This cleverly conceived tool assisted two inmates in their escape from Ludwigsburg prison, Germany, on August 19, 1987. GRAPPLING HOOK - with segmented extension rod (13 segments, overall length: 4.5 meters) rope made of leather and string. Also suitable as a means of cell-to-cell communication among inmates. Prisoners occasionally manage to install gizmos like this one in guard-rooms to be prepared for upcoming cell searches. RADIO TRANSMITTER/BUG - made of radio recorder parts by an inmate of Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany (battery is missing). The mock weapon was found in 1994 in a prison workshop in Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany, after jailers were tipped off that an escape attempt was being planned. The grisly weapon was found around 1996 in ‘Santa Fu’ jail in Hamburg, Germany, in the cell of a drug addicted inmate after his failed attempt to extort a higher Methadone ration by threatening a female prison officer with a knife.ĭUMMY SUBMACHINE GUN - made from a grease injector, wood, a rubber sleeve, and tape. Around 1984 his behaviour finally got the attention of the jailers who gave the prosthesis a check. NARCOTICS CACHE - In a hollow space inside his artificial leg a prisoner in open detention frequently smuggled narcotics into ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, Germany. It is either a weapon, or, attached to a pole, might have been designed to push away barbed wire from the top of a wall during an escape. MACE - This instrument was found in 1997 in the metal workshop of ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, Germany, where an unknown inmate manufactured and hid it. On October 10, 1994, inmates Gerhard Polak and Raimund Albert used this ladder during their successful escape from ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, LADDER - made of steel rails from bookshelves. They were loaded with pieces of steel and match-heads. The weapons had been made in the prison’s metal workshop. The range of materials they are made of mirrors the inmates’ great imagination.ĭOUBLE-BARRELED PISTOL - This gun was found along with other homemade firearms in the cell of two Celle prison inmates on November 15, 1984. Smoking implements are the most common illicit items in prisons. HASH PIPE - fashioned from an empty horseradish tube confiscated in ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, Germany. The weapon was found in a cell in the prison of Wolfenbüttel, Germany, sometime around 1993. KNUCKLEDUSTER - with padded handle, made from a rasp that was presumably stolen from a prison workshop. Your typical inmate’s moonshine still includes a plastic can containing fermented fruit mash or juice, an immersion coil of some sort, a rubber hose, and a plastic receptacle for the booze. Jailbirds use these tools to distil alcoholic beverages forbidden in prisons. IMMERSION HEATER - made from razor blades found in a cell in ‘Santa Fu’ jail in Hamburg, Germany. At that time a lot of crucifixes were fashioned in prison woodshops until jailers finally figured out their true purpose. SHIV - disguised as a wooden crucifix found in an inmate’s cell in Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany, sometime around 1994 intended for use in an escape or as a general weapon. On two inmates of a prison in Celle, Germany, took a jailer as a hostage, showed off their fire power by letting go at a pane of bullet-proof glass, and escaped by car. SHOTGUN - made from iron bedposts charge made of pieces of lead from curtain tape and match-heads, to be ignited by AA batteries and a broken light bulb. Photographer Marc Steinmetz must have understood this when he set out to create the fantastic photo essay we've printed below, showing some of the most cunning and creative improvised weapons and tools built by inmates in his home country of Germany.Īll images and captions, Marc Steinmetz photography It seems nothing brings out the ingenuity in a person like an endless sea of days spent staring through bars and thinking about freedom. Keeping up with inmate improvisation is an endless and thankless project.
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