![München, Gedenktafel an Dominik Brunner, 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/M%C3%BCnchen%2C_Gedenktafel_an_Dominik_Brunner%2C_1.jpeg/1200px-M%C3%BCnchen%2C_Gedenktafel_an_Dominik_Brunner%2C_1.jpeg)
Dominik Florian Brunner (born 18 May 1959 in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, died 12 September 2009 in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
) was a German businessman.
He was the CFO of Erlus AG, Germany’s largest
roof tile
A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...
manufacturer, and died in a fight which resulted from Brunner trying to protect a group of school children from attacks by teenagers.
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
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
in
Landshut
Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...
, Brunner studied law at the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...
and worked in office positions in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and Paris. He followed in his father's footsteps 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 in
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
at Boxclub Straubing, but gave up the hobby after he noticed more and more young men arriving at the club to learn how to beat others.
[Claudia Keller]
"Das Heldenbild Brunner wird unheimlich"
''Der Tagesspiegel
''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...
'', ''Die Zeit
''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles.
History
The ...
'', 12 July 2010, retrieved 1 November 2012
Death
On 12 September 2009, four school children were being threatened on a
Munich S-Bahn
The Munich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn München) is an Railway electrification system, electric rail transit system in Munich, Germany. "S-Bahn" is the German abbreviation for ''Stadtschnellbahn'' (literally, "urban rapid rail"), and the Munich S-Bahn ...
train by two older teenagers, Markus Schiller and Sebastian Leibinger, who tried to rob and mug them. When Brunner and the young teens arrived at
München Solln station
Munich-Solln station is a Munich S-Bahn railway station on the Bayerische Oberlandbahn
The Bayerische Oberlandbahn GmbH (BOB) is a private railway company based in Holzkirchen, Germany, and owned by Transdev Germany (formerly known as ''Veol ...
, Brunner was punched and kicked over 20 times. He eventually died on-site due to a pre-existing heart condition.
Schiller and Leibinger were charged with murder.
[ In the court case, it was proven that Brunner became involved with the aim of protecting the school children, but questions were raised as to whether he died due to the brutal beating by the accused, and there were differing versions of how the fight between Brunner and the accused started.][ 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 up 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 in the face. Although he was described as a hero in early media reports, there was discussion later regarding how much blame for starting the fight lies with Brunner himself.][Miriam Hollstein]
"Ist Dominik Brunner jetzt noch ein Held?"
''Die Welt'', 18 July 2012, retrieved 1 November 2012 .
The court pronounced judgement on 6 September 2010: Schiller, who had by then turned 19, was sentenced to 9 years and 10 months in a youth facility as a primary accomplice in an attempted robbery with violence leading to murder; Leibinger was sentenced to 7 years in a youth facility as a primary accomplice in an attempted robbery with violence leading to grievous bodily harm resulting in death. The Federal Court of Justice
The Federal Court of Justice (german: Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction (''ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit'') in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situat ...
rejected the defence appeal.
Awards and honors
* Brunner was posthumously awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit
The Bavarian Order of Merit (german: Bayerischer Verdienstorden) is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria ...
(''Bayerischer Verdienstorden'') by Minister-President
A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...
of Bavaria Horst Seehofer
Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician who served as Minister of the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), he served as the 18 ...
, and the Federal Cross of Merit
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
by German President
The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler (; born 22 February 1943) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU (of which he is ...
.
* Asteroid 192293 Dominikbrunner
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
, discovered by Freimut Börngen
Freimut Börngen (; 17 October 1930 – 19 June 2021) was a German astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets. A few sources give his first name wrongly as "Freimuth". The Minor Planet Center credits him as F. Borngen.
He studied ga ...
in 1990, was named in his memory. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
...
on 30 March 2010 ().
References
External links
Dominik Brunner Stiftung für Zivilcourage
(established by his relatives)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Dominik
1959 births
2009 deaths
Businesspeople from Stuttgart
German murder victims
2009 murders in Germany
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Businesspeople from Bavaria
Deaths by beating in Europe
People murdered in Germany