- Dominik Brunner
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Dominik Florian Brunner (born 18 May 1959 in Stuttgart, died 12 September 2009 in Munich) was a German businessman. He was the CFO of Erlus AG, Germany’s largest roof tile manufacturer.[1] He was killed in a fight which resulted from Brunner trying to protect a group of school children from attacks by teenagers.
Contents
Biography
Brunner was born to a family of entrepreneurs. His father Oscar Brunner was the finance manager of one of Germany's largest roof tile manufacturers, Erlus AG. After receiving his Abitur in Landshut Brunner studied law at the University of Munich and worked in office positions in San Francisco and Paris. He followed his father's trail when he took a leading position at Erlus AG. His fields of responsibility included finance, organization, personnel, law and purchases.
In the 1990s, Brunner trained kickboxing at Boxclub Straubing, but gave up the hobby after he noticed more and more young men arriving to the to club to learn how to beat others.[2]
Death
On 12 September 2009 four school children were being threatened by two older teenagers, Markus Schiller and Sebastian Leibinger,[3] who tried to rob and mug them, on a Munich S-Bahn train. When Brunner and the young teens alighted at München Solln station Brunner was punched and kicked over 20 times.[4] He eventually died on site due to a pre-existing heart condition.[5]
Schiller and Leibinger have been charged with murder.[2] In the current court case, it has been proven that Brunner got involved with the aim of protecting the school children, but it is questionable if he died due to the brutal beating by the accused. There are differing versions on how the fight between Brunner and the accused resulted.[6] When the accused were threatening the children, Brunner asked them to stop, or he would call the police. The accused did not listen, so Brunner informed the police. He then asked the children to "stay away", took a combat position and started to hit and fight the accused. However, according to another witness, Brunner approached the accused, shouted "this is what you want", and then hit Markus Schiller on the face. Although described as a hero in early media reports, later there has been discussion regarding how much blame on starting the fight lies on Brunner himself.[6]
Awards
Brunner was posthumously awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit (Bayerischer Verdienstorden) by Prime Minister of Bavaria Horst Seehofer, and the Federal Cross of Merit by German President Horst Köhler.[7]
References
- ^ "Killer teen S-Bahn gang were let go six days before deadly attack". bild.de. 2009-09-16. http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/bild-english/world-news/2009/09/16/munich-s-bahn-train-death/killer-teen-gang-let-go-six-days-before-attack.html. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- ^ a b Das Heldenbild Brunner wird unheimlich Die Zeit
- ^ Scally, Derek (14 July 2010). "Youths on trial for killing 'Samaritan'". irishtimes.com. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0714/1224274660976.html. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ^ "Death of a hero: The murder of Dominik Brunner". salon.com. 2009-09-20. http://open.salon.com/blog/lost_in_berlin/2009/09/20/death_of_a_hero_the_murder_of_dominik_brunner. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- ^ http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/0,1518,707012,00.html
- ^ a b Ist Dominik Brunner jetzt noch ein Held Die Zeit.
- ^ "President honours man killed by bullies at Munich S-Bahn station". thelocal.de. 2009-10-05. http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091005-22359.html. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
External links
- Dominik Brunner Stiftung für Zivilcourage (established by his relatives)
Categories:- 1959 births
- 2009 deaths
- German businesspeople
- German murder victims
- Members of the Bavarian Order of Merit
- Murder in 2009
- Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- People from Bavaria
- People from Stuttgart
- People murdered in Germany
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