When you talk about prominent cases of tax evasion in Germany today, few remember Dr. Eduard Zwick. In the 1970s and 80s, he evaded about EUR 41,000,000 in taxes. In addition, there are about DM 30,000,000 in interest, late payments and other tax benefits. With a total of DM 71.000.000 tax liabilities, Eduard Zwick then moved to Switzerland. He was thus spared a prosecution in Germany. But this was also bitter for the public, because it turned out that Eduard Zwick received support from the then Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauß and other high-ranking CSU politicians in his tax activities. In fact, even despite his escape abroad and tax investigation for tax evasion, they wanted to give him a high order for his merits.

Dr. Eduard Zwick was born on 15.08.1921 in Bakova, which today belongs to Romania. His parents were Banat Germans, an ethnic minority in this country. During World War II, Eduard Zwick studied medicine in Austria and Germany. However, he became a doctor only after the end of the war, working in East Berlin. In 1953, however, he fled to West Germany. He did his doctorate again in Würzburg, but moved to Sumatra together with his wife Angelika in 1955 to provide development assistance as a doctor. Shortly after her arrival, her son John was also born.

In 1958, the Zwick family returned to Germany. They had brought a special experience from Indonesia, namely how health-promoting natural spas can be. So they now went in search of a suitable location in Germany to establish a sanatorium.

Eduard Zwick founded a sanatorium in Bad Füssing in 1958 with the money earned in the distance, which at that time was only called Füssing. In 1964, Eduard Zwick succeeded in tapping a layer of water underground with a drilling. Since the physical properties corresponded to the doctor’s ideas of a medicinal water, he erected the Johannesbad thermal baths here in the following years, which he named after his son. Eduard Zwick thus laid the foundation for his future success as a doctor and entrepreneur.

Since the spa town he founded is located in a remote corner of Lower Bavaria near the border with Austria, there was hardly any prospect of a large number of visitors at that time. Nevertheless, Eduard Zwick, who in the meantime was able to make contact with Franz Josef Strauß (often abbreviated to FJS), managed to make the place known. His political contact helped him because he ensured that public health facilities of the Free State preferred the spa offer of Eduard Zwick for questions about spa stays. In fact, it was also during this time that the spa town received the coveted by municipalities because upgrading title "Bad"; This happened in 1969.

But Eduard Zwick also had a close friendship with Franz Josef Strauß for other reasons. Because he hoped that the now lavishly flowing profits remained largely untaxed. In any case, over the course of a decade, a tax burden of the then fabulous DM 41,000,000 accumulated, which also accounted for other tax-related benefits. It is known that Eduard Zwick consulted Franz Josef Strauß in this regard and let himself be reassured by him.

Because Franz Josef Strauß, who was already at that time a nationwide important politician and became a living icon for the Free State of Bavaria, had opportunities to let the tax affairs of his friend rest unnoticed by the public. In return, Eduard Zwick donated many expensive celebrations and travels to his CSU top Amigo, from private funds, as the Doctor later reported. The CSU also benefited from benevolent donations from Eduard Zwick. This was particularly important when Franz Josef Strauß tried to establish the CSU as a federal party. But also in his election campaign in 1980, when Franz Josef Strauß wanted to become Chancellor, Eduard Zwick generously supported him. Legendary is the provision of a private jet with the identification D-IFJS to the Chancellor aspirant.

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But at some point the matter became so volatile that even Franz Josef Strauß, who was then Bavarian Prime Minister, could no longer exert influence on the financial administration to protect the bath king. In fact, he is said to have even advised him to leave Germany to avoid prosecution.

Eduard Zwick must have been quite disappointed after all the friendship services he had provided for FJS. He still had a way out. But in order to be able to take the handsome assets abroad, he converted all his assets existing in Germany into a public limited company, in which he held the bearer shares. Because the place where the bearer shares are located decides whether they are enforceable in Germany. Thus, all assets in Germany were protected from foreclosure as long as the shares were abroad.

In addition, he had transferred the management of the spa and the associated companies to his son Johannes.

And so in 1982 Eduard Zwick went abroad together with his wife and his fortune. Previously, he had celebrated a rushing farewell party in the circle of his friends in Bad Füssing, including, of course, Franz Josef. Eduard Zick thus disappeared into Switzerland, where he moved to a beautiful villa on Lake Lugano, which he left for stays at his ranch in Nevada.

Because it was clear that he now had to avoid Germany. After all, Eduard Zwick was henceforth considered a tax evader, on whom a warrant was issued. It is incomprehensible that FJS even tried to propose Eduard Zwick for the Federal Cross of Merit 1st class.

Although a committee of inquiry of the Bavarian Parliament in 1994 tried to persuade Eduard Zwick to testify, to which the warrant for the assurance of free escort wanted to be suspended temporarily, the fugitive Dr. Zwick distrusted and otherwise refused to give testimony. After all, FJS had already died for several years.

With the flight of Doctor Zwick to Switzerland, the efforts of the Bavarian financial authorities to collect the outstanding taxes were now hardly motivated by optimism. Dr. Johannes Zwick tried to make it clear to the authorities that his father no longer had any enforceable property in Germany.

Finally, this led to a breakdown of the procedure in 1990 against payment of DM 8,300,000. Apparently, the old ropes, which continued to extend through the 1988 deceased Franz Josef Strauß into the financial administration, were still helpful. Since the agreement to quash the procedure was a secret agreement, and it became known to the public about three years later, it had to be revoked.

In fact, one did not want or could not draw a line under the Zwick cause in the Bavarian financial administration. It continued to follow how the shareholding of the AG founded by Eduard Zwick before his escape developed. At the beginning of 1994, they became active and arrested Dr. Johannes Zwick, who was now accused of tax evasion. Because it turned out that in the meantime, through various holding structures in Germany and Luxembourg, the participation in the AG had transferred from Zwick Senior to Junior, albeit indirectly. But that's another story altogether.

In any case, Dr. Eduard Zwick died in Bern in 1998 without ever being prosecuted for his tax evasion. Apparently, his efforts for his friend Franz Josef Strauß and other CSU Grands ultimately paid off financially. In addition, despite all the circumstances to the contrary, he has managed to transfer the bath empire to his son John. How could it have been otherwise – the transfer took place without the occurrence of a gift or inheritance tax, and this time even quite legally. At least Eduard Zwick seems to have become wiser on this point over time.