Schinderhannes

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Johannes Bückler (c.1778-1803), nicknamed Schinderhannes, was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most fascinating crime sprees in German history. He was born at Miehlen im Taunus, the son of Johann and Anna Maria Bückler. He began an apprenticeship to a tanner, but turned to petty theft. At 16 he was arrested for stealing some of the skins, but escaped detention. He then turned to break ins and armed robbery on both sides of the Rhine, which stood as the border between France and the Holy Roman Empire.

At the time, the westbank of the Rhine was under French occupation and the peasantry was happy to celebrate anyone who was able to thumb his nose at the law. The legend of Schinderhannes grew with every new escapade. The fact that Schinderhannes largely targeted Jews for robbery and extortion and left the peasants alone did not hurt his standing at all.

After things began to get too hot for him, Schinderhannes fled across the Rhine and enlisted in the Austrian Army under the assumed name of Jakob Schweikart. He was recognized, however, by a former associate, handed over the French authorities and imprisoned in a tower of the medieval defensive wall of Mainz (the so called "Holzturm"). After his mistress, Juliana Blasius, was threatened with being charged as an accomplice, Schinderhannes rolled over and testified against his fellow gangsters. Nineteen of his associates were sentenced to death. Despite his cooperation, Schinderhannes was sentenced to death as well. On September 21, 1803, he was guillotined before the gates of Mainz. More than 40,000 spectators in witnessed his execution. He remains Germany's most famous outlaw. His legend still attracts a great deal of tourism to the region wherein his gang operated.