Gisela Werler is considered the first female bank robber in Germany - with 19 robberies. Elegant demeanor and her polite way of "asking" for money earned her the nickname "Banklady". Her story was filmed in 2012 and can now be seen again.
by Janine Kuehl
As the first female bank robber in Germany, Gisela Werler from Hamburg fired people's imaginations in the mid-1960s. But who is behind or under the blond wig, the light-colored coat and the large sunglasses? The arrest of the then 32-year-old Gisela Werler on December 15, 1967 was sobering. The supposed "femme fatale" is a rather inconspicuous, simple woman from Hamburg's working-class milieu, who still lives with her parents and claims in court that she acted "out of love".
From lover to accomplice
Werler's criminal career begins in 1964. Her friend Hugo Warncke wants to use the closet in her parents' apartment as a hiding place. Gisela agrees. Warncke robbed a bank together with Hermann Wittorf alias Peter Werler. Gisela Werler falls in love with the married taxi entrepreneur Wittorf - and becomes his lover and accomplice.
On July 29, 1965, the factory worker, who was considered hard-working and reliable, herself became the focus of public attention - albeit in elegant disguise. As the first woman in the history of the Federal Republic, she robs a bank, namely the Elbgaustrasse branch of the Hamburger Volksbank. The criminal act brought her 3,100 DM loot and media fame as a "bank lady".
Big money and small pleasures
Together with Wittorf, Werler committed 19 bank robberies in Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. The two - sometimes accompanied by one or two accomplices - always follow the same pattern. Mostly on Fridays, shortly before closing time, the gangster couple takes a stolen car to the previously scouted bank. While Wittorf threatened employees and customers with a submachine gun, Werler collected the money. According to witnesses, she is always very polite:"Would you please pack the money?" But Werler also acts later at gunpoint.
Around 400,000 DM fell into the hands of the duo. They don't lead a life in the lap of luxury, that would have been too obvious. Instead there are new curtains, furniture and good food. Werler explains to her astonished parents that she can afford a VW Beetle and trips to the south thanks to her frugality and the profits from her friend Wittorf at the casino.
Dead end in Bad Segeberg
The attack on a bank in Bad Segeberg, Schleswig-Holstein, is said to be the last. Werler and Wittorf stole almost 100,000 DM here on December 15, 1967. But then everything went wrong:four young bank employees pursued the perpetrators and were shot by Wittorf. The escape finally ends at a closed level crossing where the police can arrest the criminals.
Do women have criminal energy?
In court, Werler stated that he acted "out of love". She is sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.Werler's justification for her criminal career corresponds to the conservative image of women of the time:She acted out of love, she stated in court. Even scientists at the time doubted that women could commit criminal acts such as bank robbery of their own accord. Therefore, her prison sentence of nine and a half years is less than Wittorf's, who has to serve thirteen and a half years. The interrogations revealed that Werler acted independently after thorough training by her lover. She scouted bank branches and threatened bank employees with her gun. Some even saw the "Banklady" as the head of the gang. Gisela Werler, who married her lover Wittorf in prison, died in Hamburg in 2003.
Filmed "Banklady" with Nadeshda Brennicke and Charly Hübner
In the film, Nadeshda Brennicke as Gisela Werner goes from being a wallflower to a sophisticated lady with criminal energy.However, her story lives on, if only in the film - which shines with a star cast:Nadeshda Brennicke plays the "Banklady" in the 2012 production, Charly Hübner her accomplices and partners. Heinz Hoenig tries to find out about the two as chief inspector Kaminski and Heinz Strunk plays the "customer Koenig".