Cologne: Mouse statue stolen in front of WDR building

Mouse statue from WDR Cologne stolen. Thieves document the crime on Instagram

Oct 16, 2024 5:15 am Share

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The popular mouse figure in downtown Cologne has disappeared. © dpa, Oliver Berg

The mouse statue in front of the WDR building in Cologne was stolen. The thieves document their crime on Instagram – and provide clues about their motive there.

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The popular orange mouse figure on the WDR building in Cologne has been missing since Tuesday morning. According to WDR program director Jörg Schönenborn, the “kidnappers” left a sign telling the station not to worry. “Maybe this is meant to be funny, but I think not all children who are mouse fans find it funny,” he said – and appealed to the unknown perpetrators to bring the mouse back.

“Well, we have a sense of humor. If the whole thing is supposed to be a joke, we hope for a good punch line,” explained Schönenborn. “But seriously: The mouse belongs to our audience, and it is not okay to kidnap it – no matter what you want to do with it.” The sign left behind also read, among other things: “I’m fine and in a few days I’m back safely.”

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The WDR stated in a press statement that even if the initiators of the campaign wanted to point out the value of public broadcasting, the mouse should not be used for political campaigns. “Right now, during the autumn holidays, she is missed by many mouse fans big and small who want to have their photo taken with their favorite character.” The human-sized figure was in spring 2021 for the 50th anniversary of the first episode of “Sendung mit der Maus “was inaugurated by Westdeutscher Rundfunk.

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