Its echo was heard in many European capitals—even in the United States. The New York Times published a sad note about the murder of Dorothea, the only heir of entrepreneur and multimillionaire Wilhelm Rohrbeck. The event took place on February 14, 1921, near the town of Lähn, today’s Wleń, in Kleppelsdorf Palace.
The death of 16-year-old Dorothea moved not only local residents but also all of Silesia and Germany at the time. Many European newspapers devoted considerable attention to the crime. The murder of the young heiress stirred strong emotions. Unfortunately, the trial was not conducted very well, and many journalists shaped the facts to fit their own imaginative theories.
Why did this young girl have to die, and who caused her death? Here is her brief story.
Dorothea’s life story is inseparably linked with the Ducal Palace in Wleń. In 1894, her father Wilhelm, an inventive entrepreneur and farmer, sold his estate in Tempelhof near Berlin and bought Kleppelsdorf Palace from the Matthaei family. The palace was to be an ideal place for his family and provide his descendants with a comfortable and prosperous life.
On November 21, 1904, the only child of the Rohrbeck marriage was born. Unfortunately, a difficult delivery and complications led to the mother’s death. Dorothea’s father decided to hire a caregiver and teacher to help raise his daughter. This task was entrusted to Miss Zahn.
The caregiver performed her duties properly. She also won the millionaire’s heart. Their happiness was disrupted by Wilhelm’s illness. In his hospital bed, Dorothea’s father proposed to the caregiver. She accepted the proposal but decided to wait until her fiancé had fully recovered before marrying him. Unfortunately, Wilhelm Rohrbeck died on October 23, 1914. His ten-year-old daughter became the sole owner of vast properties.
Wilhelm did not forget his beloved in his will. He ordered that Miss Zahn be paid a lifelong pension, while for his daughter he appointed an estate administrator to handle her finances until she came of age, as well as a general administrator.
The young heiress’s family became the source of all her troubles. As is often the case, good family relations do not go hand in hand with money. Her aunt Gertruda Shade, a widow with two daughters, married Peter Grupen. Grupen was a former mason’s assistant and a veteran of World War I. He lost an arm in the war. He made a fortune speculating in land and used the money he earned to establish a construction company. Unfortunately, his fortune did not last long. Hyperinflation raged in the postwar Weimar Republic. His wealth melted away. The money belonging to the widow he had married also quickly disappeared, and eventually his wife herself vanished under unexplained circumstances.
Grupen decided to get rid of Miss Zahn. On the one hand, she benefited from Dorothea’s money; moreover, she could influence the girl, which was an obstacle because Grupen was offering Dorothea marriage. Through his efforts, the caregiver was dismissed, and he himself came up with a cunning plan. He sold his house and arrived at the palace with the entire family—his mother-in-law, Dorothea’s grandmother; his stepdaughters Irma and Ursula; and a maid. As he put it, he wanted to improve family ties.
On the fateful day, February 14, Dorothea and Ursula went into town to collect a parcel. When they returned to the palace, they went to the guest room. At lunchtime, the maid, who wanted to call the girls, found their bodies in a room on the ground floor. Dorothea was dead, while Ursula was severely injured. A letter written by Ursula and signed “unhappy Ursula” was found in her hand. A revolver also lay right next to the suicide victim.
Yet certain facts did not add up from the very beginning. The revolver was on the left side, although Ursula was right-handed. Bullet casings were found opposite Ursula, and the revolver belonged to Grupen. It later emerged that the word “unhappy” had been added by the murderer in handwriting, although Ursula had written the entire letter. Her stepfather had certainly persuaded her to do it. Dorothea’s cousin died two hours after the tragic incident.
Peter Grupen was arrested and taken to Jelenia Góra. On February 20, Dorothea Rohrbeck was buried beside her cousin, who had been laid to rest the previous day in the Evangelical cemetery.
After a lengthy circumstantial trial, Peter Grupen was sentenced to death. He never confessed to the double murder. His lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court, but without result. The appeal was deemed unfounded. He administered his own punishment. After a second, unsuccessful escape from prison, he committed suicide.
The murder of the heiress from the Ducal Palace caused great sadness. Dorothea was a modest person. She refused help to no one. She was known not only around Wleń but throughout the region. The residents of Jelenia Góra came close to lynching the accused, who was transported there by morning train the day after the killing. Without a strong police escort, the murderer might not have lived to see the trial.
The question of the shots fired in the palace is intriguing. Dorothea suffered two gunshot wounds, while her cousin was wounded in the head. If the tragedy occurred on the ground floor and the family was waiting for lunch, someone should have heard the shots. Even in such a large building, a “silent murder” would not have been possible.
After the heiress’s tragic death, the palace passed into the ownership of Jenny Pingel, née Rohrbeck (Jenna was Wilhelm’s sister), and his brother Alfred. It remained in their hands until 1937.
After the war, Kleppelsdorf Palace was a picture of utter ruin. First, it was looted and plundered by the Soviets. In later years, Polish settlers were housed there. The manor farm was transformed into a state agricultural farm. In the 1980s, plans were made to demolish it. Fortunately, it was adapted into a holiday resort run by the Polish Post. In 2004, it was purchased by private individuals [Por. S. Osiecki, Tragedia w Pałacu Książęcym, www.wlen.info.pl; D. Baumert, Die Tragödie auf Schloss Kleppelsdorf am 14. Februar 1921, www.doris-baumert.de].
The Ducal Palace also had its cinematic debut. Filming for the movie “Road to Paradise” began there in 2007. The film featured such outstanding actors as Ilona Ostrowska (“Ranczo”) and Przemysław Sadowski—known for his roles in the series “Czas honoru” and the film “Układ zamknięty”—as well as Krzysztof Globisz. The film received five nominations: four for the Golden Duck and one for the Golden Lion. The plot of Gerwazy Reguła’s film unfolds in a small provincial town in the Sudetes Foothills.
I think that both the palace’s beautiful interiors and the magnificent surroundings of the Bóbr Valley Landscape Park can delight many a tourist. It is worth visiting and experiencing the atmosphere of bygone times.
Detailed information about the Ducal Palace in Wleń can be found at www.palacwlen.pl.
Paweł Skiersinis
The author is a blogger and a history enthusiast, particularly interested in the history of Lower Silesia and Poland. Why Lower Silesia? As he says: “Why not? The most interesting history is the history around us, concerning us and our ancestors.”
He adds: “I try to present history from a different perspective, in an interesting way—not in a typically bookish style filled with dry dates and facts. My articles cover facts that cannot be found in textbooks and well-known publications. The history of Lower Silesia is undoubtedly interesting and fascinating, so it is worth devoting at least a brief moment to it from time to time.”