Friedhelm Ehrlich
Friedhelm Ehrlich (born July 11, 1950 in Nägelstedt , † August 2, 1970 in Berlin ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . A member of the GDR border troops shot him after he was arrested drunk in the border area.
Life
Friedhelm Ehrlich grew up as the only child of his parents in Gräfentonna in Thuringia . He completed an apprenticeship as a machine fitter before he was drafted into service with the National People's Army (NVA) in May 1969 . The NVA used him at the border company in Glienicke / Nordbahn.
On August 2, 1970, he was forbidden to go to Schildow because of a minor offense and instead he was ordered to the cleaning service. He then went to a local restaurant where he met other members of his unit. After walking through various restaurants, they made their way back to the barracks. The drunk Friedhelm Ehrlich ran ahead of his comrades and finally sat down. At around 10:15 p.m., he went unnoticed by the others to the border area with West Berlin, which was about 100 meters from his barracks. He broke the slats of the hinterland fence and ran whistling to the Kolonnenweg. A border guard spotted him and told him to stop. After the second call, he was arrested and taken to the hinterland. Another border post was added in the hinterland. Friedhelm Ehrlich had to lie down with his face to the floor. Suddenly he jumped up and yelled at the two guards. He reached into his pocket. One of the border guards assumed that Ehrlich was carrying a weapon and fired a shot from about five meters away, which hit Ehrlich in the thigh and destroyed his main artery. About twenty minutes later the injured man was taken to the People's Police Hospital in Berlin-Mitte without first aid , where he bled to death.
The incident was noticed in West Berlin. There were calls to protest. After the end of the GDR, the Berlin public prosecutor's office started investigations following a complaint from Friedhelm Ehrlich's parents. The proceedings were discontinued in 1994 because the shooter could falsely assume a self-defense situation. There was no wall rifle trial .
literature
- Hans-Hermann Hertle , Maria Nooke : The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961 - 1989. A biographical handbook. Edited by the Center for Contemporary History Potsdam and the Berlin Wall Foundation. Links, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-517-1 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Honestly, Friedhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German fatality on the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 11, 1950 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nägelstedt |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd August 1970 |
| Place of death | Berlin |