DÜSSELDORF — 1991 · Unsolved Case

Assassination of Detlev Karsten Rohwedder

UnsolvedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

Detlev Karsten Rohwedder, head of the Treuhandanstalt agency tasked with privatising East Germany's state enterprises, was shot dead on the night of 1 April 1991 in the study of his home in Düsseldorf-Niederkassel by a rifle fired from about 63 metres away; his wife was wounded. A claim of responsibility in the RAF's name was found at the scene, and the same weapon was linked to an attack on the US Embassy in Bonn weeks earlier. A 2001 DNA analysis connected a hair at the scene to a deceased RAF member, but prosecutors did not consider it sufficient evidence. The shooter has never been identified, and claims of Stasi involvement are still debated.

Date: 1991
Place: North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Düsseldorf, DE
Category: Unsolved Case
Case Status: Unsolved
Coordinates: 51.2436, 6.7447 ↗

Timeline of Events

1 April 1991Rohwedder was shot through a window at his Düsseldorf home.
April 1991A claim of responsibility in the RAF's name was found at the scene.

2001DNA analysis pointed to a dead RAF member; the evidence was deemed insufficient.
2021On the 30th anniversary the case remained unsolved.

Sources

Der Nordschleswiger — Rohwedder-Mord seit 30 Jahren ungeklärt nordschleswiger.dk ↗
Wikipedia — Detlev Karsten Rohwedder en.wikipedia.org ↗
Der Nordschleswiger
ZDF
Wikipedia

Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.