“Silent Scream: Traces of Marianne Bachmeier in Her Search for Justice”
“Welcome to the mysterious world of Hera! I am Hera, I invite you to follow the trail of murders, mysteries and tension. In each episode, we take you on an exciting journey and reveal the truths hidden in the darkness. We inform and influence our viewers in the search for justice. We are fascinated by the cases. Hera’ The doors of Istanbul are open to you, are you ready for this exciting adventure, then let’s get started.
In the case I will discuss today, we will talk about Marianne Bechmeier. Let’s examine the events without further ado. First, let’s talk about Marianne’s life.
Marianne Bachmeier was born on June 3, 1950. Her parents left after the Second World War and raised Marianna in the small town of Sarstedt.
Marianne grew up in a conservative home with religious parents. His father, formerly a member of the Waffen-SS, was a domineering figure, a heavy drinker who spent much of his time in a bar near the family home. Their home was not very pleasant, and drinking made his father more aggressive. His parents divorced and his mother later remarried. Marianna was perceived as a troubled teenager by a self-described dictatorial stepfather, and her mother eventually kicked her out of the house.
In 1966, at the age of 16, Mariaana gave birth to her first child and gave him up for adoption as a baby. At the age of 18, she got pregnant again from her boyfriend. Bachmeier was raped shortly before the birth of her second child. Her second child was also given up for adoption as a baby.
Marianna began dating the manager of Tipasa, a bar where she worked, in 1972. She became pregnant for the third time at the age of 22. On November 14, 1972, Bachmeier’s third child, Anna, was born. Although her boyfriend said he would take care of her before the child was born, he later changed his mind. Marianne raised her alone. At this time, Marianne was having a hard time controlling her life because she had to work and take care of the house and raise her daughter, and then she found a solution and took Anna to the bar with her. As a result, when Marianna went to work at the bar, her mind was not on her daughter. She never felt the need to run when she came home after spending normal hours at the bar.
In two 1984 documentary films, No Time for Tears: The Bachmeier Case and Anna’s Mother, Bachmeier was portrayed as a single mother who worked well through the night and slept during the day, leaving her seven-year-old daughter at home alone. Bachmeier was aware of her troubled lifestyle and wanted to give Anna up for adoption. Friends later said that he treated Anna like a little adult and expected her to handle many things on her own from an early age. Anna often slept in the bar while her mother was working. According to a friend of Bachmeier, Anna was an energetic teenager who never had a truly pleasant family life.
On May 5, 1980, when Anna was seven years old, she had an argument with her mother and decided to skip school. On this day, she was kidnapped by 35-year-old butcher Klaus Grabowski, whose house she had previously visited to play with his cats. He held Anna in his home for several hours, sexually assaulting her and eventually smothering her with his fiancée’s pantyhose. According to the prosecutor, he then tied the girl up, put her in a box and left it on the bank of a canal. Grabowski’s fiancée later turned him in to the police. Grabowski was a convicted sex offender and had previously been convicted of sexually abusing two girls. In 1976, she voluntarily submitted to chemical castration, but it was later revealed that she had received hormone therapy to reverse the castration.
After his arrest, Grabowski said he wanted to tell Anna’s mother that he had been harassing her to extort money from her, and began slandering the 7-year-old child. He said his fear of going back to prison drove him to kill her.
On March 6, 1981, on the third day of the trial and at around 10 in the morning, Bachmeier Beretta 70 secretly smuggled a gun into room 157 of the courtroom of the Lübeck District Court and, unable to withstand the slander against his daughter, fatally shot Grabowski. He pointed the gun at her back and fired seven times. Six shots were fired at Grabowski, killing him almost instantly. Bachmeier then lowered his gun and was arrested without encountering any resistance.
Let’s take a look at the public’s reaction to the incident.
The incident is one of the best-known cases of vigilante justice in West German history. It led to widespread media coverage. Television crews from all over the country and abroad traveled to Lübeck to report the case. Bachmeier sold his life story to the news magazine Stern for approximately 100,000 Deutschmarks. He covered his legal expenses with the fee he received.
While Bachmeier was detained, many people sent messages of support, gifts and flowers to show their understanding of his behavior. However, some still believed that a constitutional state should not condone vigilante justice. Also, after Stern published her life story and details emerged about her first two children and her father’s connection to the SS, public opinion changed as Stern no longer fit the “innocent mother” image. However, numerous individuals openly demonstrated their compassion for the act of retaliation.
The West German judiciary was criticized by many for allowing a man who sexually abused two girls to use hormones to regain his libido.
Let’s come to the punishment given to Marianna.
On November 2, 1982, Bachmeier was first charged with murder in court. The prosecution later dropped the murder charge. After 28 days of discussions, the board agreed on the decision. On 2 March 1983, four months after the start of the trial, he was convicted by the Circuit Court Chamber of the Lübeck District Court for involuntary manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm. The defense’s claim that the action was not premeditated was mostly approved by the court. He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released after serving three years.
Later life
Bachmeier married a teacher in 1985. Three years later, they moved to Lagos, Nigeria, and lived in a German camp, where her husband taught at a German school. They divorced in 1990. After moving to Sicily, Bachmeier was hired as an aide at a nursing home in Palermo. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Sicily and then returned to Germany.
Later public news
In 1994, thirteen years after the shooting, Bachmeier gave an interview to the radio station. On 21 September 1995, he appeared on the television talk show Fliege, broadcast on Das Erste, where he admitted that he shot Grabowski after careful consideration in order to enforce the law on himself and prevent him from spreading further lies about Anna. In a 2006 ARD documentary, a former The friend also said that Bachmeier rehearsed the shooting in the basement beneath Tipasa after Anna’s murder. Bachmeier stated that he never regretted his act of revenge.
death
The grave of Anna Bachmeier and her mother Marianne in Lübeck’s Burgtor Cemetery in 2008
Before his death, Bachmeier asked his channel’s correspondent Lukas Maria Böhmer to accompany him and film the last stages of his life.
On 17 September 1996, Bachmeier died of pancreatic cancer in a hospital in Lübeck, at the age of 46. He was buried next to his daughter Anna in the Burgtor Cemetery in Lübeck.
A name that left its mark on Germany’s legal history and made its name in the pursuit of justice: Marianne Bachmeier. Bachmeier’s life began with a tragic event and she transformed the pain she experienced as a mother by kneading it with justice. Her story tells the courageous journey of a woman fighting against injustice.
Marianne Bachmeier’s story is an example that touched me deeply. His determination and determined attitude in the search for justice reveals the strength and perseverance within man. A mother’s transformation of her pain into justice shows how strong the human spirit is.
Bachmeier’s experiences and struggle inspire the search for justice not only in Germany but all over the world. His courage emphasizes the importance of not remaining silent against injustice and reminds us that justice is a right that must be fought for for everyone.
In conclusion, Marianne Bachmeier’s story reminds us of the strength within humans and how important determination in the search for justice is. His brave steps show that there is always a reason to pursue justice, and that inspires us.
