Imagine trusting a bank vault with your life savings — and then discovering it was emptied over a quiet holiday weekend.
That nightmare became reality in Gelsenkirchen. Thieves pulled off what officials are calling one of Germany’s most “spectacular” bank heists in years.
Sometime between December 27 and 29, the gang slipped into a Sparkasse branch through a neighboring car park.
How? Investigators believe they sabotaged an access door and drilled a 40-centimeter hole straight into the vault wall.
No alarms stopped them. No guards intervened. By the time it was over, more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes had been ripped open. Losses possibly reaching €100 million.
Vault Alarm Missed
Even more shocking: firefighters had responded to a vault alarm early on, but saw nothing suspicious and left.
“They concluded it was a false alarm,” admitted Interior Minister Herbert Reul.
For victims, the damage goes far beyond money.
One client, Joachim Alfred Wagner, lost family heirlooms passed down generations. “I cried with rage,” he said.
Police chief Tim Frommeyer called it “one of the biggest criminal cases” in the state’s history.
But perhaps the biggest casualty isn’t cash — it’s confidence.
Because if vaults aren’t safe anymore, what is?
