Talk of the town from Gelsenkirchen in the live ticker

8:28 p.m.: Harsh criticism of the savings bank is immediately underlined with cheers and applause from the audience. “They’re still bricking up the front endlessly,” says visitor Andreas, who has been waiting for a response from the savings bank for weeks: “How long do you want to wait?” Another visitor wants to know where the Sparkasse boss has been in the past seven weeks: “As a person affected, I feel let down.” Visitors have not yet received any satisfactory answers.

8:22 p.m.: Sparkasse boss Klotz says he is dealing with the consequences of the break-in almost every minute. “I have never experienced a situation like this in my professional life,” he says: “It doesn’t leave anyone unscathed.” The scale of the coup is also unique.

Looking back, Klotz admits that the Sparkasse could have communicated better. Between the years, however, his team feared further escalation if representatives showed up in front of the branch in Buer. “The plan was to open in a controlled manner on the 30th,” he continues. But the influx was significantly larger than expected. That’s why the savings bank decided to provide information on the website and a hotline. Those responsible would also have had to obtain information themselves first.

8:18 p.m.: Police Chief Frommeyer reports progress in the investigation. At least the branch is open again. More than 600 tips were received from the civilian population. “We will definitely have a lot to do in the next few months,” he says.

8:10 p.m.: A large proportion of visitors are themselves affected by the break-in, as a short survey using a show of hands shows. “It’s still anger, helplessness and sleepless nights,” says Sigrid. She is constantly reminded of the break-in. She now has a lot of work to do with securing her valuables.

Petra has already digested the initial shock. “The helplessness and fear of the future are still there,” she says. After all, she lost jewelry and savings from many decades. She lost everything: “That comes back to mind every day.”

7:58 p.m.: Michael Klotz, head of Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen, comes on stage. The talk of the town begins.

7:45 p.m.: The interest is huge. Fifteen minutes before the start, almost all seats in the cinema are already occupied. Even people who are not affected, like Jens Stöckmann, don’t want to miss the event. “This is a story of the century, you have to be part of it!” he says. He also represents injured family members. For him as an outsider, the coup is “like a good comic – somehow unreal, hard to believe.”

What impressed him most was how callous the perpetrators were. He still sees helplessness in all areas. Marie-Lia Lopes sees Sparkasse customers in a “difficulty situation”. They trusted the financial institution and stored jewelry, heirlooms and cash in the lockers. Presumably not all of this should have been known to the authorities. But in order to be able to enforce possible legal claims, this is exactly what is necessary. “This is a great uncertainty for those affected,” she says.

7:17 p.m.: The entrance area of ​​the Schauburg in Gelsenkirchen fills up long before admission. Visitors are eagerly awaiting the first public appearance of Sparkasse boss Michael Klotz. “So far we haven’t had any good information – nothing at all,” said visitor Diane, criticizing the financial institution’s previous communication. She is also bothered by the fact that such a format only takes place almost two months after the break-in.

Diane, like many victims, hopes that they will find out how things are going. “Whether you can hope to get some of the money back,” she says. She and her husband had invested in gold to provide for their retirement and were happy about the recent rising prices. “It’s all gone now,” says the Gelsenkirchen resident.

She would like to know from the police whether they have any leads on the perpetrators and how long the investigation will continue. She describes an appointment with the investigators as “super nice.” But so far they have said little about the evidence or findings.

Even before the event begins, it becomes clear how much the burglary continues to concern Sparkasse customers. “Those two months were terrible,” says Diane. Only gradually does she regain her composure.

3 p.m: The victims get it Bank burglary in Gelsenkirchen finally answers to theirs many questions? At least that’s what visitors to the Schauburg Filmpalast might hope. The WDR invites you on Thursday evening to “Talk of the town“, the broadcaster announces Tim Frommeyer, police chief in Gelsenkirchen, and Michael Klotz, chairman of the Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen, as guests.

Gelsenkirchen bank collapse: Sparkasse boss turns himself in

According to WDR, it is the first time for Klotz to appear in public since the coup. More than 350 investigators are now working on the case, which is worldwide caused a stir has. Previously unknown perpetrators gained access to the archive room of the Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen-Buer over the Christmas holidays 2025 and from there broke into the vault with a core drill.

They spent hours cleaning out more than 3,000 lockers and stole an amount that could be in the three-digit million range. For comparison: The spectacular art theft from the Louvre in Paris in October 2025 was reported to have caused damage of 88 million euros.

Doubts about security precautions

The savings bank is now confronted with lawsuits for damages and severe criticism of the security concept. Savings bank boss Klotz has so far vehemently claimed that the protective measures corresponded to the “state of the art”. However, there are considerable doubts about this. Among other things, an expert commissioned by the victim’s lawyer Daniel Kuhlmann assumes that structure-borne sound sensors or core drilling protection were probably missing in the wall.

A court will probably have to clarify the question of liability. The financial institution has so far relied on the insured sum of 10,300 euros. However, some customers had stored a significantly larger amount of jewelry and cash in their lockers.

The Gelsenkirchen police have so far remained tight-lipped about the status of the investigation. Police Chief Frommeyer recently gave those affected hope. “We’ll get the savings bank burglars,” he told him WDR.

Lawyer cancels participation in panel discussion

Attorney Kuhlmann said he was also invited to the panel discussion. However, he canceled and has no hope of an honest reappraisal in this format. Therefore, his law firm sees “no basis for a well-founded discussion,” he said Facebook writes. He doesn’t expect that there will be answers to detailed and critical questions: “Simply self-promotion by the Sparkasse – with the usual platitudes that they have done everything, everything is safe and they are working hard to clarify things – will not get the matter any further.” That’s why those who were injured had the last one Resignation of the Sparkasse boss required.

The talk of the town will be from 8:03 p.m. in the local time broadcast on WDR 5. FOCUS online reports in the live ticker from Gelsenkirchen.