Librarians Fight Back Against 'Book Slasher' Destroying Rare Collections
If you happened to look into the backseat of this red Volkswagon speeding through Oldenburg, Germany, you would’ve seen a strange sight: a hefty, centuries-old tome strapped into the back seat like a toddler, and two librarians on a mission in the front. They were determined to reclaim what belonged to them — or, more accurately, what belonged to history. They were in search of a man named Norbert who, with a few quick slashes of a box cutter, had become one of the most sought-out and notorious book thieves in Germany.
An Unusual Crime Scene
The librarians of the City Library in Trier, Germany, were used to the soft scratching of pens and the turning of pages soundtracking their days. So on one winter afternoon, that fixed ambiance didn't signal anything was amiss, even though they were sitting in the middle of a crime scene.
The Box Cutter
There were four witnesses to the crime, two of which were the on-duty librarians. They’d watched, unsure what was going on, as a man who’d identified himself as a historian opened up a 400-year-old book of geography, gingerly flipped through the pages, and then pulled out a box cutter.
Suspicious Activities
To the librarians' horror, he cleanly sliced out a map of Alsace (a region along the border). It didn’t matter that they saw him do it, or that they confronted him about his odd actions. The man simply threw his library card down on the table, said, “It was worth a try,” and hurried out with the map before the police were called. They'd come to learn this was not "just" a map.
-768w.jpg?w=1024&q=75)
Mystery Man
The director of City Library, Gunther Franz, took the theft personally. After hearing the witness reports, he knew one thing for sure: the theft was too discreet and too clean to have been this mystery man’s first rodeo. The man must have done it numerous times before — and he’d no doubt do it again.
