Born in this very house on June 29, 1927. The Henry Jaeger Plaque commemorates the life of Karl-Heinz Jäger, later known as Henry Jaeger. He was a German writer with a tumultuous past.
Henry Jaeger’s early life in Frankfurt-Bornheim shaped his future. His father was a coppersmith. Family disputes marked his childhood. During the war, his father left. He formed close friendships with neighbor kids Horst and Willi Korbmacher.
In 1942, Henry Jaeger and his friends became air defense assistants. Later, they were drafted into the Wehrmacht. Jaeger claimed parachute training. He saw action on the Western Front. These traumatic war experiences would later appear in his books. In 1945, he was captured by British forces.
After his release, Henry Jaeger worked as a lab assistant for the US Army in Frankfurt. He attended night classes to study medicine. However, he was denied admission. Following a conflict, he lost his job with the Army. Jaeger turned to black market activities.
With the Korbmacher brothers, he ran an illegal taxi service. They also committed burglaries targeting tire, fur, and office machine dealers. In the 1950s, Henry Jaeger led the “Jaeger Gang”. They specialized in robberies and burglaries. The Korbmacher brothers and Fred Holland-Nell were core members. They used mostly wooden replicas of weapons. However, they sometimes used real machine guns.
Careful planning and quick execution helped them evade justice. They became known as the most cunning gang in Germany. In December 1954, they robbed the postal pension office. This led to a massive police crackdown. A reward of 11,000 D-Mark was offered. In May 1955, Henry Jaeger and his accomplices were arrested. Evidence linked them to over 70 burglaries and robberies.
The trial in Mannheim drew great public interest. In September 1956, Henry Jaeger received a twelve-year prison sentence. He began serving his sentence in Bruchsal. Later, he was moved to Freiburg. Strict conditions led to a psychological crisis. To avoid madness, Jaeger secretly started writing a novel. He used toilet paper and a smuggled pencil. He confided in the prison chaplain who smuggled the pages out. Kurt Desch published the book.
In 1962, his novel “Die Festung” appeared under the name Henry Jaeger. It became a sensation. With permission, he wrote his second book in prison. A pardon led to his early release in 1963.
He interned at the Frankfurter Rundschau. Then, he worked as a local editor. He wrote reports about Josephine Baker and other celebrities. His first novel was filmed. It was titled “Verdammt zur Sünde”. Henry Jaeger married Elke. She was the daughter of a judge. This event received significant media attention. His third novel sparked public debate about prisons.
From 1965, Henry Jaeger lived as a writer in Switzerland. Erich Maria Remarque introduced him to the artists’ colony in Ascona. He befriended Remarque. Jaeger portrayed life in the colony in his novel “Der Club”. In the mid-1970s, Henry Jaeger suffered a stroke. It affected his ability to speak and write. From the late 1970s, his novels were written for entertainment.
Due to alcohol abuse, his marriage ended. His writing declined. He spent his final months in a hospice. The community of Ascona provided his grave and funeral.
Critics praised Henry Jaeger’s early novels. They were seen as insightful portrayals of marginalized people. Despite his success, his criminal past haunted him. Later, he was accused of writing trivial literature. However, he remained true to his liberal views. His later works still contained social commentary. This plaque honors a man who transformed from a criminal into a celebrated author. He found redemption through literature.