November 16, 2024, 5:15 am | Read time: 10 minutes

Not many tourists come to Floreana. This is because the southernmost island in the Galápagos archipelago is said to be under a death curse. At least the various mysterious deaths that have occurred here within a very short space of time speak for this. And more were to follow.

Would you rather listen to this article than read it? Here is the corresponding episode of our podcast “Tatort Reise” (in German).

The protagonists

The First Settlers: Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch

Friedrich Ritter and his lover Dore Strauch were the first to settle on the previously uninhabited island. They came from Wollbach in Baden in 1929 and left spouses at home, who in turn formed a couple. Ritter and Strauch wanted to fulfil their dream of a life far from civilization on Floreana.

Friedrich Ritter, born in 1886 and a trained doctor, was committed to his own natural philosophy. He wanted to prove that he could live to be 140 years old without meat on his plate and clothes on his body. To prevent tooth decay and the like, the two allegedly had all their teeth extracted in Germany and had stainless steel dentures made that they wanted to share in case of emergencies. In the end, however, none of Ritter’s plans worked out. He did not reach the age of 140, he gave up trying to abstain from meat, and his love also became fragile. But more on that later.

The First New Arrivals: The Wittmer Family

Heinz Wittmer, born in 1891, had been working in the secretariat of Mayor Konrad Adenauer in Cologne when he became fascinated by the newspaper articles about Friedrich Ritter and his dream of leaving the country. He finally decided to move to the island with his wife Margret, who was 14 years younger than him, and his son Harry from his first marriage. In August 1932, they came to Floreana and moved into a few caves on a hill – much to the displeasure of Friedrich Ritter, who eventually fled from the people. Dore Strauch, who, unlike her husband, longed for other people, was also disappointed. After all, Margret Wittmer was just an ordinary housewife – a way of life that Strauch deeply detested.

The ‘Baroness’ and her lovers

A few months after the Wittmers, the Baroness appeared on the scene. However, it is doubtful whether the 40-something lady named Eloise Wagner de Bousquet was actually a noblewoman. There is also a rumor that she was a dancer in Constantinople and previously a spy in the First World War. In any case, she certainly behaved like a baroness. In her entourage: her two lovers, Rudolf Lorenz and Robert Philippson. She had previously run a boutique in Paris with both men, and now the three of them wanted to build a hotel for millionaires on Floreana, a kind of “Miami for Galápagos”. The hotel was to be called “Hacienda Paradiso”.

This video on YouTube shows historical footage of Ritter, Strauch, the baroness, and her lovers.

The tragedy takes its course

While the arrival of the Wittmers already caused frustration among the first settlers, the real drama begins with the arrival of the baroness and her lovers. German author Marcus Straub, who has written a book about the Floreana tragedy and dealt extensively with the events, tells TRAVELBOOK about the first disputes with the baroness: “It all started when the baroness arrived with a package of letters for Doctor Ritter. And these letters had all been opened, photos were missing, probably a few banknotes too. It was immediately assumed that the baroness had opened the letters.”

In other respects, too, the lady was obviously up to no good: She confiscated supplies, controlled the mail, occupied the freshwater spring, brandished riding crops and pistols. She is also held responsible for the death of Dore Strauch’s beloved donkey. As idolatrously as she was loved by her lovers, she was hated by the other islanders.

Internal conflicts arise

But even in the ménage-à-trois, all was not right with the world. The baroness increasingly treated the blonde Lorenz like a slave. In addition, his rival beat him up. More and more often, the humiliated man fled to the Wittmers, where he complained about his suffering and feared that the baroness and Philippson wanted to kill him.

There were also rivalries between the three women. For example, Mr. Wittmer had gotten into the habit of spending Sundays with Dore Strauch, which Margret didn’t like at all. And although the doctor never tired of expressing his deep dislike of the baroness, in one photo he holds an arm around her and looks at her almost lovingly.

In general, Ritter had turned away from his Dore more and more. Soon there was no longer any trace of love. The family at home in Germany, for example, were surprised that Ritter only complained about his mistress in his letters and didn’t leave anything good about her. On the island, the other inhabitants had to witness more and more often how the doctor even abused his companion, who suffered from multiple sclerosis.

Three people vanish, one is being poisoned

One day in March 1934, the baroness appeared at Margret Wittmer’s house and declared that she was leaving Floreana and starting afresh in the South Seas. She and Philippson did indeed disappear that same day – but probably not by sea. A boat was not sighted in those days. And when the other islanders visited the baroness’s estate, they found everything unchanged. Even her lucky charm, the book “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, without which she would never set off on a journey, was lying on the table next to the filled ashtray.

A few months after the disappearance of the baroness and Philippson, Rudolf Lorenz also left the island. He wanted to return to Germany and hired the Norwegian Trygve Nuggerud. They set sail on a Friday the 13th – and also disappeared without a trace. The almost mummified bodies of the men were only found on an uninhabited neighboring island in November. They had apparently died of thirst.

By the time the men were found, the number of inhabitants on the island had already been further reduced. Dr. Ritter, a vegetarian, had died in November – of meat poisoning. The chicken had been prepared by Dore Strauch, and the doctor finally realized at the last moment that something must have gone wrong. As the poison paralyzed his face and he could no longer speak, he allegedly wrote his last words on a piece of paper: “I curse you with my last breath.” After Ritter’s death, Dore Strauch left the island for Germany, where she died a few years later.

The mysterious deaths of the Baroness and Philippson

All of a sudden, the Wittmers were alone on the island. And, of course, the question arises: Had they committed the murders of the baroness and her lover? Was it, more likely, Lorenz? Or Ritter? Or both of them together? Author Marcus Straub has a different theory: “I claim to know that it was not a premeditated murder. That there was never a premeditated murder on Floreana, but that it was a combination of accident and self-defense.”

He believes that the baroness’s lovers, who have since become rivals, may have quarrelled, and when she tried to settle the dispute, she fell and hit her head. As a result, another islander – it is unclear who – tried to break up the quarrel with a warning shot. Another shot was then fired and Philippson was fatally shot.

A series of unfortunate events

What really happened back then is not known, and will never be known. The fact is that the mysterious deaths caused a worldwide sensation. For example, the writer Georges Simenon, who was staying nearby, wrote several articles about the affair, which were published in “Paris-Soir”. The American President Franklin D. Roosevelt went to Floreana on a trip to South America specifically to question the Wittmers. And, of course, the mysterious story was reported in numerous newspapers. And due to a lack of facts, imagination was also used. Time and again, there was talk of a curse on Floreana.

There could actually be something to it. Because the series of misfortunes was far from over with the events of the early 1930s. In 1951, Harry Wittmer drowned in a boating accident at the age of just 33. In 1969, the husband of Ingeborg, Margret’s daughter, disappeared on a hunting trip and his body was never found. And when a group of American tourists hiked into the highlands in the 1960s and one of the women stayed behind, she was never seen again.

In the end, Margret Wittmer was the only one who really grew old on the island. She lived on Floreana for a total of 68 years and was 95 years old when she died in 2000. And ultimately, it was she who was to open a hotel – albeit not for millionaires—the Wittmer Lodge. Today, it is run by her daughter Ingeborg, born in April 1937, who is reluctant to talk about the events of that time. “Read my mother’s book, it’s all in there,” she snapped at a writer from the “Welt” newspaper.

A drama that captivated the world

And the hotel founder’s book – Margret Wittmer’s “Postlagernd Floreana – Erlebnisbericht deutscher Siedler” – is, of course, the best vacation reading for a trip to the Galápagos Islands, which is why the tourist office used it as an advertising medium for a long time. It is perhaps the most successful (it became a bestseller worldwide) but not the only book written about the Galápagos affair. Dore Strauch also wrote down her memories before her death. And numerous writers were inspired by the incidents on Floreana, including the German Marcus Straub.

Incidentally, the author is not at all surprised that this drama came about in the first place: “Three different parties with such different goals on a barren island where there is hardly any drinking water – it was more or less foreseeable that this could not go well. What’s more, there were also internal conflicts within the respective parties. Except for the Wittmers, who always seemed to stick together, and that’s probably what ultimately led to them being the only survivors of this drama.”

The drama hits the silver screen

This incredible story finally made it to the big screen, as a two-hour documentary with celebrity participation. Cate Blanchett reads passages from the book by Dore Strauch. Diane Krüger speaks Margret Wittmer, and Sebastian Koch quotes from Friedrich Ritter’s letters. The movie, “The Galapagos Affair”, was shown at the Berlinale in 2014.

Incidentally, the explanation for the tragedy on Floreana is provided right at the beginning. The Galápagos tortoises were allegedly to blame. According to a legend, they would put a curse on anyone who came to the islands with bad intentions.

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Journeying to Floreana

The ferry takes two hours from Puerto Ayora on the main island of Santa Cruz to Floreana.