who lived to adulthood. The older sister, unable to withstand life in this cursed place, married and left, leaving Viktoria alone with her fear.
And so, at the age of 27, fragile and broken, she continued to live in a house where cruelty and violence reigned, dreaming of a salvation that never came… Her home was more like hell, and there was almost no hope that she would escape from this hell.
The neighbors’ opinions often differed from what the Grubers themselves saw. And one of those who had known this family for many years was Kurt Wagner, who lived on a neighboring farm:
Kurt Wagner’s Testimony.
Having lived on a neighboring farm and known the Gruber family for many years, he left heavy memories of Andreas Gruber and the living conditions of the children. In his testimony, he stated that, in his opinion, the child probably died due to a lack of proper care and insufficient nutrition. Wagner also claimed that he and his father often heard the children being locked in the basement for several days when they passed by the farm. In conclusion, he added: «I’ll tell you frankly, these people were not good.»
Little information about them has survived to this day, as if time and human memory were trying to erase their names from the face of the earth. And those grains of information that have reached us, for the most part, are negative. It seems that history itself is trying to warn us, saying that something terrible was hidden behind this prosperous facade.
Testimony of Hermann Bauer:
In a statement submitted to the police in 1922, Hermann Bauer, a local farmer who sometimes worked with Andreas Gruber, stated the following: «The Grubers were very diligent and thrifty. They led a secluded lifestyle and avoided any contact with other people whenever possible.» Bauer further added that, despite the difficult times caused by war, famine, hyperinflation, and political instability, the Gruber family worked hard to maintain their farm.
This laconic report, devoid of any emotion or personal assessment, nevertheless gave an idea of the Gruber family. They were hardworking and economical, but at the same time extremely withdrawn and detached from the surrounding world. Their lifestyle may have been due to the difficult circumstances of that time, but it could also be evidence of something more – of hidden motives, secrets, and fears.
The history of the Hinterkaifeck farm began long before the tragic events of 1922. Initially, this land belonged to Josef Asam, the first husband of Cäzilia Gruber. It was he who, through his labor and perseverance, turned the abandoned plot of land into a thriving farm. He built a solid house, acquired livestock, and began to cultivate the fields. Hinterkaifeck became the дело (deed/life’s work) of his life, the embodiment of his dream of a quiet and peaceful corner where he could live with his family.
But fate decreed otherwise. Josef Asam died, leaving Cäzilia a widow with a young daughter in her arms. And then Andreas Gruber appeared in her life, a strong and powerful man who offered her his hand in marriage. Cäzilia, in need of protection and support, agreed to marry him, and thus the Hinterkaifeck farm passed into the possession of the Gruber family.
Studying fragments of information, testimonies, and archival data, I will try to recreate more complete portraits of each member of the Gruber family, trying to go beyond dry facts and see them as living people with their hopes, fears, and secrets.
Andreas Gruber:
Andreas Gruber… His very name sounded rough and sharp, like the crunch of gravel underfoot. The master of Hinterkaifeck, stern and uncommunicative, in his not quite sixty years, he was the embodiment of the inhospitable land he cultivated. His face, etched with deep wrinkles, seemed carved from stone, and his eyes, gray and cold as the winter sky, rarely expressed anything but discontent.
Always dressed in dark, worn clothes, he seemed to merge with the landscape, becoming an integral part of the gloomy farm. It was said that he was hardworking and disappeared in the field or in the barn from morning to night.
But this diligence was more forced than virtuous – the land reluctantly yielded a harvest, livestock often fell ill, and every day one had to fight for survival. And perhaps it was this constant struggle that hardened his heart, made him so unsociable and suspicious.
However, there were other rumors… They whispered about his cruelty, about how he treated his wife and daughter, about his outbursts of anger, which made the walls of Hinterkaifeck tremble.
Whether this is true or not, we can no longer find out, but one thing can be said for sure: Andreas Gruber was not an easy man, in whom some dark and sinister secret lurked.
The shadow of tragedy, like a black wing, hung over the Gruber family long before the events in Hinterkaifeck. Andreas’s second child, born in his first, short-lived marriage, died at the age of two.
The circumstances of this death, already sad, were shrouded in a thick fog of rumors and speculation, which over time turned into something sinister. The official cause of death was listed as illness, a rapid fever that took the life of the baby.
But in the quiet Bavarian villages, where gossip spreads faster than the wind, they said something completely different. They whispered that Andreas was involved in the child’s death, that he was too harsh with him, that he did not provide proper care.
Some spoke of an accident, others – of premeditated murder. They even named motives: an unwanted child, an obstacle in life, a burden that needed to be gotten rid of.
There was, of course, no evidence for these monstrous accusations. But even the absence of evidence could not dispel the oppressive feeling that the death of the child was something more than just a tragic accident.
Despite the difficult times, Andreas was a fairly wealthy farmer. He did not trust banks, remembering past crashes and hyperinflation. He kept all his savings – gold coins and banknotes – at home, which many in the area knew about.
Andreas, according to neighbors, was a rude, gloomy, and quick-tempered man. He didn’t get along with anyone due to his bad character. He repeatedly got into drunken brawls and all sorts of scrapes, not disdaining to use force. At any stinging remark addressed to him, he would explode and threaten to kill the offender.
At home, he turned into a real tyrant, punishing all household members for the slightest offense. He often raised his hand to his wife and daughter.
Therefore, the villagers shunned him and did not want to get involved with him, preferring to bypass the Hinterkaifeck farm. They knew that Andreas Gruber was a dangerous and unpredictable man, and it was better not to cross paths with him.
He was a stranger among his own, a lonely and embittered man, ready to vent his anger on the closest and most defenseless.
It is known that he was married twice. Almost nothing is known about the first wife; her name has been erased from people’s memory. It is said that she died under mysterious circumstances, but these rumors were never confirmed. Having married Cäzilia, he received not only a wife but also the Hinterkaifeck farm, which he skillfully took over. Andreas Gruber was not just a farmer; he was the master of his land and his family.
Cäzilia Gruber:
A quiet shadow in the Gruber house. At seventy-two years old, she seemed older than her years. A face etched with wrinkles revealed a hard life full of labor and cares. Her eyes had dimmed, as if the light of hope had gone out in them. She modestly dressed in dark dresses and scarves, hiding her gray hair. Her movements were slow and careful, as if she was afraid to disrupt the fragile balance in the house.
Cäzilia Zanhuber (later Gruber) entered into her first marriage with Josef Asam von Hinterkaifeck. His name, although it sounded weighty, did not mean belonging to the aristocracy. «Von Hinterkaifeck» is not part of his surname, but rather an indication of his origin and ownership of the Hinterkaifeck farm. In those days in Bavaria (and in other parts of Germany), it was customary to add «von» to the surname if the family owned land or had noble