Herman Lamm
German-American bank robber
Herman Karl Lamm (April 19, 1890 – December 16, 1930), known as Baron Lamm, was a German-American bank robber. A former Prussian Army soldier who emigrated to the United States, Lamm believed a heist required all the planning of a military operation. He pioneered the concepts of "casing" a bank and developing escape routes before conducting the robbery. Using a meticulous planning system called "The Lamm Technique", he conducted dozens of successful bank robberies from the end of World War I.
In 1930, Lamm committed suicide when surrounded by a law-enforcement party in Sidell, Illinois, after a botched heist. Lamm's techniques were studied and imitated by other bank robbers across the country, including the infamous John Dillinger.
Criminal career
Lamm was a member of the Prussian Army, but was cashiered by his regiment after he was caught cheating at cards. After he was discredited, Lamm emigrated to the United States shortly before the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Lamm became a holdup man, and quickly started adapting his military training, his study of tactics, and his precision and discipline into the commission of crimes. He theorized that a heist required all the planning of a military operation, which included the development of contingency options in the event of unforeseen problems. Bank robberies in the United States were largely improvised at the time, resulting in varied degrees of success and failure among heists.
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