Hi everyone! I’m new here, but I’ve been pretty fascinated by the Peter Bergmann case for a while now. I figured I’d finally type up my thoughts on the case:
HIS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Let’s begin with the belongings that were found with the deceased. According to the
Irish Times 2019 article on the case (which I’ll be using as a primary reference for most of my thoughts here), here is a complete list of the belongings that were found:
- Black leather Finn Comfort shoes, size 44, manufactured in 2002 in Germany
- Dark socks
- A black leather C&A jacket
- Navy C&A chino trousers
- A black sleeveless Tommy Hilfiger jumper
- A black leather belt, called Key West USA, made in Italy
- €140 in notes and €9 in coins, in an envelope
- A packet of tissues
- 55mg of asprin tablets, made by Bayer, manufactured in the Czech Republic and distributed in Germany
- Hansaplast sticking plasters
- A bar of hotel soap in an unopened blue plastic wrapper printed with Mild Soap, Hotel Care (when subsequently investigated, it was not of a brand made or stocked in any hotels in Ireland)
To me, the belongings suggest very strongly that the deceased is from Germany, because 1) his Finn Comfort shoes were manufactured in Germany, 2) his aspirin tablets were distributed in Germany, 3) he possessed Hansaplast sticking plasters (Hansaplast is a subsidiary of the German multinational company Beiersdorf AG, and their products are very popular in Germany), and 4) he possessed two articles of C&A clothing (C&A has by far its largest percentage of stores in Germany—467 locations in Germany, versus 169 locations in the next-closest country, France).
It would be interesting to learn what hotel chains are the biggest users of the particular brand of hotel soap that was found amongst the deceased’s belongings. Based on what I’ve outlined above, I would not at all be surprised to learn that the soap is commonly stocked by German hotels.
Much has been said—both here and on other forums—of the false address that the deceased used when checking into his hotel in Sligo. In my opinion, it is clear that the deceased went to great lengths to disguise his identity, even going so far as to remove the labels from his clothing. If he put so much thought & planning into disguising his identity, why would he carelessly provide a Vienna address with a misspelled street name (“Ainstettersn”) and a nonexistent postal code (“4472”)? I believe that, if he hailed from elsewhere in Austria (or had spent significant time there), he would have provided a more “believable” false address, with an actual Viennese street name & postal code. For instance, I am an American, and if I were brainstorming a false address in New York City, I’d instinctually make it sound realistic based on my experience with the city (i.e. I’d say “420 5th Avenue,” rather than “12 Apperkt Street”).
I believe that Austria was a red herring, because it is a Germanic country, and the deceased knew that his German accent could plausibly be considered to be Austrian by foreigners.
HIS ENTRY INTO IRELAND
To me, one of the most mysterious aspects of this case is how the deceased arrived in Ireland. No one knows how he mysteriously appeared at the bus depot in Derry on June 12th, 2009.
Many have asked, in frustration, why the authorities didn’t simply check passenger manifests for inbound flights during the preceding days—but the Irish Times article states that “the name he gave did not appear on any passenger manifest, and for foot passengers on ferries from Britain there were no identity checks.” The article also states that, at one point, as many as 10 investigators were working on the case. I find it highly unlikely that they wouldn’t have scoured passenger manifests for the entire week, looking for any evidence of the deceased’s arrival in Ireland. This, in conjunction with the fact that there were no identity checks for passengers arriving on ferries from Britain, suggests to me that the deceased must have arrived on a ferry from the mainland UK.
Assuming that the deceased did indeed fly to an airport in the UK, and ultimately took a ferry to Derry, the real question becomes: did the Irish authorities ever cross-reference the name “Peter Bergmann” with British passenger manifests/entry logs for the weeks leading up to Bergmann’s arrival in Derry? I am not entirely sure whether the UK uses some sort of national, electronic database to track all arrivals at points of entry—but given that this was 8 years after 9/11 (and the corresponding tightening of security protocols), I would guess that they did have such a system in place.
OCCAM’S RAZOR
The simplest explanation is most often the correct explanation, right? Well… how do we explain that the deceased doesn’t seem to match any missing persons in Germany (or elsewhere in Europe)?
I suppose it is possible that Bergmann was a fugitive, or a spy, or the son of a high-ranking Nazi—and for whatever reason, he chose to hide his identity even in death. But I think that these explanations miss the mark, for a variety of reasons. For instance, if he were a fugitive, why didn’t other European police forces immediately recognize him (and why aren’t his DNA & fingerprints on file anywhere)? To me, these more "exotic" explanations defy Occam’s Razor.
I think that the deceased's actions during his time at the hotel (including his purchasing 82c stamps—which would have allowed for letters to be mailed internationally— and his regularly leaving the hotel with the purple bag that was empty each time he returned) suggest that he did, indeed, take the time to notify those close to him that he would not be returning. It is likely for that reason that he was never officially reported missing in his country of origin.
Given the advanced state of his illness, it is almost impossible that he was unaware of his condition, and those closest to him likely noticed his physical deterioration in the months leading up to his disappearance as well. In my opinion, the simplest explanation is that he wanted to "go out on his own terms," so to speak, and wanted to spare his loved ones the grief & expenses of a funeral/burial. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'll ever develop a satisfactory hypothesis as to why he was so determined to disguise his identity—especially if he intended for his corpse to drift off to sea, never to be found (thereby achieving his goal of sparing his loved ones from grief & expenses). But I do believe that he notified his loved ones of his impending demise, and I doubt that he was as mysterious a figure in life (i.e. a spy or fugitive) as he was in death.
Looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts!
We will see, whether I will get an answer or not. It is possible, that mods deleted my mail as an inappropriate one.
