Schwarzer Peter: From person to legend

No one wants to be stuck with Schwarzer Peter. Especially not when it means taking the blame for a bad decision or misfortune. This saying has its origins in a card game that is popular in many German households. The loser is the person who ends up holding the Schwarzer Peter card. But hardly anyone knows that both the term and the card game can be traced back to a real person – Johann Peter Petri, better known as “Schwarzer Peter” (Black Peter), whose adventurous story begins in the small town of Burgen. Johann Peter Petri was born on March 24, 1752, in Burgen. He was the son of Johann Peter Petri and his wife Christina Margaretha. Little is known about his childhood, but around 1780 he married 21-year-old Maria Katharina, daughter of innkeeper and charcoal burner Johann Georg Neumann. After their wedding, the newlyweds moved in with Christina’s father in Hüttgeswasen, a settlement in the Hunsrück region that was mainly populated by woodworkers. Petri found work as a charcoal burner, a profession that not only required hard physical labor but was also associated with a lot of dirt. His nickname “Black Peter” probably dates from this period. The arduous and dirty nature of his craft not only shaped his living conditions but also laid the foundation for a legend. However, the Petris’ life took a dramatic turn. In 1794, French troops destroyed their hut during an invasion and the couple lost everything they owned. With three children and the loss of their home, the family was left to fend for themselves. Peter tried to earn money by cutting wood and doing odd jobs, but with eight family members, this was hardly possible. The hardship became increasingly pressing, so he looked for new ways to feed his family. In 1797, in a time of despair and uncertainty, Schwarzer Peter took in 19-year-old Johannes Bückler, better known as Schinderhannes. This meeting was to have far-reaching consequences. Together with his eldest son and Schinderhannes, they committed their first robbery near Kirn. From then on, a series of robberies, thefts, and burglaries followed. Schwarzer Peter quickly became the mentor of the younger Schinderhannes, and the region was terrorized by the band of robbers. On August 12, 1798, Peter’s darkness crossed a fatal line when, in a fit of rage and drunkenness, he murdered the cattle dealer Seligmann. This was done in revenge for a forbidden love affair Peter had with the wife of Iltis-Jacob. At that time, Simon Seligmann had observed the two during their tryst and told Iltis-Jacob everything, whereupon the latter murdered his wife. Soon after, Peter was arrested and taken to prison in Simmern. But Schwarzer Peter was a master of escape; he escaped and lived under the name Johann Wild on the right bank of the Rhine, where he worked as a charcoal burner again. In 1802, the notorious Schinderhannes was finally arrested, and a year later he was executed by the French authorities in Mainz along with 19 other accomplices. However, Schwarzer Peter’s fate was not yet sealed. In 1811, he too fell victim to a general raid. His fellow prisoners betrayed his true identity, and he was soon sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes. Schwarzer Peter met his end in Bicêtre prison near Paris. According to reports, he died “in a drunken stupor,” but the exact year of his death remains uncertain. And just as there is no picture of him, the exact circumstances of his death have remained hidden. During his imprisonment, Johann Peter Petri is said to have invented the card game of the same name. Perhaps he saw this game as a kind of reflection of his own life, because it teaches us one thing: whoever ends up with the Black Peter has lost. The legend of Black Peter reminds us not only of the abyss of a life marked by despair and criminal decisions, but also of how an individual fate can become a cultural icon. The card game may provide cheerful, convivial evenings in its simple form, but it bears the shadow of the figure who gave it its name. So the question remains: Who will be dealt the Black Peter in their own life story? And can we really laugh about it? Schwarzer Peter is not just an element of the game; it has its roots in a dark, fascinating tale of loss, despair, and ultimately the falling star of a man who did not seize his opportunities. Thus, it reminds us that life is often about more than just the game we play—it is also about the decisions we make.