It has been described as the most "spectacular" bank robbery in Germany in years.
On a quiet weekend just after Christmas, a group of thieves forced their way into a bank on High Street in the western German city of Gelsenkirchen by drilling a hole through a wall.
They robbed more than 3,000 safes and stole millions of euros.
More than a month later, police have still not made any arrests.
For bank customers, some of whom say they have lost life savings and precious family jewelry and valuables, this is a time of anger, confusion and shock.
There is a strong sense that trust in institutions has waned, writes BBC, Telegrafi reports.
The case has raised all kinds of questions, and some of them have been clarified by Herbert Reul, the interior minister in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Why didn't anyone notice what was happening? Was it an inside job?
Why didn't anyone hear the drilling and how did the thieves know exactly where the safe was?
Were the bank's security systems too weak?
Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward and believe the thieves entered the building through a neighbouring car park.
From there, police believe they bypassed several security systems and entered a file room near the vault, in the bank's basement.
They set up the drilling machine and drilled a 40 cm wide hole in the wall leading to the room where the safes were kept.
It is understood the robbery must have taken place sometime between Saturday, December 27-29, according to officials, who believe the thieves may have almost been caught just before they reached the safe.
Shortly after 06:00 a.m. on December 27, the Gelsenkirchen fire brigade and a private security company received a warning of a fire alarm from the bank, which may have been activated by thieves.
Police and 20 firefighters arrived at the bank at 06:15 a.m., "but found nothing indicating damage," police said in a statement.
The fire alarm had come from the safe, Reul discovered.
But firefighters couldn't get inside because it was locked.
Reul said they saw “no smoke, no smell of fire or damage,” so they “thought it was a false alarm,” which he said was not unusual.
He told a state parliamentary committee that the police had no right to search the bank at that time, as this was a matter for the fire department. They would have needed permission.
It is reported that after breaking in, the thieves opened almost all 3,250 safes, taking cash, gold, and jewelry.
Reul noted that computer systems at the bank show that the first box was opened at 10:45 a.m. on December 27 and the last at 14:44 p.m. It is not clear whether they managed to open most of the boxes in four hours or whether the technology stopped recording data.
Authorities say they do not know exactly how much was stolen, but German media estimate that the thieves may have made off with up to 100 million euros.
Police later released photos and video footage from the parking lot's security cameras, which showed men with their faces covered, and two cars, a black Audi RS 6 and a white Mercedes Citan. Both had fake license plates.
But the theft was not discovered until December 29, when another fire alarm was activated at 03:58 a.m. and firefighters returned to the bank to find a scene of chaos.
Reul said it looked like "a garbage dump," with items scattered on the floor - the contents of safes that the thieves had left behind.
Police have discovered that many items were damaged after the thieves poured water and chemicals on them. They have since been carefully searching through the rubble – looking for clues and trying to determine what belongs to whom.
As details of the robbery emerged, around 200 customers gathered outside the Sparkasse, demanding to be allowed inside.
The police arrived in several patrol cars and secured the entrance.
Joachim Alfred Wagner, 63, announced that he had lost not only gold worth tens of thousands of euros, but also jewelry belonging to his father and grandparents.
He had rented the safe after several burglaries in his apartment, thinking his valuables would be safe there.
"I cried with rage," he recalls.
Wagner is one of the first to file a lawsuit against the bank, seeking damages for what his lawyer, Daniel Kuhlmann, has called weak security.
Another had deposited 400,000 euros in cash from the sale of an apartment – money that you had set aside for retirement.
However, the bank has stated that it was itself a victim of the crime and that its premises were "secured in accordance with the latest known technology."
While some customers had official receipts for the contents of their safes, others did not.
According to Reul, the psychological damage should not be underestimated either.
"We should help the victims," he thinks.
According to him, "for many people, this is more than just a loss of property, it can also affect their confidence in their sense of security and... their faith in our order."
Shortly after the theft was discovered, Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party held a rally outside the bank, leading some to accuse the party of trying to cause trouble.
German magazine Der Spiegel said the robbery had become a political issue and a symbol of something bigger than the crime itself: "The feeling that promises of security are empty, that institutions are failing, that ultimately no one is being held accountable."
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