PART I
Theft at work and in everyday life
Missing property, everyday opportunities, and the brazen theft of brand-new Trabants from a factory.
TRUE CRIME · EAST GERMANY
True Crime
Behind the Wall
32 Stories of Murder, Fraud, and State Power in the former GDR
A different perspective on East Germany.
REAL CASES. ANOTHER SIDE OF HISTORY.Background illustration · not a historical photograph
- 32
- documented true crime cases
- 6
- themes across crime and justice
- 1949–1990
- the historical setting of East Germany
THE BOOK
A stolen Trabant
is just the beginning.
A factory worker steals brand-new Trabants straight from the plant. A man is convicted of two murders someone else committed. And at a hospital in Leipzig, four newborn babies are murdered—their parents learn the truth only after German reunification.
32 true crime stories—from brazen thefts and serial murders to abuses of state power.
In True Crime Behind the Wall, Wolf Marbach explores crime and justice in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the former East German state. He follows perpetrators and investigators through daring robberies, missing works of art, elaborate fraud schemes involving millions, and murders that went unsolved for years. Some cases were cracked through painstaking detective work. In others, the breakthrough came decades later, when new DNA analyses provided the decisive evidence.
These stories also reveal what happened when political interests dictated how crimes were handled. Secret trials, concealed circumstances surrounding deaths, and crucial findings withheld from grieving families expose the dark side of state power.
Every case draws on documented sources, including court decisions, historical records, and journalistic reporting. An extensive bibliography organized by case allows readers to examine the sources for themselves. Conflicting accounts are acknowledged; no dialogue or inner thoughts have been invented.
For readers drawn to true crime, unusual investigations, and a different perspective on the history of East Germany.
SIX THEMES. MANY PERSPECTIVES.
From everyday crime
to abuses of state power.
The cases explore theft, fraud, art heists, violence, murder investigations, and crimes shielded by the state.
PART II
Money, fraud, and forgery
Forged documents, misplaced trust, and elaborate fraud schemes involving millions.
PART III
Robberies and missing art
Valuable works, dark museum galleries, and repeated break-in attempts. Cases centered on stolen cultural treasures.
PART IV
Fire, escape, and violence
A fire in Leipzig, escape, and violence. Events with far-reaching consequences and questions that demand a closer look.
PART V
Murder and the search for truth
Painstaking detective work, wrongful convictions, and breakthroughs that came decades later through DNA analysis.
PART VI
Crimes shielded by the state
Secret trials, concealed deaths, and findings withheld from families reveal what happened when political interests took precedence.
These scenes are symbolic illustrations. They are not historical photographs or reconstructions of specific crime scenes.
THE ENGLISH EDITION
History has
its darker chapters.
True Crime Behind the Wall
32 Stories of Murder, Fraud, and State Power in the former GDR
Explore the German editionGOOD TO KNOW
A closer look.
What does GDR mean?
GDR stands for German Democratic Republic, the former East German state, which existed from 1949 to 1990.
Is this nonfiction?
Yes. True Crime Behind the Wall presents 32 documented cases, with sources including court decisions, historical records, and journalistic reporting. No dialogue or inner thoughts have been invented.
Does the book focus only on state crimes?
No. It also covers theft, fraud, forgery, art heists, violence, and murder investigations. The cases explore both everyday crime and abuses of state power.
Can I explore the sources myself?
An extensive bibliography organized by case allows readers to examine the sources. Conflicting accounts are acknowledged.