Hans-Dieter Wesa
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Hans-Dieter Wesa (born January 10, 1943 in Schlewen , Gostingen district , † August 23, 1962 in Berlin ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . The transport policeman deployed to guard the Bornholmer Strasse S-Bahn station had already reached West Berlin when his colleague on the guard shot him while he was fleeing the GDR .
Life
Hans-Dieter Wesa grew up with four siblings in Trebitz in a Christian family. An older brother fled the GDR in 1954. After finishing school, Wesa completed an apprenticeship with the Reichsbahn in Halle (Saale) in 1960 . He then committed himself to serve in the transport police for five years, which he carried out in Leipzig until April 1962 . Subsequently transferred to East Berlin , he did duty to guard the railways at the sector border, whereby he did not reveal any thoughts of escape. Because he had prevented an attempt to escape, he was promoted to Oberwachtmeister in July 1962 .
On August 23, 1962, Wesa was employed at the Bornholmer Strasse ghost train station as the post manager of the 18-year-old post Adolf B., whom he had known since his time in Leipzig. While on duty, Wesa made a remark about a "sister" in West Germany after B.'s memory. Later he left his post under a pretext and climbed under the Bösebrücke over the wire fence, which also marked the border. B. discovered Wesa when he was already on the West Berlin side and asked him to return. As Wesa turned around, but then continued to run, gave example of his submachine gun a burst of six shots from him. Hit in the thigh, Wesa fell to the ground seven meters behind the border fence. B. went to the fence and killed Wesa with a second burst of six shots on the face and upper body.
The brutal killing of Wesa shortly after Peter Fechter blew to death at the Wall caused revulsion in West Berlin. There was also concern about renewed mass protests that could endanger people. Willy Brandt and Klaus Schütz came to the crime scene on the day of death . After funeral ceremonies in West Berlin, his brother Wesa had Eybach buried in his place of residence . The West Berlin police filed a criminal complaint against "unknown" for "manslaughter of Hans-Dieter Wesa", which initially remained unsuccessful. After the reunification of Berlin , the public prosecutor's office at the Court of Appeal resumed the proceedings and found B. as a shooter. Because he tried to go into hiding, he was taken into custody in September 1993. In January 1994, however, he was released from prison . In June 1994, the prosecution followed against B. The trial ended in September of the same year, because as without having ever spoken to his subject, suicide committed.
literature
- Christine Brecht : Hans-Dieter Wesa , in: The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961–1989 , Links, Berlin 2009, pp. 105–108.
- Jorge Scholz: Bornholmer Strasse S-Bahn station . In: Jorge Scholz, Christine Kisorsy, Bernt Roder, Museum Pankow (eds.): The white line. Wall and escape in the north-east of Berlin . Text-Verlag, Edition Berlin, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-938414-49-1 , pp. 39-44.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wesa, Hans-Dieter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German casualty from the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 10, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Schlewen |
| DATE OF DEATH | 23rd August 1962 |
| Place of death | Berlin |