The jewel robbery in Dresden made international headlines in 2019. Supposedly, the Green Vault Treasury was supposed to be secured like Fort Knox. Now she is being compared to a sarcophagus with holes in the state parliament.
Dresden (dpa/sn) - The left have accused the Saxon government and the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD) of collective failure in connection with the theft of jewels from the Green Vault. "This failure has since been hushed up at the political level, while the legal work-up in the form of criminal proceedings is ongoing," said parliamentary group leader Rico Gebhardt on Friday in the state parliament. So far nobody has taken on any political responsibility. The case was an "unprecedented Saxon embarrassment".
"The buck wanders back and forth and bricking is being done like crazy." So far, no one has had the idea of informing the state parliament comprehensively. "Everything has to be pulled out of you (...) We are still experiencing an unprecedented flight from responsibility," emphasized Gebhardt, who has already made 21 small inquiries on the subject. It is obvious "that serious omissions have at least favored the burglary."
"Who was responsible, and above all: who is taking responsibility," asked Gebhardt in the group of deputies and specifically questioned SKD Director General Marion Ackermann. He compared the security in the Green Vault with the old "sarcophagus around the power plant ruins in Chernobyl": "It had holes the size of cars. And those responsible knew it."
In the early morning of November 25, 2019, 21 pieces of jewelery with a total of 4,300 diamonds and brilliants with a total value of over 113 million euros were stolen from the Green Vault treasury. The perpetrators had also caused damage to property amounting to over one million euros. So far there is no trace of the loot. The slump made international headlines. In the case, six young men are currently facing charges of gang theft and arson. You are German and come from a well-known Berlin extended family of Arabic origin.
The CDU parliamentary group later accused the left of causing a scandal. Greens and SPD considered the accusations from the left to be exaggerated. Culture Minister Barbara Klepsch (CDU) explained the measures taken since then. "Security in all facilities was checked and improved where necessary. A security concept was established that can react more quickly to the dynamics in the criminal environment, but also to other risks."
According to Klepsch, the closing time of the historic Green Vault was used to evaluate the burglary and improve the security concept. "We have improved security in many places. This applies to the Residenzschloss as well as to all other SKD facilities," emphasized the minister.
"We have taken personnel measures during ongoing operations and want to create 25 jobs with the new double budget - including more than 20 jobs for our own security guards. Because that is a major consequence: We are better arranging the security and security tasks between our own staff and the service provider and strengthen security and control," said Klepsch.
According to Klepsch, an officer from the State Criminal Police Office has been working directly with the SKD for three years. "This brings in the important expertise and the latest state of development of criminal behavior and is important to check the quality of security work." At the same time, the minister warned against reducing the SKD to the events of November 2019. That does not do justice to the commitment of the employees. SKD boss Ackermann enjoys the full backing of the ministry.
