlier and all of a sudden go into action when the lives of the two
girls are at such a high risk some officers defended their actions saying that it was
easy to judge with the benefit of hindsight but they'd tried everything possible to enter the
crisis safely many people were equally as angry at the media for their role in the event
in a televised interview the interior minister of the state of northern westphalia
accused the journalists of derailing crucial police operations he saw the final showdown between law
enforcement and the bank robbers as unavoidable given how drawn out and increasingly
dangerous the situation had become other politicians echoed his words with one remarking that it was troubling that
two criminals got a public podium through media coverage reporters were seen as having encouraged
rosner and dygovsky in their crimes by giving them attention and to notoriety ratings later revealed
that 13 million people had tuned in to watch their televised interviews a forensic psychiatrist later speculated
that the attention had been gratifying for the two men who'd never received anything like it
before the head of the country's largest journalists union described the media's involvement as
the darkest hour of german journalism since the end of world war ii following the controversial coverage
of the crisis the german press council issued several reprimands and introduced restrictions such as
banning reporters from conducting interviews with perpetrators while they were in the process of
committing a crime journalist udu rawbel was offered a new job at one of the country's biggest
tabloids he felt significant guilt for his actions during the gladbeck crisis he was especially ashamed of having
written a story that focused on the moments leading up to silke's death which he
described as squeezing the very last drops out of the story years later in an interview with the bbc
rorbell said he'd often wondered if he was the reporter from hell or simply a human
being trying to de-escalate this situation ultimately he concluded that he was both
it was almost one year before hans jurgen rosner dida dagovsky and marion lerblick first
faced court to hear the charges against them they were each facing two counts of
murder and numerous charges of attempted murder kidnapping and extortion also in the court were the victims
families and survivors of the gladback hostage crisis who listened intently to the proceedings
the three defendants expressions remained blank as each charge was read aloud it was another two years before their
trials went ahead all three were found guilty on march 22 1991. rosner and dygovsky
both received life sentences with a minimum of 24 years while lerblick was sentenced to nine
years she ultimately served only six and has since been released the north rhine westphalian ministry of
justice blocked all requests for interviews with rosner and dygovsky but the two have shown no interest in
speaking to journalists since the events of august 1988. in 2017 news broke that dargofsky had permission
to leave prison for day trips the process was a stage in his rehabilitation and designed to prepare
him for being granted conditional parole reporters for tabloid papers snapped photographs of him as he strolled
through a town purchasing snacks and soft drinks he was now 61 years old and was bald
with a paunchy build in august 2018 30 years after the glackback hostage crisis it was announced that dieter digoski was
being released on parole he'd been a model prisoner during his incarceration and experts gave him a positive
prognosis for rehabilitation he has since changed his name that same year it was announced that
hans jurgen rosner would likely be released in 2019 pending good behaviour tagovsky's parole coincided with the
release of a two-episode television drama about the crisis titled 54 hours the glad back hostage
crisis some survivors and victims families were dismayed by the timing of the show's
release johnny had been six years old when the bus he was riding on was hijacked by
rosner and degovsky his family had recently moved to west germany from sri lanka
and the experience was incredibly traumatic for the young boy now a doctor he said that he had never
quite recovered from the incident he gave an interview on a late night talk show saying that he had no plans to
watch the series because it's like a homage to dargofsky who has now been freed emmanuella the georgie's family also
spoke out against dagovsky's release his brother fabio now aged 40 stated he is free
while will suffer for a lifetime i often dream of emmanuella he's sitting in the bus and then the
shot comes and i wake up [Music] emmanuela's sister tatiana who'd witnessed his murder
revealed she could still hear him whispering to her don't be scared i'll protect you
enos voitla feared for years that when the men were released they would turn up at her front door
stating i will always be a victim of those two guys in an interview with news magazine de
stern silke bischoff's mother karen spoke of watching the television series it felt as though she was seeing her
daughter again one of the most difficult parts was seeing the recreation of dygovsky
holding a gun to her daughter's neck in reality journalists had helped to stage the scene
and it resulted in a notorious photograph that was splashed across newspapers in the wake of silke's death
karen told the bbc silke was brave very brave i wouldn't have coped in the way she did
at the beginning i used to have nightmares because of that picture i can handle it today it's still painful
but i don't have to look away now [Music] [Music] you

Case 171: The Gladbeck Hostage Crisis

On August 19 1988, two armed offenders entered a branch of the Deutsche Bank in Gladbeck, West Germany with the intention of holding it up...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Milly Raso and Erin Munro Writing – Erin Munro Special thanks to Stef for her assistance in the creation of this episode Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-171-the-gladbeck-hostage-crisis

Brief Summary

The Gladbeck hostage crisis involved a bank robbery, hostage-taking, and a tragic police shootout resulting in two deaths.

Key points

A Bank Robbery Gone Wrong. Two masked men hold bank employees hostage during a robbery, leading to a tense standoff.
Desperate Measures. The robbers hijack a bus with 25 passengers to negotiate their escape.
Media Frenzy. Journalists swarm the scene, capturing every moment of the unfolding crisis.
The Bank Robbery Begins. Rosner admits to having no morals and threatens hostages during a press conference.
A Hostage's Calm. Silke Bischoff remains stoic despite being held at gunpoint.
Tensions Rise. Rosner threatens to shoot a hostage if his girlfriend isn't returned.

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