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The mayor and the art heist mystery

In 1979, five very old and valuable paintings were stolen from a castle in East Germany. Solving the crime became a lifelong mission for Knut Kreuch.

Knut Kreuch was a 13-year-old schoolboy in 1979 when his town in East Germany was shaken by an audacious and baffling art heist. Five very old and valuable paintings were stolen from a museum within the local castle and simply disappeared. Not even the feared secret police, the Stasi, could solve the crime. The mystery fascinated Knut and years later, when he became the town's mayor, he was determined to track down the missing artworks. He tells Jo Fidgen how he set about it.

Michael Keegan-Dolan is an award-winning dancer and choreographer from Dublin whose work is influenced by old Irish legends.

Wajeeh Nuseibeh听is the Muslim doorkeeper to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. His family has opened the doors of the church since the 7th Century, and the role has passed on from father to son.听For the first time in nearly 700 years, the church was closed as a precaution against coronavirus.

Picture:听Knut Kreuch
Credit: DPA

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Tue 28 Apr 2020 03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 27 Apr 2020 11:06GMT
  • Mon 27 Apr 2020 17:06GMT
  • Tue 28 Apr 2020 03:06GMT

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Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected