Charged with Attempted Murder
Klopp Family Tree
Chart I – II
On a sultry summer evening pub owner Ferdinand Klopp, short-tempered and irascible at the best of times, was quaffing copious amounts of schnaps with his younger brother Wilhelm. As the drinking session was dragging on into the wee hours, the two had an argument over the financial status of the pub ‘Brown Elk’, which they owned and managed together. Wilhelm’s wife, whom mother-in-law Emma later described contemptuously as Satan’s wench, added oil to the fraternal dispute by heaping insults upon her brother-in-law Ferdinand.
WWI Pilot Ferdinand Klopp – Picture taken 1915
With no weapon at hand in such an explosive situation one would expect the dispute to deteriorate into a brawl. However, Ferdinand did have an illegal weapon, an army pistol hidden away somewhere. In his fury he aimed at his brother and pulled the trigger. The shot penetrated Wilhelm’s shoulder and injured his wife, who was standing behind him.
Castle at Wolmirstedt – Photo Credit: holidaycheck.de
After his arrest Ferdinand, while waiting for the court proceedings to start, spent several weeks as prisoner in the castle at Wolmirstedt. His sentence turned out to be rather mild. The judge dismissed the attempted murder charge. It was clear to him that the accused committed the crime under extremely volatile and emotional circumstances. After being released from prison, Ferdinand handed over the pub to his brother, departed almost like a fugitive and left his home turf around Wolmirstedt in a big hurry.
Lake Scharmützel – Photo Credit: Alfred Held
Ferdinand found refuge at his sister Jula‘s brick and mortar factory, whom I had already mentioned in a previous post. There he found employment and received a modest income. It appears that here in Diensdorf at the beautiful Lake Scharmützel Jula rescued her brothers Ferdinand and the still unmarried younger brother Hermann (1892-1957) from the devious comfort of drinking and carousing that people in trouble often seek as a form of escapism.
The Peter and Gertrud Klopp Family 
Gosh…what a story, human nature behaving in the way it can do when driven to that point of desperation. Well told my friend… and most descriptively. The prison looks grim but the lake so calm and tranquil and therapeutic…Jula was the brothers’ guardian angel. A blessing! Another great read… Bravo! 😀
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Was für eine schlimme Auseinandersetzung zwischen den Brüdern-in betrunkenem Zustand schiesst einer auf den anderen und verletzt auch noch dessen Frau! Was wäre noch passiert,wenn sich Jula nicht so eingebracht hätte!?
Da kann man wieder sehen,was schlechte Verhältnisse und der Alkohol aus Menschen machen!!
In der Familie damals hat anscheinend auch nicht viel Zuneigung zueinander geherrscht ..?
Edda
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Der Scharmützelsee passt ja gut in diese Geschichte. Aber man wundert sich manchmal, was für Dramen sich unter manchen Dächern abspielen. Meine Tante hat immer gesagt: unter jedem Dach wohnt ein Ach.
Kain und Abel waren der Anfang, aber solche Geschichten gibt es heute noch. Das Gefängnis sieht eigentlich sehr schön aus, aber sicher nur von aussen. Eine sehr interessante Familiengeschichte. Viele Grüße aus Hamburg, Mitza
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So that’s what it was all about! You hinted at the attempted murder in an earlier post so I was interested to find out what actually happened. It seems that guns and alcohol do not make the safest of combinations.
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