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.
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.

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.
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."

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.

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.

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 |