The toddler’s favorite cuddly toy. A piece of jewelery given for a special occasion. There are things for everyone that are particularly painful to lose, even if they may not have been particularly expensive. Max Bierwage, 18, who is just taking his Abitur at the Max Planck High School in Pasing, lost a traditional jacket while partying at the Spring Festival. He and his mother in particular do not want to accept that. For more than a week, Sandra Bierwage has been trying, with considerable effort, to get the jacket back. She feels a little “guilty,” she says. Her son actually wanted to go without a jacket, but she urged him to put it on – so he wouldn’t catch a cold.
SZ: Is the jacket such a valuable piece?
Sandra Bierwage: It is of great ideal value. It’s a brown traditional jacket with brown staghorn buttons that my mother once knitted for her husband. She knitted the same jacket in Klein for my brother, they simply belong together and have been family-owned for more than 40 years. Max has been wearing grandpa’s jacket for three years. He wore them to Oktoberfest 2019, and after that there were hardly any more opportunities. Only now for the Spring Festival again. And now she’s gone. He had put it on the struts under the beer table and when he wanted to go home it was gone.
What have you done?
We tried calling first, there’s a lost and found number at the Spring Festival. I chose my fingers sore, but nobody answers. So the next day we drove to the Theresienwiese and rummaged through two huge plastic bags with things that had been left behind in the tent. I can’t believe what’s in there. Dirndl blouses, bras … – yes, do women go home naked?
The jacket wasn’t in it?
No unfortunately.
Sandra Bierwage doesn’t give up easily.
(Photo: private)
But you haven’t given up yet?
For us, this is an affair of the heart. I then wanted to make an appeal on a private radio station, but they said they couldn’t do that. Then I had the idea of trying it directly through the schools. On May 3rd, the Augustiner tent was full of high school graduates who were celebrating because they had passed the last written exam in math. So I looked up the e-mail addresses of all 44 high schools in Munich from the Internet and sent a detailed inquiry to each one, with the request that they be forwarded to the upper school students. Maybe there was just a mix-up of jackets. We would also show our gratitude if you returned it.
Has anyone reported?
There was a lot of nice feedback, from the secretariats, for example, many replied that they would be happy to do that and keep their fingers crossed for us. But unfortunately no one has contacted me to date who has Max’ jacket.
And now?
(sighs) I don’t know who else to turn to, what else to do.
Knitting a new traditional jacket?
My mom is 85, she no longer knits. And I can’t, never wanted to learn. And then it wouldn’t be this special jacket.