Dieter Brandes (victim of the Berlin Wall)
Dieter Brandes (born October 23, 1946 in Frankfurt an der Oder ; † January 11, 1966 in East Berlin ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . A member of the GDR border troops seriously injured him while attempting to escape from the GDR. He succumbed to the consequences of the injuries.
Life
Dieter Brandes grew up without his parents in various children's homes and educational institutions in the GDR. His mother lived in Hamburg and his father newly married in Frankfurt an der Oder. At the age of 17 he tried to escape from the GDR for the first time . The attempt failed and brought him to a youth workshop in Sömmerda . When he left the institution in 1964, he went to his father in Frankfurt an der Oder and took up a job as a construction worker.
On June 9, 1965, Brandes drove to East Berlin and tried to flee to West Berlin via the grounds of the Nordbahnhof . He triggered an alarm signal around 9 p.m. A member of the GDR border troops opened fire on him after a warning call and seriously injured his chest and lungs. Transported by the border troops and taken to the People's Police Hospital for first aid , Brandes, who was paralyzed from the injury, died seven months later in an East Berlin hospital as a result of the gunfire. Under pressure from the GDR State Security , the father had to bury his son Dieter anonymously in the Baumschulenweg cemetery .
The scene was observed by West Berlin residents of the nearby Ernst Reuter settlement . The West Berlin press reported on the incident. Since Brandes looked lifeless when he was transported away, the observers assumed his death and placed a wooden cross nearby in his memory, without knowing his name. The investigations into Brandes for so-called “ escape from the republic ” were stopped in October when it became apparent that he would no longer be liable. The shooter and his superiors received an award for their actions. The incident was registered at the central registration office of the state justice administration in Salzgitter. After the German reunification , the Berlin public prosecutor began investigations in 1990, which were discontinued in 1996 after the shooters could not be identified.
Web links
- Dieter Brandes at berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Brandes, Dieter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German casualty from the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 23, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Frankfurt Oder |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 11, 1966 |
| Place of death | Berlin |