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October 2018

Their ABC News says the Berlin Wall had its good points

Tuesday, 09 October 2018

Exhibit One

Exhibit Two - the opinion of those offensive arseholes at ABC News.

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 11.30.40 am

In Germany, the fall of the Berlin Wall is like Kennedy's assassination, or 9/11 — everyone remembers exactly where they were when it happened.

For most citizens on both sides of the wall, its fall came suddenly and unexpectedly on November 9, 1989.

The traditional historical narrative is that the fall heralded a new, bright era for socialist and communist states desperate for a capitalist system.

It was hailed as a triumph of democracy over a regime that included the Stasi, the East German security police who spied on and persecuted citizens.

But this view is not entirely accurate for everyone.

Collapse and reunification

It took nearly two decades after the end of World War II to start building the wall — separating the western part of Berlin, belonging to West Germany, from East Berlin.

Man aiming hammer at Berlin Wall between Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag in November 1989.PHOTO: The fall of the Berlin Wall reunited East and West Berlin — but not all East Germans were pleased with the consequences. (Getty: Luis Veiga)

The rest of the border between East and West Germany was delineated with fencing, mines, watchtowers and barbed wire.

But the collapse of the wall meant the erasure of the entire border, not just in Berlin, and led to the reunification of Germany one year later.

A country 'disappeared overnight'

This reunification is largely seen by the West as a positive thing, but for some East Germans, their homeland, identity and political system virtually disappeared overnight — and there wasn't much that was reunifying about it.

East and West Germany were brought together under West Germany's flag, West Germany's anthem and West Germany's currency.

To a great deal of East Germans, it was an annexation; the East and its values immediately invalidated.

Listen to the episode


The History Listen finds out what it means to grow up inside a not-so-grey, socialist state - and then have it suddenly disappear.

There was a sense that the West was moving in to 'fix' everything that West Germans considered 'wrong' in East Germany, despite East Germany having been the most successful economy of the Eastern Bloc.

And there was a uniqueness to East German society that didn't exist in the West.

"There was something we had which I can only describe as solidarity," says Christian Wolter, a carpenter who grew up in East Berlin.

"The policeman and the plumber were having to deal with the same problems as you, and there was a certain kind of binding factor there. You helped each other."

Colour 1980s photo of family sitting around a table, with plates of cake in front of them.PHOTO: Stefan Schröder's family met for kaffeestunde — coffee gatherings — every day. (Supplied: Stefan Schröder)

Transition or imposition?

During reunification of East and West, there wasn't much of a transition period.

Around 8,000 East German state-run enterprises were sold off and replaced by privatised West German ones.

Many East Germans lost their jobs or houses.

And when their government's subsidies on rent and food disappeared, the cost of living rose dramatically.

Within five years it had risen to Western levels, more than five times what it had been before reunification.

In Berlin, the change was particularly pronounced.

1980s East German grandmother and grandsonPHOTO: Reunification drastically altered everyday life for many former East Germans. (Supplied: Stefan Schröder)

Christian left Germany in 1991, but when he returned to Berlin briefly in 1993 to take care of some paperwork, he found himself lost in his own city.

Berlin was in the throes of development and barely recognisable.

A great many of the street names had changed, as had the tram and bus routes he'd known, and no-one could help him.

He had to buy a map to figure out where he needed to go.

The worst of East Germany


A former people smuggler has warned that the worst crimes of former East Germany have been forgotten.

"In two years things had changed so enormously that I was standing at the main train station and I just looked around and said 'Guys, I have no idea where things are'," Christian says.

"These days I have to actually ask my way. I don't mind, but when I speak German I have a fairly clear Berlin accent, and people recognise it immediately. So when I ask the question, people look at me very funny. They always think 'are you playing a joke on me?'"

History, written by the victors?

There are many misconceptions about the transition from two German states into one.

For Christian, the most egregious is that East Germans desperately wanted a capitalist system.

In the lead-up to the wall falling, there were increasing numbers of peaceful protests in East Germany — but they weren't about switching to a free market.

While there was dissatisfaction with the accountability of their socialist government, most East German citizens were in favour of fixing the existing system, and making it better.

"The wall falling down put an end to that," Christian says.

"It crushed the idea of a liveable society; it broke the whole spell of the better society."

Susann Rittermann, an artist who grew up near Thüringen and studied in Dresden, says "you could feel capitalism starting to come in".

"Overnight, huge advertisements for things like Marlborough and Coca Cola appeared on buildings without any respect for their beauty or history," she says.

"No-one really liked that — it really felt like a sudden takeover by another system.

"West German investors came in and took over all the empty houses, to get them on the market and to make profit out of them. You could feel there was no place for us, you could feel the money coming in and that there was no going back."

To a large number of East Germans, or Ossis, the West was disappointing.

It was too individualistic: it offered too much of everything, and there was no common goal except growth — for some.

To them, East Germany's society had been kinder and friendlier, and it made much more sense to them than the capitalist society that they were suddenly part of.

Profile shot of Christian Wolter in a carpeting workshop.PHOTO: Christian Wolter grew up in East Berlin, but left reunified Germany for Amsterdam in the early 1990s. (Supplied: Christian Wolter)

In East Germany, in theory at least, "there was no difference in payment or in stature between a teacher or the director of the biggest factory — they had the same social stature", Christian says.

"Doctors were valued but the cleaners were just as valued," he says.

"Everybody — the director of the company, the cleaner — got a house, they all got their health insurance, they all bought the same bread and the same butter. It was available for everyone."

For many young East Germans, who hadn't yet had experiences with the darker sides of their government, or any other political system, the change seemed unnecessary.

"I had the happiest childhood that you could wish for," says Christian.

"I never had any trouble, there was no war. There was always enough food, we had plenty of friends and places to go and no worries of any kind that were threatening. I never really felt oppressed."

And despite what Westerners thought of East Germany and its lack of commercial goods, "you could buy a Sony Walkman", Christian says.

"It cost you three months' salary. But if you wanted one, sure you could have it," he says.

"If you wanted to have a colour TV, no problem. It cost you a whole year of your income.

"Everybody thinks it's weird — why would a television be so expensive? The question should be: how can a television be so cheap?"

How do former East Germans feel now?

For Christian, staying in the newly reunified Germany was never an option.

"I felt that I had to change so much that it wasn't where I came from," he says.

He found his new home in a collective in Amsterdam, where he still lives today.

The ideals of East German society still linger in its former citizens.

"Maybe the culture disappeared overnight, but not the mentality," says Stefan Schröder, an artist who now lives in Oslo.

"It takes more time than to destroy that within a few months. You know, you're carrying a culture around."

"You never felt lonely," says Susann, who ultimately left the reunified Germany to study art in Amsterdam.

She also lives in a collective, though a different one than Christian's. She felt more welcome in The Netherlands, and had the sense of being in a group again which, for her, had disappeared after reunification.

"You never had the experience of fear for other people," she says.

"You just left your baby carriage outside the store and you entered the store and someone else took care of it. You didn't even have to ask, people just did it."

ABC crap ends.

Now ABC and fellow travellers - what would you say to the families of the following people, some of the hundreds of freedom seekers killed trying to flee your wall?

 

No. Name Date of birth Date of death Age Role Event details
1 Ida Siekmann
[17][18][19][20]		 23 August 1902 22 August 1961 58 Escapee Died from internal injuries after she jumped out the window of her apartment at Bernauer Straße 48.
2 Günter Litfin
[48]		 19 January 1937 24 August 1961 24 Escapee Shot in Humboldt Harbour
3 Roland Hoff
[49]		 19 March 1934 29 August 1961 27 Escapee Shot in the Teltow Canal
4 Rudolf Urban
[50]		 6 June 1914 17 September 1961 47 Escapee Fell while climbing out the window of his apartment at Bernauer Straße 1, and died of pneumonia in the Lazarus hospitala
5 Olga Segler
[51]		 31 July 1881 26 September 1961 80 Escapee Jumped from her home at Bernauer Straße 34 and died a day later from internal injuries
6 Bernd Lünser
[52]		 11 March 1939 4 October 1961 22 Escapee Fell from the roof at Bernauer Straße 44 while fighting with GDR border patrol
7 Udo Düllick
[53]		 8 March 1936 5 October 1961 25 Escapee Drowned in the Spree
8 Werner Probst
[54]		 18 June 1936 14 October 1961 25 Escapee Shot in the Spree
9 Lothar Lehmann
[55]		 28 January 1942 26 November 1961 19 Escapee Drowned in the Havel
10 Dieter Wohlfahrt
[56]		 27 May 1941 9 December 1961 20 Escapee Shot while helping others escape
11 Ingo Krüger
[57]		 31 January 1940 10 December 1961 21 Escapee Drowned in the Spree – defective diving equipment
12 Georg Feldhahn
[58]		 12 August 1941 19 December 1961 20 No intention Drowned in the Spree after desertion; body found on 11 March 1962
13 Dorit Schmiel
[59]		 25 April 1941 19 February 1962 20 Escapee Shot at Wilhelmsruher Damm at the sector border between Berlin-Pankow and Berlin-Reinickendorf
14 Heinz Jercha
[60]		 1 July 1937 27 March 1962 24 Helper of escapees Shot at Heidelberger Strasse 75 at the sector border between Berlin-Treptow and Berlin-Neukölln
15 Philipp Held
[61]		 2 May 1942 April 1962 19 Escapee Drowned in the Spree on or after 8 April; body found on 22 April
16 Klaus Brueske
[62]		 14 September 1938 18 April 1962 23 Escapee Suffocatedb
17 Peter Böhme
[63]		 17 August 1942 18 April 1962 19 Escapee Shot in a fire-fight
18 Jörgen Schmidtchen
[64]		 28 June 1941 18 April 1962 20 Guard Shot by escapee Peter Bohme at Gleisdreieck Griebnitzsee on the outer ring between Potsdam-Babelsberg and Berlin-Zehlendorf
19 Horst Frank
[65]		 7 May 1942 29 April 1962 19 Escapee Shot at the "Schönholz" garden settlement at the sector border between Berlin-Pankow and Berlin-Reinickendorf
20 Peter Göring
[12][66]		 28 December 1940 23 May 1962 21 Guard Shot; stray bullet from West Berlin police
21 Lutz Haberlandt
[67]		 29 April 1938 27 May 1962 24 Escapee Shot while attempting to escape on the sector border south of the Sandkrug Bridge, near the Charité on Alexander's shore
22 Axel Hannemann
[68]		 27 April 1945 5 June 1962 17 Escapee Shot in the Spree
23 Erna Kelm
[69]		 21 July 1908 11 June 1962 53 Escapee Drowned in the Havel
24 Wolfgang Glöde
[70]		 1 February 1949 11 June 1962 13 No intention Shot accidentally by a guard showing him his AK-47
25 Reinhold Huhn
[71]		 8 March 1942 18 June 1962 20 Guard Shot by escapees
26 Siegfried Noffke
[72]		 9 December 1939 28 June 1962 22 Escapee Shot as an escape helper at the sector border between the districts Mitte and Kreuzberg at Heinrich-Heine-Straße 49, after the local escape tunnel had been betrayed; died on the way to the East Berlin hospital
27 Peter Fechter
[73]		 14 January 1944 17 August 1962 18 Escapee Shot while attempting to escape in Berlin-Mitte, Zimmerstraße; Bleeding in the death strip before the eyes of a large West Berlin crowd
28 Hans-Dieter Wesa
[74]		 10 January 1943 23 August 1962 19 Escapee At the sector border in Gesundbrunnen at S-Bahn station Bornholmer Straße, he was shot at trying to escape and, when he was lying on the ground, shot from close range
29 Ernst Mundt
[75]		 2 December 1921 4 September 1962 40 Escapee Shot while attempting to escape at the sector border, at Sophienfriedhof, Bernauer Ecke Bergstraße
30 Günter Seling
[76]		 28 April 1940 30 September 1962 22 Guard In the service killed border guardsman; shot dead by a comrade on the southwestern outer ring, because according to different information either the submachine gun accidentally triggered or he was confused with a GDR refugee
31 Anton Walzer
[77]		 27 April 1902 8 October 1962 60 Escapee Shot while trying to escape at the sector border in the Spree near the Oberbaumbrücke
32 Horst Plischke
[78]		 12 July 1932 19 November 1962 30 Escapee Drowned in the Spree; body found on 10 March 1963
33 Otfried Reck
[79]		 14 December 1944 27 November 1962 17 Escapee After a foiled escape attempt on the run from the now pursuing Grenzer search party near the border shot
34 Günter Wiedenhöft
[80]		 14 February 1942 5 December 1962 20 Escapee Drowned
35 Hans Räwel
[81]		 11 December 1942 1 January 1963 20 Escapee Shot in the Spree
36 Horst Kutscher
[82]		 5 July 1931 15 January 1963 31 Escapee Shot
37 Peter Kreitlow
[83]		 15 January 1943 24 January 1963 20 Escapee Shot by Soviet troops
38 Wolf-Olaf Muszynski
[84]		 1 February 1947 February 1963/ March 1963 16 Escapee Drowned in the Spree
39 Peter Mädler
[47]		 10 July 1943 26 April 1963 19 Escapee Shot in the Teltow Canal
40 Siegfried Widera
[85]		 12 February 1941 8 September 1963 22 Guard Bludgeoned with a metal rod on 23 August 1963
41 Klaus Schröter
[86]		 21 February 1940 4 November 1963 23 Escapee Drowned in the Spree after being shot
42 Dietmar Schulz
[87]		 21 October 1939 25 November 1963 24 Escapee Hit by a train
43 Dieter Berger
[88]		 27 October 1939 13 December 1963 24 No intention Shot while drunkenly climbing the fence
44 Paul Schultz
[89]		 2 October 1945 25 December 1963 18 Escapee Shot
45 Walter Hayn
[90]		 31 January 1939 27 February 1964 25 Escapee Shot
46 Adolf Philipp
[91]		 13 August 1943 5 May 1964 20 No intention Shot after threatening the border guards with a gun
47 Walter Heike
[92]		 20 September 1934 22 June 1964 29 Escapee Shot
48 Norbert Wolscht
[93]		 27 October 1943 28 July 1964 20 Escapee Drowned in the Havel
49 Rainer Gneiser
[94]		 10 November 1944 28 July 1964 19 Escapee Drowned in the Havel
50 Hildegard Trabant
[95]		 12 June 1927 18 August 1964 37 Escapee Shot while running away from the wall after a failed escape attempt
51 Wernhard Mispelhorn
[96]		 10 November 1945 20 August 1964 18 Escapee Shot on 18 August 1964
52 Egon Schultz
[97]		 4 January 1943 5 October 1964 21 Guard Shot accidentally in a fire-fight
53 Hans-Joachim Wolf
[98]		 8 August 1944 26 November 1964 20 Escapee Shot
54 Joachim Mehr
[99]		 3 April 1945 3 December 1964 19 Escapee Shot
55 Unidentified man
[100]		 Unknown 19 January 1965 Unknown Escapee Drowned in the Spree
56 Christian Buttkus
[101]		 21 February 1944 4 March 1965 21 Escapee Shot
57 Ulrich Krzemien
[102]		 13 September 1940 25 March 1965 24 West-East-Crossing Escaped 1962, drowned in the Spree while crossing to East Berlin
58 Hans-Peter Hauptmann
[103]		 20 March 1939 3 May 1965 26 No intention Shot on 25 April 1965 during an argument with border guards
59 Hermann Döbler
[104]		 28 October 1922 15 June 1965 42 No intention Shot after unintentionally piloting his boat too close to the border along the Teltow Canal
60 Klaus Kratzel
[105]		 3 March 1940 8 August 1965 25 Escapee Hit by a train
61 Klaus Garten
[106]		 19 July 1941 18 August 1965 24 Escapee Shot
62 Walter Kittel
[107]		 21 May 1942 18 October 1965 23 Escapee Shot after surrenderingc
63 Heinz Cyrus
[108]		 5 June 1936 11 November 1965 29 Escapee Fell from the fourth floor of a building he fled to
64 Heinz Sokolowski
[109]		 17 December 1917 25 November 1965 47 Escapee Shot
65 Erich Kühn
[110]		 27 February 1903 3 December 1965 62 Escapee Peritonitis after being shot
66 Heinz Schöneberger
[111]		 7 June 1938 26 December 1965 27 Escapee Shot
67 Dieter Brandes
[112]		 23 October 1946 11 January 1966 19 Escapee Circulatory failure after being shot on 9 June 1965
68 Willi Block
[113]		 5 June 1934 7 February 1966 31 Escapee Shot
69 Lothar Schleusener
[114]		 14 January 1953 14 March 1966 13 Escapee Shot
70 Jörg Hartmann
[115]		 27 October 1955 14 March 1966 10 Escapee Shot
71 Willi Marzahn
[116]		 3 June 1944 19 March 1966 21 Escapee Shot in a fire-fight, at the boundary around Kohlhasenbrück/Steinstücken.
72 Eberhard Schulz
[117]		 11 March 1946 30 March 1966 20 Escapee Shot between Kleinmachnow and Königs Wusterhausen; the co-refugee was even arrested.
73 Michael Kollenderd
[45]		 19 February 1945 25 April 1966 21 Escapee Shot by the NVA soldiers, Desertion attempt at the sector border in Johannisthal at the Teltowkanal; the shooters were acquitted by the reunified Germany, since desertion was a crime under the East German military law.
74 Paul Stretz
[118]		 28 February 1935 29 April 1966 31 No intention Shot while bathing in the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal; had been drinking earlier in the evening
75 Eduard Wroblewski
[119]		 3 March 1933 26 July 1966 33 Escapee Shot while trying to escape (under alcohol) at the outer ring in Mahlow on the border to Lichtenrade near the former S-Bahn dam; He had managed to escape for the first time in 1952, but after nine months returned to the GDR
76 Heinz Schmidt
[46]		 26 October 1919 29 August 1966 46 No intention Shot while bathing in the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal
77 Andreas Senk
[120]		 1960 13 September 1966 6 No intention Drowned in the Spreee
78 Karl-Heinz Kube
[121]		 10 April 1949 16 December 1966 17 Escapee Shot while trying to escape in Kleinmachnow near the Teltower harbor; the co-refugee was arrested
79 Max Sahmland
[122]		 28 March 1929 27 January 1967 37 Escapee Shot; body discovered on 8 March 1967 after the boundary in Teltowkanal at Berlin-Rudow, which is located near to Kanalstraße in Höhe der Firma Eternit.
80 Franciszek Piesik
[123]		 23 November 1942 17 October 1967 24 Escapee (Polish citizen) Drowned
81 Elke Weckeiser
[124]		 31 October 1945 18 February 1968 22 Escapee Shot on 18 February 1968 attempting to escape with Elke Weckeiser on the sector border opposite the Reichstag building near the Kronprinzenbrücke, died on 19 February 1968; was in 1962 voluntarily entered the GDR with his first wife
82 Dieter Weckeiser
[124]		 15 February 1943 19 February 1968 25 Escapee Shot on 18 February 1968 at Reichstag
83 Herbert Mende
[125]		 9 February 1939 10 March 1968 29 No intention Shot on 7 July 1962 under the consumption of alcohol by the Potsdam Police, which is controlled by the Glienicker Brücke.f
84 Bernd Lehmann
[126]		 31 July 1949 28 May 1968 18 Escapee Drowned in the Spree
85 Siegfried Krug
[127]		 22 July 1939 6 July 1968 28 No intention Living in West Germany, legal entry to East Berlin, shot while marching into the border zone and refused to stop
86 Horst Körner
[128]		 12 July 1947 15 November 1968 21 Escapee Shot at Klein-Glienicke/Schlosspark Babelsberg
87 Rolf Henniger
[129]		 30 November 1941 15 November 1968 26 Guard Shot by escapee Horst Körner at Klein-Glienicke/Schlosspark Babelsberg
88 Johannes Lange
[130]		 17 December 1940 9 April 1969 28 Escapee Shot near Adalbertstraße/Leuschnerdamm
89 Klaus-Jürgen Kluge
[131]		 25 July 1948 13 September 1969 21 Escapee Shot near Helmut-Just-Brücke
90 Leo Lis
[132]		 10 May 1924 20 September 1969 45 Escapee Shot near Nordbahnhof
91 Eckhard Wehage
[133]		 8 July 1948 10 March 1970 21 Escapee Began suicide after a failed attempt to flee the hijacking of an Interflug aircraft from East to West Berlin with his wife.g
92 Christel Wehage
[133]		 15 December 1946 10 March 1970 23 Escapee Began suicide after a failed attempt to flee the hijacking of an Interflug aircraft from East to West Berlin with her husband.g
93 Heinz Müller
[134]		 16 May 1943 19 June 1970 27 No intention West German, who was arrested for unknown reasons - possibly under the influence of alcohol - from the West German side in the barrier at the sector border in Berlin-Friedrichshain near the Schilling Bridge and shot there
94 Willi Born
[135]		 19 July 1950 7 July 1970 19 Escapee Suicide during failed escape attempt when he was put by border guards
95 Friedhelm Ehrlich
[136]		 11 July 1950 2 August 1970 20 No intention Called to the NVA and last serving in a border company, Ehrlich penetrated into the sector border area near the Leipziger Straße / Staerkstrasse at the outer ring in Glienicke / Nordbahn (circle Oranienburg) without alcohol and loud (inter alia loud whistling); was then asked, then faked a weapon and the border troops have called for shooting, whereupon a soldier shot him and u. a. met a leg main artery; First aid was not provided, Ehrlich bled to hospital after being admitted; Flight intent unclear
96 Gerald Thiem
[137]		 6 September 1928 7 August 1970 41 Unclear For reasons unknown, the border dries from West Berlin to East Berlin; was shot on the sector border between Neukölln and Treptow, Kiefholzstraße / Höhe Puderstraße, and died on the way to the East Berlin hospital
97 Helmut Kliem
[138]		 2 June 1939 13 November 1970 31 No intention Approached - involved in a conversation and under the influence of alcohol - accidentally a frontier plant on the outer ring in Falkensee, district Falkenhöh, near Pestalozzistraße, and was shot at removing the plant; his passenger was injured but not charged with illegal border crossing; Incident in the GDR as a (hushed) accident scored
98 Zock Hans-Joachim
[139]		 26 January 1940 November 1970 30 Escapee Drowned between 14 and 17 November 1970 in the Spree
99 Christian-Peter Friese
[140]		 5 August 1948 25 December 1970 22 Escapee Shot while trying to escape at the sector border in Treptow, in the area Köllnische Heide / Dammweg
100 Rolf-Dieter Kabelitz
[141]		 23 June 1951 30 January 1971 19 Escapee Upon entering the border area on the outer ring between Bergfelde (circle Oranienburg) and Reinickendorf discovered on January 7 and shot back to GDR after the persecution and seriously injured; suffered from a spreading internal infection with fever bouts and disturbances of consciousness in the hospital; died on January 30, finally, of a pneumonia diagnosed on the morning of the day; Intentional escape likely, but contested in interrogations at the hospital.
101 Wolfgang Hoffmann
[142]		 1 September 1942 15 July 1971 28 West-east-crossing Escaped 1961, arrested on a border crossing point while asking for legal entry to East Berlin, then jumped out of a police station window
102 Werner Kühl
[143]		 10 January 1949 24 July 1971 22 West-east-crossing While attempting to secretly cross the border from West Berlin to East Berlin with a friend - presumably for the purpose of settling in the GDR - shot dead at the sector border in Treptow near the bridge Britzer Allee / Baumschulenweg; Friend was captured in the East and expelled to the West on August 30
103 Dieter Beilig
[144]		 5 September 1941 2 October 1971 30 West-east-crossing Shot; trying to escape through a window after being arrested at Berlin-Mitte, in Brandenburg Gate.
104 Horst Kullack
[145]		 20 November 1948 21 January 1972 23 Escapee Shot on 1 January 1972 at Lichtenrade
105 Manfred Weylandt
[146]		 12 July 1942 14 February 1972 29 Escapee Drowned in the Spree after being shot
106 Klaus Schulze
[147]		 13 October 1952 7 March 1972 19 Escapee Shot at Pestalozzistraße in Falkensee
107 Cengaver Katrancı
[148]		 1964 30 October 1972 8 No intention Drowned in the Spreee
108 Holger H.
[149]		 1971 22 January 1973 1 Escapee Suffocationh
109 Volker Frommann
[150]		 23 April 1944 5 March 1973 29 Escapee Jumped from a train on 1 March 1973
110 Horst Einsiedel
[151]		 8 February 1940 15 March 1973 33 Escapee Shot in the boundary area of Pankow
111 Manfred Gertzki
[152]		 17 May 1942 27 April 1973 30 Escapee Shot/drowned in the Spree
112 Siegfried Kroboth
[153]		 1968 14 May 1973 5 No intention Drowned in the Spreee
113 Burkhard Niering
[154]		 1 September 1950 5 January 1974 23 Escapee Shot while trying to cross Checkpoint Charlie with a hostage
114 Czesław Kukuczka
[155]		 23 July 1935 29 March 1974 39 Escapee (Polish citizen) Shot while attempting to flee East Berlin via the Friedrichstrasse train station.
115 Johannes Sprenger
[156]		 3 December 1905 10 May 1974 68 Suicidei Shot while entering the sector border area in Berlin-Altglienicke, near Hornkleepfad, between Treptow and Neukölln. The intention to flee is unlikely, as the retiree was allowed to tour West Germany legally and had already done so twice. He had health problems due to lung cancer (but he was not aware of the exact diagnosis). Because of this and because of the farewell words to his wife took the MfS and after reunification also the Berlin district court (Mauerschützenprozesse) suicide.
116 Giuseppe Savoca
[157]		 22 April 1968 15 June 1974 6 No intention Drowned in the Spree at Kreuzberg, West Berline
117 Herbert Halli
[158]		 24 November 1953 3 April 1975 21 Escapee Shot at the boundary border of Berlin-Mitte, Zimmer/Otto-Grotewohl-Straße.
118 Çetin Mert
[159]		 11 May 1970 11 May 1975 5 No intention Drowned in the Spree at Kreuzberg, West Berline
119 Herbert Kiebler
[160]		 24 March 1952 27 June 1975 23 Escapee Shot in Außenring in Mahlow, around the boundary of Lichtenrade, western part of the Fernstraße 96.
120 Lothar Hennig
[161]		 30 June 1954 5 November 1975 21 No intention Shot near to the border while running home
121 Dietmar Schwietzer
[162]		 21 February 1958 16 February 1977 18 Escapee Shot in Schönwalde, Berliner Allee
122 Henri Weise
[163]		 13 July 1954 May 1977 18 Escapee Drowned in the Spree; body found on 27 July 1977
123 Vladimir Odinzov
[164]		 1960 2 February 1979 22 Escapee (Soviet soldier) Shot on the village road in Seeburg at the outer ring between Seeburg (Kreis Potsdam) and Berlin-Spandau
124 Ulrich Steinhauer
[165]		 13 March 1956 4 November 1980 24 Guard Shot by a deserting colleague at Schönwalde/Kreis Nauen
125 Marienetta Jirkowsky
[166]		 25 August 1962 22 November 1980 18 Escapee Shot in Hohen Neuendorf, near the Invalidensiedlung/Florastraße; Two co-refugees managed to escape
126 Grohganz Peter
[167]		 25 September 1948 10 December 1980/ 9 February 1981 33 Escapee Shot in Premnitz
127 Johannes Muschol
[168]		 31 May 1949 16 March 1981 31 West-east-crossing Mentally disturbed, shot while crossing the wall from West Berlin to East Berlin
128 Hans-Jürgen Starrost
[169]		 24 June 1954 16 April 1981 26 Escapee Shot in Teltow-Sigridshorst
129 Thomas Taubmann
[170]		 22 July 1955 12 December 1981 26 Escapee Tried to escape with a train and crashed deadly when jumping from the train
130 Lothar Fritz Freie
[171]		 8 February 1955 6 June 1982 27 No intention Coming from West Berlin, shot while nightly wandering around in a confusing terrain at the border
131 Silvio Proksch
[172]		 3 March 1962 25 December 1983 21 Escapee Shot at the sector border in Pankow am Bürgerpark near the Leonhard-Frank-Strasse during a spontaneous escape attempt under considerable influence of alcohol
132 Michael Schmidt
[173]		 20 October 1964 1 December 1984 20 Escapee Shot in Pankow/Wollankstraße
133 Rainer Liebeke
[174]		 11 September 1951 3 September 1986 34 Escapee Drowned in the Sacrower See
134 Manfred Mäder
[175]		 23 August 1948 21 November 1986 38 Escapee Shot alongside René Groß in Treptow
135 René Groß
[176]		 1 May 1964 21 November 1986 22 Escapee Shot alongside Manfred Mäder in Treptow
136 Michael Bittner
[177]		 31 August 1961 24 November 1986 25 Escapee Shot in Glienicke/Nordbahn
137 Lutz Schmidt
[178]		 8 July 1962 12 February 1987 24 Escapee Shot in Treptow
138 Ingolf Diederichs
[179]		 13 April 1964 13 January 1989 24 Escapee Jumped from a train at Bösebrücke/Grenzübergangsstelle Bornholmer Straße
139 Chris Gueffroy
[22][180]		 21 June 1968 5 February 1989 20 Escapee Shot in Britz
140 Winfried Freudenberg
[21][22]		 29 August 1956 8 March 1989 32 Escapee Balloon crash

Posted at 02:49 PM | | Comments (34)

|

President Trump at the swearing in of the Honorable Brett M. Kavanaugh

Tuesday, 09 October 2018

About 32 minutes in.

At about 34 minutes in President Trump apologises on behalf of the United States to Justice Kavanaugh and his family.

Our 114th Supreme Court Justice

 

 

On July 9, 2018, President Donald J. Trump nominated Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to fill retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy’s seat on the United States Supreme Court. “There is no one in America more qualified for this position, and no one more deserving,” President Trump said during his announcement.

 

“The Rule of Law is our nation’s proud heritage. It is the cornerstone of our freedom. It is what guarantees equal justice,” the President added.

 

On Saturday, by a vote of 50-48, the U.S. Senate upheld that principle and confirmed Judge Kavanaugh’s appointment to the High Court. Tonight, President Trump will address the nation at a swearing-in ceremony from the East Room of the White House.

 

Throughout his exemplary career, Judge Kavanaugh has let the Constitution guide his decisions. Tonight, with the disgraceful partisan politics of the past three months behind us, America is getting a Justice who understands that the role of a judge is to faithfully interpret the law as written—not to legislate from the bench.

 

Meet America’s 114th Supreme Court Justice, Brett M. Kavanaugh.

 

Watch live at 7 p.m. ET: Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as Associate Justice.

Posted at 10:38 AM | | Comments (16)

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UK Police Chief watched from inside locked police car while Islamist stabbed PC to death

Tuesday, 09 October 2018

No weapon.

No radio.

No point in having him.

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Scotland Yard’s acting commissioner has told how he witnessed the fatal stabbing of PC Keith Palmer in the Westminster Bridge Attack but fled the scene because no one in his vehicle had protective equipment or a radio.

Sir Craig Mackey, the Met’s deputy commissioner, said his first instinct was to jump out and help but an assistant locked the car doors because they had nothing with which to stop the Islamist terrorist Khalid Masood.

Sir Craig was sitting in the front seat of his official vehicle with his driver and chief of staff on March 22 after a meeting with Brandon Lewis, the policing minister, when the attack unfolded in front of him.

 

He told the inquest into the fatal shooting of Masood, who also killed four people by running them down in a car on Westminster Bridge, that his first instinct was to get out of his vehicle, which was passing through the vehicle barrier just inside the main gates. However, he was told by a police constable at the gate to “get out, make safe, go, shut the door”, and his colleague in the car had already locked the doors.

Houses of Parliament attacker Khalid Masood is treated by emergency services after he killed five people in a rampage on Westminister Bridge. Picture: AP
Houses of Parliament attacker Khalid Masood is treated by emergency services after he killed five people in a rampage on Westminister Bridge. Picture: AP

Sir Craig, who was temporarily in charge of the Met before Cressida Dick, said his first instinct to leave the vehicle was “not the right response”. He added: “I was in shirtsleeves, with no radio, I didn’t know if the attack was ongoing … we had no protective equipment at all, no communications, we had been in a ministerial meeting.”

Within seconds the car had pulled away. Sir Craig said: “I had no personal equipment, no radio, two colleagues with me who were quite traumatised by what they had seen, so we moved out and I began co-ordinating the response you saw.”

Posted at 09:32 AM | | Comments (36)

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Shorten's Fair Go Action Plan - supported by Ms Gillard in today's press

Monday, 08 October 2018

and right on cue in today's Australian

Teachers hold the key to keeping minds in top shape

Which career would I have chosen if not the law, followed by politics? I’ve been asked that many times over the years, and the answer is simple: teaching.

The importance of a quality education was instilled in me from a young age.

I recall the sense of loss my ­father felt at being forced by his family’s poverty to leave school at 14.

 

He emphasised to me that every day of education was a privilege to be cherished.

Besides, I enjoyed going to school — the learning, the playmates and, of course, the teachers. I respected them.

Growing up, I became passionate about shaping young minds and getting young people to love learning. In fact, that was the motivating ideal that led me into politics.

It shaped my purpose and priorities as prime minister and continues to drive me in the causes I champion post-politics.

Now, as chair of Beyond Blue, I understand how important a strong social and emotional foundation is to academic achievement.

So, as Mental Health Week 2018 kicks off, let’s focus on the wellbeing of young Australians, from toddlers in early learning services to 18-year-olds on the cusp of their great transitions out of school and into the workforce or further education.

Today’s young people have a higher level of understanding of good mental health and wellbeing than any other generation, but that does not mean everything’s fine.

The up-and-coming generation is experiencing different pressures than earlier generations, including the impacts, both good and bad, of social media and spending a lot of life online.

Four years ago, Young Minds Matter — the latest and largest national study of its kind — found that every year about one in seven Australians between four and 17 experiences a mental health condition.

We already know that half of all adult mental health conditions emerge by the age of 14.

If left untreated, these illnesses can dramatically reduce a young person’s chances of leading a happy, healthy, productive life. Tragically, suicide accounted for more than one-third of deaths among people aged 15-24 in Australia last year.

Now new research from the mental health organisation Headspace shows psychological distress in 12 to 25-year-olds increased threefold in a decade.

But by supporting mental health from an early age, there’s potential to both enhance young people’s learning opportunities and their long-term prospects.

This in turn can be a factor in improving education outcomes.

To that end, a major effort is under way to support the mental health of our young people.

It will be based on a simple premise: prevention is better than cure.

Next month, after engagement with thousands of stakeholders from educators, parents and young people to service providers, peak bodies and unions, researchers and governments, Beyond Blue — in partnership with Early Childhood Australia and Headspace — will launch a an initiative with the aim of equipping children from the get-go with the social and emotional skills necessary to take them ­successfully through school and beyond.

We are grateful to the commonwealth government for funding this vital work.

Every early learning service and school can be involved in and benefit from this free service.

It will give our magnificent early learning service staff and teachers the how-to — the very practical steps needed — to promote mental health and resilience, and to identify kids who need more help and get them ­appropriate support. Importantly, this will also be the how-to for educators about the best ways of supporting their own mental health and wellbeing, because when educators are at their best, so too are our children and young people.

Online professional development, accompanied by the tips, tools and evidence-based resources, will be provided in tandem with the support of a highly ­experienced team of more than 70 staff nationally.

This isn’t about giving educators yet another thing to do. It’s about linking them to proven programs to address the challenges they face daily.

Rather than struggling to work out what to do about bullying, or how to most effectively reach out to a troubled young person, or how to promote mental health across their school community, help and resources will be a click, an email or a phone call away.

This Beyond Blue education initiative will be part of a child’s learning journey from the moment they enter an early learning service until the end of Year 12.

And it will be accessible to everybody. Parents, carers, whole communities will be able to ­access the site and, along the way, improve their own mental health literacy.

If we can improve the mental health of Australia’s children, they will be more likely to emerge into adulthood with the tools they need to be resilient in the face of life’s challenges.

Improved mental health is also important to achieving goals such as increased school attendance and retention, higher ­academic outcomes, better engagement in the classroom and the life of the school, as well as improved youth employment rates.

This is about backing early learning service staff and teachers to better support our young people.

But we are also aware how huge the challenge is and how much work lies ahead.

Like everything we do at Beyond Blue, we know that community support — your support — will be vital to getting this right and getting it done.

Working together, we can aim high.

Our shared goal should be to produce the most mentally healthy generation of young Australians ever.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard is chair of Beyond Blue.

Posted at 02:59 PM | | Comments (84)

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New Editor In Chief for The Australian

Monday, 08 October 2018

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This is good news for The Australian.

Here's the way The Australian saw it today.

Paul Whittaker appointed CEO of Australian News Channel

Paul Whittaker has been appointed chief executive officer of Australian News Channel. Picture: John Feder.
Paul Whittaker has been appointed chief executive officer of Australian News Channel. Picture: John Feder.

The Australian’s editor-in-chief Paul Whittaker has been appointed chief executive officer of Australian News Channel, replaced by Chris Dore, current editor of The Daily Telegraph.

Effective from 15 October, Whittaker will take charge of Sky News channels; Sky News Live, Sky News Weather, Sky News extra, FOX SPORTS News and Your Money channel, a joint venture with Nine Network.

Whittaker succeeds Angelos Frangopoulos who is leaving to take on the new role of CEO and managing editor Sky News Arabia.

Michael Miller, executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, said: “This appointment recognises Paul’s extensive and proven journalistic leadership and his intimate understanding of the Australian political, business and evolving media landscape, as well as what drives and engages audiences,” Mr Miller said.

“Paul is one of Australia’s most respected journalists and editors, with an extraordinary passion for agenda-setting news and opinion, combined with a strong business acumen. His appointment ensures Sky News has the leadership to grow the audiences and business from the foundations built by Angelos.”

Extract Ends.

The praise for The Australian's current editor continues for quite a bit in The Australian's article.

Posted at 11:45 AM | | Comments (6)

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Kimberley Kitching - defender of conservative Judaeo Christian values

Monday, 08 October 2018

I thought there was something in The Ten Commandments about not lying.

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Labor senator Kimberley Kitching — a close ally and friend of Bill Shorten — is moving to create a bipartisan parliamentary group that will defend “Judeo-Christian” and “Western-liberal democratic” values as she launches her credentials as a new style of social conservative within the Labor Party.

The Victorian, who was controversially hand-picked by the Opposition Leader to replace Stephen Conroy in the Senate, said she considered it part of her job to fight “smug elitism” and would seek to ensure the views of “inner-city elites” did not prevail over the “quiet wisdom of working people”.

“I think that sometimes Labor insiders tend to be more small-l liberal in their views than the ­people who vote for us,” Senator Kitching told The Australian.

 

She said the rise of the Greens had been good for the party as it helped create a “Corbyn-proof fence” that had protected Labor from the “more extreme and out of touch” parts of the Left. She also spoke against identity politics and virtue-signalling, saying it was intellectually “lazy” and had a negative impact on public debate.

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Despite being a practising Catholic, Senator Kitching’s pitch as a Labor conservative is more cultural than religious and represents a shift from the traditional grouping of “LabCons” who have been guided by their faith in ­opposing same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia.

Posted at 10:23 AM | | Comments (50)

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