Hans-Joachim Bohlmann

Hans-Joachim Bohlmann (20 September 1937 – 19 January 2009) was a German serial vandal who primarily targeted artworks at public exhibitions. Between 1977 and 2006, he damaged over 50 paintings worth more than 270 million Deutsche Marks (about 138 million euro) by such artists as Rubens, Rembrandt and Dürer.

Bohlmann was born in Breslau (modern Wrocław).

Since his youth, Bohlmann suffered from a serious personality disorder. At the age of 16, he voluntarily went to the psychiatric clinic of the University of Kiel and underwent electric shock and insulin treatments. Around that time, he was a plumber apprentice, but could not focus on a single occupation and was doing various jobs. He had several therapy courses involving tranquilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotic drugs, behavior therapy and group therapy, but with very limited success.

In 1968, Bohlmann got married and worked for six years at a warehouse. He then frequently took valium and haloperidol and regularly attended church masses. In 1974, he met the neurosurgeon Dieter Müller from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf who suggested a lobotomy treatment. Although Müller predicted a 75–80% chance of success, the operation brought no improvement. It was later criticized as obsolete and merely reduced Bohlmann's intelligence. On 11 March 1977, his wife fell from a window while cleaning and died from injuries soon after. According to Bohlmann, the death of his wife turned him to vandalism. Previously, he often visited museums with his wife and saw the importance of art in society. He then started to buy sulfuric acid at pharmacies and spray it on paintings.

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