303:, where she died by suicide by walking into the sea from an isolated beach. Niedermayer's two daughters, Renate and Gabrielle, also died by suicide, in 1991 and 1994 respectively, with Renate dying in South Africa and Gabrielle in England. Gabrielle's husband, Robin Williams-Powell, killed himself five years later in 1999. Gabrielle and Robin are survived by their two daughters, Tanya and Rachel.
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denied at the time that it had received any demands from the IRA in relation to the kidnapping. However, several years later it was revealed that the UK government had briefly attempted to negotiate with the IRA, seeking the safe return of
Niedermayer in exchange for the transfer of two IRA members,
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in 1973) and 42-year-old John
Bradley (also an IRA member) were charged in connection with the crime. Bradley was originally charged with murder, but at his trial in 1981 he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, stating that he had accidentally killed Niedermayer whilst he was trying to escape. McManus
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on the head with the butt of a pistol. His captors tied him up in order to subdue him, but he continued to struggle before his captors saw him go limp and realised he had died. Niedermayer was secretly buried in a shallow grave the following day.
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169:, then one of the major names in consumer electronics in Europe. In 1961, he moved with his family to be the general manager of that company’s new plant in Belfast, the first it had established outside Germany. He also served as the
189:. Two IRA members lured him outside his house on the pretext that they had accidentally crashed into his car. The abduction incident was witnessed by his younger daughter, who had answered the door to the two men.
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pleaded guilty to withholding information about the crime and IRA membership. Bradley was subsequently sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment, and McManus to five years' imprisonment.
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154:. He retrained as a toolmaker and was a foreman by the age of 18. In 1952, he married Ingeborg Tramowsky, also from Bamberg, born to a refugee family from former German
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In 1953, Niedermayer was promoted to management as assistant to the director of an electronics company. In 1955, aged just 27, he entered higher management at the
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Niedermayer's wife, Ingeborg, returned to
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Information later obtained by the Royal Ulster
Constabulary revealed that the kidnapping operation had been orchestrated by
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Niedermayer was kidnapped on 27 December 1973, at around 11 pm, from his home in the
Glengoland area of Suffolk in
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111:
549:"He was abducted by an IRA gang, pistol-whipped and buried face down, so that he could only dig himself in deeper"
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491:
Lost Lives: The
Stories of the Men, Women and Children Who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles
287:, a former employee of the Belfast Grundig factory where Niedermayer had been general manager. Keenan, as a
252:. The autopsy was unable to determine whether his death was caused by one or both of the skull fractures, a
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patrol and attempted to shout for help. He was stopped by four IRA members, beaten, and
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488:; Kelters, Seamus; Feeney, Brian; Thornton, Chris; McVea, David (2001).
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The crime and its aftermath is the subject of the 2023 documentary film
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Niedermayer was born to a working-class family in 1928 in the city of
588:"Face Down review – documentary traces trauma of a brutal IRA murder"
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Duplicity and
Deception: Policing the Twilight Zone of the Troubles
334:, abducted by IRA, remains found in an embankment on 11 March 1980.
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representative, had had several confrontations with
Niedermayer.
356:"Tragic fate of the Niedermayers a sign of history's long reach"
328:, kidnapped along with his wife in 1974, both released unharmed.
523:"Three generations: fall-out from a forgotten Irish kidnapping"
408:"A knock on the door: Thomas Niedermayer Kidnapping by the IRA"
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in
December 1973. Niedermayer was the managing director of the
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Thomas
Niedermayer: German businessman remembered in Belfast
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The Disappeared: Forced Disappearances in Ireland 1798-1998
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On 30 December 1973, while held captive, Niedermayer saw a
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People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
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16:German businessman and honorary consul (1928–1973)
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429:"The heavy price paid by the tragic Niedermayers"
228:Nearly seven years later, on 11 March 1980, the
332:List of Kidnappings 1950 to 1979 - Niedermayer
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326:John Hely-Hutchinson, 7th Earl of Donoughmore
267:and he was buried in the church's graveyard.
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652:by David Blake Knox, New Island Books, Pub.
624:Der Spiegel, Nr. 6/1974, Waffen im Container
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738:Terrorist incidents in Ireland in the 1970s
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244:, one of which was consistent with being
703:German expatriates in the United Kingdom
563:– via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
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576:, Impala Publications, 18 August 2015
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728:Terrorism deaths in Northern Ireland
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275:Eugene McManus (IRA Belfast Brigade
698:20th-century German businesspeople
586:Arbuthnot, Leaf (10 August 2023).
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678:1970s murders in Northern Ireland
650:The Killing of Thomas Niedermayer
194:Government of the United Kingdom
551:. 23 April 2010. Archived from
406:Duffy, Joe (16 February 2013).
1:
620:, RTE Radio, 16 February 2013
453:Ó Ruairc, Pádraig Óg (2024).
240:. A post-mortem revealed two
378:. BBC News, 23 December 2023
574:Niedermeyer, by James O'Fee
310:, directed by Gerry Gregg.
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263:His funeral took place at
230:Royal Ulster Constabulary
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713:Kidnapped businesspeople
708:German terrorism victims
693:1973 in Northern Ireland
718:Kidnapped German people
234:buried in an embankment
683:1973 crimes in Ireland
433:Belfasttelegraph.co.uk
496:Mainstream Publishing
498:. pp. 410–411.
461:. pp. 290–291.
93:Ingeborg Niedermayer
618:A Knock on the Door
411:(radio documentary)
389:"Collateral Damage"
173:honorary consul to
529:. 15 February 2013
435:. 30 January 2013.
362:. 4 February 2013.
108:Thomas Niedermayer
68:, Northern Ireland
49:, Bavaria, Germany
25:Thomas Niedermayer
658:978-1-84840-734-3
638:by Alan Simpson (
555:on 10 August 2023
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142:in Bavarian
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60:(1973-12-30)
43:8 March 1928
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688:1973 deaths
673:1928 births
289:trade union
171:West German
122:factory in
667:Categories
644:0863224164
339:References
238:Colin Glen
134:Background
82:Occupation
599:10 August
559:10 August
415:RTE Radio
308:Face Down
246:assaulted
181:Abduction
163:Nuremberg
152:Karlsruhe
144:Franconia
527:BBC News
314:See also
277:Adjutant
265:Dunmurry
197:sisters
98:Children
533:13 June
248:with a
207:England
167:Grundig
140:Bamberg
124:Belfast
120:Grundig
66:Belfast
47:Bamberg
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222:struck
90:Spouse
256:, or
654:ISBN
640:ISBN
601:2023
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535:2021
500:ISBN
463:ISBN
301:Bray
201:and
192:The
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55:Died
40:Born
393:DRB
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