The work of art was in a bulletproof showcase and was considered to be very well secured.
Nevertheless, the almost one kilogram gold treasure disappeared from a school foyer.
Now a young man is on trial.
Berlin - Burglars approached with hammer, ax and glass saw: after the theft of an artificial bird's nest made of gold from a Berlin elementary school around two years ago, one of the alleged perpetrators in court remained silent.
The 20-year-old will not comment on the allegations for the time being, said one of the two defense lawyers on Monday at the beginning of the trial at the Berlin-Tiergarten district court.
Defendant from a large family of Arab origin
The accused, from an extended family of Arab origin, is said to have stolen the secured work of art “Goldnest” from the foyer of a school in the district of Biesdorf together with at least one previously unknown accomplice.
In order to get to the filigree exhibit, according to the public prosecutor's office, the perpetrators are said to have destroyed the "bulletproof glass and completely welded display case" with a glass saw on the night of May 15, 2019.
The burglars had previously gained access to the foyer by smashing a window near the main entrance with a tool.
"The work of art was made of 14-carat fine gold and was worth around 28,000 euros," the prosecution said.
The almost one kilogram replica of a bird's nest with 74 golden branches has disappeared to this day, according to the prosecutor.
Investigators suspect that the gold nest, like the 100 kilo gold coin stolen in 2017 from the Berlin Bode Museum, could have been melted down.
Clan members were convicted of stealing the coin.
After the Goldnest theft, the investigators quickly suspected two young criminals from various Arab clans - one of them is now on trial.
The convicted man is charged with theft in particularly serious cases, burglary, theft with weapons and damage to property.
"Prestige" through a successful coup
When the traces led to the clan milieu, a representative of the Berlin public prosecutor said the theft was also “a show of force”.
At the beginning of the process, the spokesman for the Berlin police union, Benjamin Jendro, wrote on Twitter: "The material value is not to be neglected, but much more important in certain circles is the prestige that one builds up through such a coup."
A surveillance camera was running when at least two masked perpetrators approached the showcase with the gold nest a few minutes after midnight.
They sprayed the camera with black paint to make it cloudy, a police officer said as a witness.
Because the paint ran off the lens, there were some records of the fact.
A DNA trace secured at the entry window could later be assigned to the defendant.
In the days leading up to the crime, the defendant and a young man from another clan had been observed by investigators at the school. The defendant went to the entrance and looked into the foyer, according to an official at the trial. Why the two men had been observed for several days at that time remained open in the process. The lawyers objected to the exploitation of the findings from the observation and stated that they had not yet been able to check whether it was legal. The observation is said to have ended the day before the crime.
At the beginning of the trial, the artist Thorsten Goldberg was a spectator in the hall. He had made the “Goldnest” as part of a competition for the new primary school that opened in 2018. On the sidelines of the negotiation, the artist put the value at around 80,000 euros. According to his idea, students and alumni should be able to decide after 14 years what to do with the gold. The trial will continue on July 12th. dpa
