Rotter kidnapping

Background

Fritz and Alfred Rotter were German film directors and theatre managers of Jewish background who owned multiple successful theatres in Berlin during the Weimar Republic era. By 1933, due to rising Nazi persecution of Jewish people, they were forced to declare bankruptcy and emigrate to Liechtenstein, where they had been naturalized in 1931 as part of a wider government initiative. German press outlets falsely accused the Rotters of faking their bankruptcy and hiding money abroad, fueling public demands for their extradition back to Nazi Germany. Four Liechtensteiner Nazis — Rudolf Schädler, Franz Roeckle, Peter Rheinbeger, and Eugen Frommelt — used these press demands as justification to plan a kidnapping intended to coincide with the formation of an organized Nazi Party in Liechtenstein.

The Kidnapping Attempt

On 5 April 1933, Fritz and Alfred Rotter, Alfred's wife Gertrud Rotter, and Fritz's domestic partner Julie Wolff were persuaded by Schädler to stay at a health resort in Gaflei, which he managed. There, four men and five additional German nationals attempted to force the group into cars. The victims fought back and fled on foot. Alfred and Gertrud Rotter fell into a nearby ravine and died while escaping. Fritz Rotter was tricked into entering a car under false pretenses of safety, but escaped by jumping out, breaking his shoulder. He reunited with the injured Julie Wolff and reached safety, alerting the Liechtenstein government.

Trials and Aftermath

Several men involved were arrested in Liechtenstein or extradited after fleeing to Austria. In June 1933, trials proceeded, though the deaths of Alfred and Gertrud Rotter and the political motives behind the kidnapping were deliberately downplayed to avoid further German press attacks. Fritz Rotter's lawyer, Wladimir Rosenbaum, was barred from presenting a plea criticizing Nazi violence. Approximately 700 signatures were gathered demanding pardons for the German participants. Schädler received a one-year sentence; Roeckle, Rheinbeger, and Frommelt received four months each; four German participants were separately sentenced to three months in Konstanz. Diplomatic negotiations between Liechtenstein, Germany, and Switzerland later led to the early release of Schädler and Rheinbeger in exchange for an end to German press attacks against Liechtenstein.

The incident delayed formal organization of a Nazi Party in Liechtenstein until 1938. Fritz Rotter later lived in exile in France, with Rosenbaum's assistance, until his death in 1939. Commemorative efforts in later decades included a 2002 plaque at the site of the deaths and 2022 Stolpersteine placed in Vaduz honoring Alfred and Gertrud Rotter.