Elke Weckeiser
Elke Weckeiser (born October 31, 1945 , † February 18, 1968 in Berlin ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . Together with her husband Dieter Weckeiser , she tried to flee the GDR and was shot by members of the GDR border troops .
Life
After school she completed an apprenticeship in a textile trade and then worked as a kitchen helper in a company canteen in Fürstenwalde . At the age of 20, she met her future husband in 1966, who had three children from the previous marriage.
On February 18, 1968, she and her husband tried to cross the border into West Berlin . The Kapelle-Ufer , the selected location in Berlin-Mitte on the Spree opposite the Reichstag building , was particularly closely monitored and equipped with extensive border security systems. In addition, the couple would have had to swim through the Spree, which had temperatures around freezing in February. At around 11 p.m., the couple forced their way through a barbed wire fence and were noticed by border guards on a nearby watchtower. The soldiers opened fire on the refugees immediately and without warning. Of the 17 shots fired, two Elke Weckeiser hit the chest and thigh. Her husband Dieter suffered a bullet through the skull. Both were taken to the People's Police Hospital. Elke Weckeiser died there that same night, her husband the following day.
The circumstances surrounding the death of the Weckeisers were covered up by the Ministry of State Security . Compared to Dieter Weckeiser's first wife, it was alleged that the two died in a traffic accident with a stolen car. For their actions, the border guards received not only a commendation but also the medal for exemplary border service . After German reunification, the Berlin public prosecutor brought charges against the shooters in a wall shooting trial before the Berlin district court . The executing border guard was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence of 21 months, while his immediate superiors were acquitted.
literature
- Hans-Hermann Hertle , Maria Nooke : The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961–1989. A biographical manual. Edited by the Center for Contemporary History Potsdam and the Berlin Wall Foundation. Links, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-517-1 .
Web links
- Portrait of Elke Weckeiser. chronik-der-mauer.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Weckeiser, Elke |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German casualty from the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 31, 1945 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 18th February 1968 |
| Place of death | Berlin |