Voting Station

Isidor Fisch

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Scapegoat

The Resume

    (July 26, 1905-March 29, 1934)
    Born in Leipzig, Germany
    Birth name was Isidor Srul Fisch
    Fur cutter and alleged con-man
    Emigrated to New York City from Leipzig, Germany in 1925
    Returned to Germany in December of 1933, dying of Tuberculosis shortly after his return (Mar. 29, 1934)
    Named as a person of interest in the investigations surrounding the Charles Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping and Murder (1935)
    Known as the mysterious dead man Bruno Richard Hauptmann claimed had given him the shoe box full of the Lindbergh Baby ransom money
    Defense proved unable to convincingly tie Fisch to the kidnapping/murder; Hauptmann was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and executed on April 3, 1936

Why he might be annoying:

    Hauptmann's testimony involving him was dubbed 'the Fisch Story' by the police.
    He was described as a 'confidence man' by old associates; a consummate chiseler, welsher, and possible drug dealer.
    It remains unclear as to whether or not he had a role in the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby son (the FBI was accused of withholding information of his dealings with Hauptmann).
    Many did find it suspicious, however, that he applied for his passport the day Charles Lindbergh Jr. was found dead.
    Historians, crime analysts, and conspiracy theorists have variously pegged him as the possible identity of 'Cemetery John' who collected the ransom money (thick action, similar frame, and, like 'John,' had a whooping cough).
    He had a history of approaching many in the Bronx to invest in a variety of business schemes, most of which were bogus.
    He was involved in small fencing operations which involved the purchasing of 'hot' money cheaply to store and re-use later.
    According to Hauptmann, he convinced him to go enter a business partnership involving stock market investing and furs.
    Hauptmann claimed that he leant him $2,000 to return to Germany and was given a brown paper shoebox, tied with string, allegedly containing 'important papers.' Hauptmann claimed he never opened the box, putting it on a high shelf in his closet on the eve of his return.
    When he never returned, Hauptmann found himself left $7500 in debt from their joint fur/stock trading business. When he began searching for Isidor's furs in storage, he turned up empty handed.
    Among other things, he claimed to have discovered that Fisch had a long history of debt with investors and landlords, and that he owned only a few furs which had been sold years ago (the furs Hauptmann had seen were allegedly fakes, the mink farm having closed years earlier).
    He returned home with no leads, only to come across Fish's brown paper package while searching for a broom in his closet, discovering that the 'papers' were in fact close to 25,000 gold certificate bills.
    He hid the bills behind some wooden boards in his garage and, since Fisch had owed him $7,000, he decided to keep the money for his family without telling them. He spent them gradually over two years, spending one bill at a Bronx gas station. The rest is history.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His German acquaintances called him 'a harmless fur trader.'
    His family members traveled to New Jersey and disputed Hauptmann's story at his trial.
    He was described as being habitually sick and seemingly always 'starving to death.'
    His siblings testified that Fisch had been too destitute to afford medical treatment in his final months, and had died a penniless (surely he would have used the ransom money for his health concerns).
    He was allegedly so poor that his parents had to regularly send him money from his German hometown.
    They also testified that neither Fisch (not even on his death bed) nor Hauptmann had made any mention of the shoebox and its contents, in the letters sent to them after Fisch's death.
    Many historians have argued that he was not physically healthy enough, and was too frail, to have carried out the Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping.
    German guy actively scapegoating the Jewish guy in the 1930s for the murder of children? Why does this sound familiar...
    Hauptmann's vagueness and inconsistency when pressed for details on Fisch led many to believe he was just trying to BS his way out of the electric chair.
    His headstone has inscriptions in both German and Hebrew; the latter which translates to 'here lies/a bachelor young in years/a son of grace and peace towards humanity/who walked the path of the righteous/Yisroel.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 90.91% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 14 Votes: 35.71% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 22 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 26 Votes: 57.69% Annoying