True Life Tuesday: Alfred Lowenstein

This is a very strange story. It sounds like the premise of a bad action movie but is very much real.

Alfred Lowenstein was born on March 11, 1877 in Brussels Belgium. His father, Bernard, was a German-Jewish banker. However, his father eventually converted to Catholicism. By 1914 Alfred was very successful and wealthy in his own right. 

In 1926 he established the International Holdings and Investments, LTD. By 1928 he was worth 12 million pounds and was the 3rd richest man in the world. However, he was also dealing with some controversy. There was many concerns about the ethics of his business dealings. 

On July 4, 1928 Alfred Lowenstein disappeared. The strange part of his disappearance is that he was on his private plane at the time. He was flying from England back to Brussels after a business meeting. On the plane with him were his valet, secretary, two stenographers, a mechanic and the pilot. The weather was calm and the fight was smooth.

While nearing the English Channel he headed to the small bathroom at the back of the plane. When he did not return after about 10 minutes his valet went to check on him. There was no answer when he knocked on the door so they eventually broke the door down. When they got into the bathroom it was empty.

The valet told the pilot and he decided to land on a deserted beach dear Dunkirk instead of a nearby airfield. Near where they landed there was a local army training. The passengers were questioned by the officer in charge Lieutenant Marquailles. He noted that the pilot was acting very strangely. The passengers assumed that Alfred accidently opened the emergency exit near the bathroom by mistake and fell ouot of the plane. However, it was later determined that since the door opened outward it would be impossible for one person to open it alone. 

On July 19th his body was located by a fishing boat near the French coast. His body was so decomposed that he had to be identified by his watch. His family requested an autopsy. It revealed that he had a number of broken bones and a partial skull fracture. It was also determined that he was alive when he hit the water. 

There are many theories on what happened. Some believe that he was murdered on orders of his business rivals and was thrown from the plane. However, the passengers all state that no one left their seats until the valet went to check on him. Another theory is that he committed suicide because his corrupt practices were about to be exposed. The final theory is that he simply opened the wrong door and this was a sad accident. The problem with these two theories is the fact that it was found to be nearly impossible for one person to open the exit door. To this day this mystery has never been solved. 

On July 19,