Gladbeck hostage crisis ends with bloodbath

Bystanders on a bridge across the motorway, where the hostage crisis ended on the 18th of August in 1988. Kidnappers Hans-J¾rgen R¨sner and his accomplice Dieter Degowski had robbed a bank in Gladbeck-Rentfort and had taken hostages on the 16th of August in 1988. The two culprits were apprehended on the motorway in the direction of Frankfurt am Main after a spectacular pursuit via Bremen, the Netherlands and Cologne, in which numerous media represetatives were involved. Hans-J¾rgen R¨sner shot hostage Silke Bischoff. Degowski killed fifteen-year-old Emanuele de Georgi one day earlier, a policeman was killed in an accident during the pursuit. The kidnappers had given numerous interviews during these three days and the media's behaviour was heavily discussed.