EThe good news is still there, even in this year so full of terrible news. On the night of Saturday, investigators from the “Special Commission Epaulette” in Berlin secured a large part of the loot from the Green Vault in Dresden, the Dresden public prosecutor announced on Saturday. According to an initial sighting, there are 31 individual parts, including complete pieces of jewelry such as the heron tail and the breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle from the diamond set.
On the other hand, the epaulette with the “Saxon White”, a diamond weighing 50 carats, which was damaged during the theft, as well as the large breast bow of Queen Amalia Auguste, set with almost 700 diamonds, are missing.
The news caused great joy at the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD). “We get news from all over the world, people can hardly believe it. It’s a real Christmas miracle,” SKD boss Marion Ackermann told MDR. She herself always believed that the jewel sets would come back. Now at least a large part is back and that is “simply incredibly beautiful”.
The finds were first transported to Dresden, where specialists from the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD) examined them for authenticity and completeness as well as damage. The public prosecutor’s office did not initially explain where and in what condition the stolen goods were found, but only stated that there had previously been exploratory talks between the defense and the public prosecutor’s office about a so-called deal and the return of the looted items.
On Tuesday you will be informed about the further procedure
The Dresden Regional Court was also involved, where since January six alleged main perpetrators are being tried, who are said to have entered the former treasury of the Saxon electors and kings on November 25, 2019.
The stolen goods, some of which have been recovered: hat clasp of the diamond rose set, a breast star of the Order of the Polish White Eagle, a large breast bow, an aigrette for hair in the shape of a sun, and (below, lr) a palette-shaped jewel, a jewel of Polish Order of the white eagle, a necklace of 177 Saxon pearls, a dagger of the rose-cut diamond set, an epaulette of the rose-cut diamond set, an aigrette for the hair in the shape of a crescent.
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Image: dpa
The perpetrators acted with extreme brutality, but also like classic burglars: They sawed through a protective grille, broke out the window, stormed into the jewel room of the Green Vault, hacked into a showcase with axes, in which three of the most valuable baroque jewel sets were found from the 18th century lay and gathered up almost two dozen pieces of jewelery with a total of more than 4000 diamonds within a few minutes. Investigators later estimated the insured value of the loot at almost 114 million euros. Of course, the art-historical value is many times greater, because such sets were once only available at the French court, but they are no longer completely preserved there due to inheritance, unlike in Saxony.
Information about the further proceedings and in particular about the agreements between the public prosecutor’s office and the defense should now be provided on the next day of the trial, next Tuesday. Actually, the procedure should end in the fall, and the taking of evidence is practically complete. Several days of negotiations have recently been canceled, apparently because a deal was being worked on behind the scenes.
After the defense attorneys for the six main accused, all of whom belong to the Remmo family from Berlin, some of whom are serious criminals, were certain at the beginning of the trial that everything would result in an acquittal, the picture changed significantly as the trial progressed. There are clear DNA traces from the crime scene against four defendants, and there is a very clear mixed trace against a fifth defendant. No DNA was found at the crime scene from one of the suspects.
The trial is taking place in front of the Juvenile Criminal Court of the Dresden Regional Court because two of the accused were not quite 21 years old at the time of the crime. Two other defendants are already serving four and a half years in prison for stealing the 100-kilogram gold coin from Berlin’s Bode Museum. All of the defendants have substantial criminal records. In connection with the burglary in the Green Vault, they are accused of, among other things, serious gang theft and serious joint arson. They set fire to their getaway vehicle in the underground car park of a residential complex, causing at least two people to suffer from smoke inhalation and totaling 60 cars.
Saxony’s Minister of Art Barbara Klepsch (CDU) thanked the investigators on Saturday for their “excellent work”. She is still hopeful that the wound in the historic Green Vault that was caused by the burglary will soon close. “This shows that even three years after this painful slump, it’s worth not giving up hope and following all available leads.” Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) also congratulated the investigators via Twitter. They “did an excellent job”. The valuable works of art belonged “to the cultural heritage of our country”.