German justice

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German justice. Trials against GDR border guards and their commanders is the title of a book by the author and journalist Roman Grafe , in which the trials against GDR border guards and their commanders are dealt with. The book was first published in 2004 by Siedler Verlag . Earlier on, Grafe wrote a book entitled The Border Through Germany across the inner-German border from the end of World War II to reunification . The publication of German Justice led to legal disputes up to the Federal Court of Justice , in which it was a question of naming a border troop officer, which he tried in vain to prevent. Between 2005 and 2007 the publisher was prohibited from distributing the book.

content

In German Justice , Grafe documented the trials of GDR border guards, the majority of which ended with acquittals and suspended sentences. Grafe observed the proceedings for years, at times as the only journalist. In the 1990s, more than 65,000 investigative proceedings were conducted in the area of SED injustice at the public prosecutor's offices in Berlin and the new federal states, and over 3000 investigations by the police and public prosecutors concerned acts of violence at the border. Grafe stated that senior commanders were only sentenced to mild prison terms for manslaughter of GDR refugees , but that the judgments were very clearly justified. In his work he used the method of historical collage and described several court proceedings simultaneously and in chronological order. To this end, he collected indictments, statements, judgments and documents as well as interviews with police investigators, prosecutors, judges, perpetrators, victims and their relatives, which he scattered in the book. The book was illustrated with photos and court drawings by Christine Böer ( ISBN 3-88680-819-X ).

See also

Legal dispute about Hübers GDR past and personal rights

Web links

 Wikinews: Supreme Court strengthens freedom of the press  - March 20, 2007

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Former political officer is subject to the BGH in: Süddeutsche Zeitung of October 25, 2007, accessed on April 2, 2012