As of: March 27, 2024, 5:05 p.m
By: Julian Limmer
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Cornelia Schwartz in front of the spot where the bronze tomb stood in the Munich Forest Cemetery.
© Marcus Schlaf
Thieves are increasingly striking Munich cemeteries.
Cornelia Schwartz also had this experience - her late husband's valuable tomb was stolen.
It rose two and a half meters from the mossy ground – like a small monument.
A work of art of final rest.
The bronze tomb stood in the forest cemetery for around 17 years - but suddenly it was gone.
Simply stolen.
“I was shocked,” says Cornelia Schwartz (74).
In July last year she noticed that the tomb of her husband, the architect Heiner Deutz, who died in 2005, had disappeared.
A very special grave monument, a work by the famous Austrian artist Gunter Damisch.
Expensive for several thousand euros.
And it had been in the family for a long time, says Schwartz.
“I would never have thought that someone could steal such a heavy gravestone unnoticed.” It took three strong men alone to lift it onto the transport truck to the cemetery.
Who steals something like that?
Last year alone, thieves struck 32 times
The theft of gravestones in the forest cemetery is not an isolated case: last year alone, thieves caused mischief in Munich's municipal cemeteries 32 times, according to the responsible health department.
They not only stole monuments, but also grave decorations and flowers.
And these are only the cases that were reported.
In addition to the forest cemetery, the east, north, west and south cemeteries (old and new) as well as the cemetery at Perlacher Forst were also affected.
This is what the tomb of the artist Gunter Damisch looked like.
© Marcus Schlaf
Targeted grave thefts are increasingly involving precious metals.
The Munich police attribute the increase to the currently high non-ferrous metal prices.
This year in February alone, four graves were desecrated in the North Cemetery, with targeted thefts of bronze elements.
The price for 100 kilos is over 1000 euros.
The police cannot say whether they are organized gangs or individual perpetrators.
The wish of those responsible and cemetery visitors: more police presence.
In the case of Cornelia Schwartz, every measure comes too late.
She also went to the police at the time - but so far without success.
The health department confirms the report.
“I still had hope that the tomb would show up at an art market at some point,” says Schwartz.
She suspects the thieves want to resell it.
That's why she combs through numerous offers, again and again.
She couldn't find it.
Little by little, the hope that the stolen goods will ever appear again disappears.
Valuable metal disappeared here too
The tomb from the Waldfriedhof is not the only case of grave robbery in which valuable metal such as bronze was stolen: just recently, thieves stole a powerful bronze plate from Munich's North Cemetery, which the famous Munich sculptor Lother Dietz (†1976) made especially for himself ( tz reported).
The Munich police say the plate is worth around 10,000 euros.
A bronze figure from the city's own monument “The Resting Wanderer” also disappeared from the North Cemetery in February.
Thieves are also up to mischief in cemeteries in the Munich district: around two weeks ago, a bronze figure measuring around 50 centimeters in size disappeared (tz reported).
It was violently dismantled.
The figure adorned the grave of the Grünwald painter and sculptor Ivo Krizan (†2018), which he designed himself.
And in the cemeteries of Oberschleißheim, grave robbers struck a total of 35 times in February alone.
Here too, the thieves were primarily targeting non-ferrous and precious metals such as copper or bronze.
At least in these cases, the police assume gangs of robbers - the thefts have a supra-regional connection.
An organized gang has preyed on cemeteries between the north of Munich and Ingolstadt at least 90 times.
The Ingolstadt Police Department has set up the investigative group “Capula” (Latin for bowl) specifically for this purpose.
Two suspected Romanians have already been arrested and taken into custody.